Partners/Directors - Shigeru Ban

Keita Sugai – Partner

First Grade Registered Architect (Japan)

1974	Born in Kagoshima, raised in Osaka
1997	Bachelor of Architecture, Yokohama National University
1999	Master of Architecture, Yokohama National University Graduate School
1999	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects
2019 –	Shigeru Ban Architects, Partner

Grant Suzuki – Partner

1977	Born in Niagara Falls, Canada
1999	University of Waterloo, Bachelor of Env. Studies in Architecture
2000 – 01	Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, Intern
2001	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects
2019 –	Shigeru Ban Architects, Partner

Jun Matsumori – Director

First Grade Registered Architect (Japan)

1960	Born in Tokyo
1984	Bachelor of Architecture, Meiji University
1984 – 87	Archibrain Associates
1987 – 89	Shigeru Ban Architects
1991	Master of Architecture, University of Tokyo
1991-	Established Jun Matsumori Architects’ Workshop
1997 – 10	Part-time lecturer, Department of Science and Engineering, Meiji University
2013 –	Shigeru Ban Architects, Director

Yasunori Harano – Director

2004	Master of Media and Governance, Keio University
2005	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects
Present	Shigeru Ban Architects, Director, Non-profit Organization Voluntary Architects’ Network, Director

Reiji Watabe – Director

1986	Born in Tokyo
2008	Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Information, Keio University
2010	Master of Media and Governance, Keio University
2010	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects
2020 –	Shigeru Ban Architects, Director

Yoshie Narimatsu – Director

First Grade Registered Architect (Japan)

1982	Born in Tokyo
2006	Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Information Architecture and Urban Design Program, Keio University
2008	Master of Media and Governance Architecture and Urban Design Program, Keio University Graduate School
2011	Master of Architecture, Yale School of Architecture
2011	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects
2011 – 22	Shigeru Ban Architects Europe
2023 –	Shigeru Ban Architects, Director

Daisuke Sato – Director

First Grade Registered Architect (Japan)

1982	Born in Fukushima
2006	Bachelor of Architecture, Kanagawa University
2008	Master of Architecture, Kanagawa University Graduate School
2012	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects
2023 –	Shigeru Ban Architects, Director

Jean de Gastines – Partner

Architect, DPLG (France)

1957	Born in Casablanca, Morocco
1975 – 78	Studies in History and Economics, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris
1980	Frank O. Gehry, Santa Monica, California
1982 – 83	SCAU Aymeric Zublena Architects, Paris
1984	Bachelor of Architecture, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris
1985	Established private practice
1999	Professional Association with Shigeru Ban Architects

Taro Okabe – Director

First Grade Registered Architect (Japan)

1974	Born in Kawasaki, Japan
1997	Chiba University, Bachelor of Architecture
1999	Chiba University, Master of Architecture
1999 – 00	Kono Susumu & Architects
2001 – 03	KEIKAKU inc.
2004 – 11	Shigeru Ban Architects Tokyo
2011 – 12	Shigeru Ban Architects Europe
2013 –	Shigeru Ban Architects Europe, Director

Keina Ishioka – Director

First Grade Registered Architect (Japan)

1974	Born in Tokyo
1998	Musashino Art University, Bachelor of Architecture
1998	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects Tokyo
2012 – 17	Shigeru Ban Architects Europe
2018 –	Shigeru Ban Architects Europe, Director

Dean Maltz – Partner

Registered Architect, States of New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Maryland, and Connecticut
NCARB Certified

1959	Born in New York, USA
1977 – 79	Washington University
1982 – 83	Azuma Takamitsu Architect
1984	Cooper Union School of Architecture, B.Arch
1985	Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Teaching Assistant
1986	Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, M.Arch
1986 – 89	Gwathmey Siegel and Associates
1989 – 90	Eisenman Architects
1990 – 97	Davis + Maltz Architects, Principal
1997 –	Dean Maltz Architect, Principal
1999	Professional Association with Shigeru Ban Architects
2000	Columbia University, Visiting Professor
2004	Washington University, Visiting Professor

Benjamin Albertson – Director

Registered in the States of Colorado, California, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee
NCARB Certified

1978	Born in Dallas, Texas, USA
2001	University of Colorado, College of Architecture and Planning, Bachelor of Environmental Design
2005	Yale University, School of Architecture, Master of Architecture
2005 – 11	Maki & Associates, Tokyo, Architectural Staff
2011	Shigeru Ban Architects America
2012 – 14	New York City College of Technology, Department of Architecture, Adjunct Lecturer
2026	Shigeru Ban Architects America, Director

Laura Britton – Senior Associate

Registered Architect, State of New York

1988	Born in Massachusetts, USA
2006 – 10	Yale University, B.A.
2010 – 12	Pickard Chilton Architects, Designer
2012 – 15	Princeton University School of Architecture, M.Arch
2015	Princeton University School of Architecture, Assistant Instructor
2015	Shigeru Ban Architects America
2022	Shigeru Ban : Timber in Architecture (Rizzoli) , Author-Editor
2023	The Cooper Union, Adjunct Assistant Professor
2025	Shigeru Ban Architects America, Senior Associate

Former partner

Nobutaka Hiraga – Former Partner

First Grade Registered Architect (Japan)

1949	Born in Tokyo
1971	Tokyo University of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Architecture
1971 – 80	Sasagawa Architects & Partners
1980 – 87	ASHIHARA Architect & Associates
1987	Established ArchiNetwork, Principal
1998 – 2019	Joined Shigeru Ban Architects as Partner
2019 – 2020	Shigeru Ban Architects, Adviser
2021	Resume ArchiNetwork