ABSTRACT
Reiji Watabe was an architecture student at Keio University in 2008 when he participated in the Hualin project. The original function of this project was to temporarily provide a pleasant teaching and studying environment for school teachers and students. In terms of humidity, the majority of the students who studied in the paper building felt comfortable during rainy days. The results from the questionnaires indicate that the paper classrooms provide a similar quality to the permanent school in terms of providing a relatively pleasant thermal environment. The life of the project is estimated at three to five years, which classifies it as a temporary building in China, and allows for the rebuilding of Chengdu Hualin Elementary School using conventional materials. The contribution of Shigeru Ban Architects to the Hualin School project can be seen both in terms of architectural design and social responsibility.
