Japanese architect Shigeru Baniconic for his use ofeco-friendly, lightweight materials –on July 27 lifted the veil on a paperbridge over the
Gardon River in southern
France.

Built half a mile from the Pont du Gard—a section of ancientRoman bridge classed as a UN World Heritage site—Shigeru's cardboard-tubestructure is strong enough to carry 20 people at a time.

Reaching over the water to a sandy islet mid-river, it opens to the public forsix weeks starting on July 30, before it is dismantled for the rainy season.

"It is a very interesting contrast, the Roman stonebridge and the paper bridge,” Ban said. “Paper too can be permanent, can be strong and lasting. Weneed to get rid of these prejudices.”

"A bridge was one of my dreams," he said, as he thanked the two dozenFrench architecture students and three from
Japan who built the bridge as amonth-long project.

Weighing 7.5 tons, the bridge is made from 281 cardboardtubes, each four inches across and 11.9 millimeters thick. The steps arerecycled paper and plastic and the foundations wooden boxes packed with sand.

Balloons filled with 1.5 tons of water were used to test its resistance, saidBan's assistant Marc Ferrand.

Born in 1957 in Tokyo, Ban made a name bydesigning cardboard shelters for use by earthquake victims in Japan, Turkeyand
Indiaand by refugees following the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In France he co-designed anew Pompidou modern art museum in the eastern city of
Metz, a mixed-medium structure of wood, steeland glass set to open in 2008.