A community centre designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban made of two linked shipping containers is currently under construction in Altadena to serve as a relief space for those effected by the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
Organising non-profit CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) said the Center for Community will serve as “an architectural landmark and functional resilience building center” for the surrounding Altadena neighbourhood, as the community lacks gathering spaces after wildfires burned down nearly 16,000 structures across Los Angeles last year.
A relief building designed by Shigeru Ban is under construction in Los Angeles
The space will offer programming such as mental health services, educational workshops and community events.
Its concept – a timber-framed roof spanning two white shipping containers – was originally conceived in 2011 by architect Shigeru Ban, who has created relief infrastructure after several natural disasters across the world, such as for victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake and for the 2018 floods in Okayama, Japan.
According to the studio, the concept was deployed in Noto, Japan, after the 2025 earthquake, but has been adapted in each location to cut down on costs and use readily available materials.
The Altadena iteration contains offices, a meeting room and bathrooms in the shipping containers, while the central open space can fit up to 70 people for community events.
Architects concerned by disjointed LA wildfires rebuild
“Utilizing Shigeru Ban’s prototype humanitarian relief design concept incorporating readily available shipping containers as the primary building structure, the Altadena Community Center is an example of a low-cost sustainable construction solution designed to assist with the rebuilding effort after a major natural disaster,” said the studio.
The project broke ground in early January 2026, and is expected to be completed in the summer. It is designed to be a permanent structure in the neighbourhood once complete.
Wildfires broke out in early 2025 across Los Angeles, concentrated in the Altadena and Palisades neighbourhoods. Recently, architects expressed their concern over disjointed rebuilding efforts.
Samara deployed a pre-fab ADU on the site of a burned-down home, while US home builder Cosmic Buildings and ABB Robotics set up a “micro-factory” that builds wall panels to aid in construction.
Shigeru Ban was recently awarded the 2026 AIA Gold Medal.
The images are courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects.