cardboard a r c h i t e c t u r e

Contents

Subjects
History

10

Hollander

12

Shigeru Ban

16

Living in a box

22

Fire

28

Temporariness

32

Recycling

44

Fibres

50

To connect

56

Babylon

58

Strengh

66

Additives

68

Moisture

70

Projects
Paper dome, Shigeru Ban

18

Graduation project, Taco van Iersel

23

Cardboard cable duct, Taco van Iersel

24

Multished, Taco van Iersel

26

Cattle shed, P.B. Hangelbroek

34

The Wall, Fons Verheijen

36

Packaging architecture, Mats Karlsson

38

Cardboard house, Col James

40

Graduation project, Job van Buchem

42

Cardboard school, Cottrell & Vermeulen

44

Office, Ad Kil, R. Koster

46

Theatre, Hans Ruijssenaars

52

Graduation project, Henk van Dijke

60

Amorphous construction, Horst Kiechle

62

T he crossovers between

cardboard and architecture

A definition
Anyone can tell the difference between cardboard
and paper instinctively: paper is used for writing,
cardboard is used for boxes. In order to create
clearness, the paper and cardboard industry has
defined a boundary between paper and cardboard.
Paper with a weight class above 250 gram/m 2 is
known as cardboard. Paper itself must comply
to the following basic properties:
1. Cellulose fibre is its raw material.
2. It gains its sheet from through a water phase.
3. The connection between the fibres is achieved
by hydrogen bridges.

recycling, to re-use, strong, to fold, push

together, to print, cheap, moisture sensitive,
architecture?
The long history of building resulted in a
storehouse of information, with its best known
materials, in the architecture and building world,
being: wood, steel glass and concrete. But the
material richness is far greater. Each material
has its own surrounding of specialists, each with
their own professional language. Thus creating
a Babylon of different manners of expression:
architects, plane builders, paper and cardboard
manufacturers,
The last couple of decades cardboard carefully
begins to form its own hesitant part in building
and architecture. At different locations worldwide
experiments and research are being conducted,
inspired by the possibilities of the material.
In this book, images sketch the opportunities
of cardboard in architecture. Circling like an
exploring journey. Neither pictures nor text
pretend to be complete, they merely want to
be the catalyst in the meeting of two worlds;
architecture and cardboard.

Introduction

Cardboard: packing material, temporary, light,

History

One of the earliest accounts of paper stems from

China around 100 bc, made from hemp. The first
sorts of paper are rough in texture and similar
to felt.
Especially Japan has a rich tradition in the use of
paper. Well known Japanese paper varieties are;
Washi (hand scooped paper, which distinguishes
itself through its strength, gloss, natural colouring, long duration, and low weight) and
Nagashizuki (very thin paper, multi-layered,
crossed, strong fibre buid-up). Paper was used
as clothing for monks (Zen-masters of paperclothing), bags (treated against insects), and
sliding doors (Shoji and Fusuma). Sizes varied
from 33,3 x 24,2 cm, till (in exceptional cases
on demand) 620 x 210 cm.
In the first half of the 12th century we see the
appearance of paper (Arabic recipe) in Europe.
With the development of the art of pressing
books, the demand on paper rises. Next to
textile (cotton and flax) wood becomes a new
raw material.

10

Hollander

The Dutch paper and cardboard industry can

look back at a glorious past. In 1428 the first
paper mill was being built. The Zaanstreek and
the Veluwe became important paper centres,
because of their ideal location factors (water
and raw materials). The water on the Veluwe
can be used for the whiter paper variety, in the
Zaanstreek the water gives a grey tone to the
paper.
Around 1670 a few Dutch paper manufacturers
improve the till then used machinery and with
that take a big step towards the development of
mechanical methods. Since then the term the
Hollander is well known in the paper industry.
The further development of machinery eventually
led to new paper sizes, from the dimension of
the sieve till endless paper.
The increase in production scale and capacity
cause a shortage in raw materials. Alternatives
are being found in duck-weed, acorns, wood
chippings, peat and straw. The latter ensures the
flourishing of cardboard factories in Groningen.
The paper industry can now be seen as one of
the most important amongst all industries.

12

Die Vergnglichkeit des Pa

der Akzeptanz des Papiergel
Papiergeldes wurden handf
Metallmnzen, kostbare Ste
Kamele, Schafe und andere
Gewicht, Anzahl oder Zu
ausgetauscht. Pltzlich soll
wert nur durch den Aufdruc
definiert und somit dem mis
ausgeliefert war, die realen
Therese Weber, Die Sprache des Papiers, eine 2000-jahrige geschichte, Verlag Haupt Bern Stuttgart Wien

14

piers illustriert das Problem

des. Vor der Einfhrung des
este Werte wie Goldbarren,
ine und Muscheln, Getreide,
Tiere, deren Wert je nach
stand klar messbar war,
lte ein stuck Papier, dessen
k von Symbolen und Ziffern
ssbrauch durch geldfalscher
werte ersetzen.

15

Shigeru Ban

The architect Shigeru Ban, partly because of

environmental considerations, continuously
searches for materials which have properties
fitting the assignment and situation.
Recyclability, little transport, he searches
for simplicity and efficiency.
Paper and wood form a direct line for Shigeru
Ban; one follows from the other. Therefore he
sometimes uses the term evolved wood for
cardboard.
Basing his initial ideas on cardboard tubes used
for transporting tapestry, he continued the
Japanese paper tradition in modern architecture.
In a dwelling (Paper house, 1995) and a church
(Paper Church, Kobe, 1995), he placed cardboard
tubes in a circular way behind an (semi-) transparent facade, thus creating beautiful areas, in
a dance with light. His empathy with the victims
of the Kobe earthquake, got him to design
cardboard tube emergency housing (Paper Log
Houses, Kobe, 1995).

16

17

Paper Dome

2003, 2004 -

Architect
Shigeru Ban, Tokyo, Japan
Engineering Octatube, Delft, the Netherlands
Location
IJburg and Leidsche Rijn
the Netherlands
Internet
www.shigerubanarchitects.com
www.octatube.nl

The papertubes (diameter 180 mm, thickness 20 mm)

are painted at the ends and partly inside, to make
water-resistant. The nodes are made of steel.
A sand color skin of coated polyester covers the
complete construction. It was demounted, stored
in a container and rebuilt a year later.

Living in a box

Boxes are not only being used in all kinds of

environments, a great number of items are being
transported in them as well. This means they will
have to function in cold and heat, but also withstand the transportation of heavy and light, dry
and wet products. The moment the box is being
discarded (end of its usable lifespan), often more
or less coincides with the end of the box (technical
lifespan). After being used a few more times
(think of moving-boxes), boxes are torn, became
wet or otherwise damaged and will be recycled.
Buildings sometimes get mentioned as a persons
third skin. We protect ourselves from heat, cold,
rain, etc. thus creating a comfortable indoor
climate to live in. While we once started with a
simple protection of a few walls and a roof, nowadays buildings have become complex, technical
and functional complex, as well as in a spacious
and cultural way.
Thanks to the use of common building materials
such as stone, concrete, wood and steel, the
technical lifespan of a building is immense.
The actual usable lifespan of buildings is much
shorter, in The Netherlands around 50 years.
Therefore buildings are often taken down too
early, leaving us with a mountain of ill usable
or recyclable demolition debris.

22

10

Graduation project
Architect Taco van Iersel

23

2002

A design for a temporarily dwelling was the subject of his final MsC-project.
A design for a cleaver cardboard box, which can be easily assembled in a half
brick wall, delivered many design opportunities. Finishing the hollow wall
with a solid board top layer, a sandwich construction is created.
The sandwich construction was used in the design as walls, floors and beams.

24

Cardboard cable duct

Architect Taco van Iersel
Location Berg en Dal,
the Netherlands
Internet www.bumaga.nl

25

2004

Traditional cable ducts are made of steel and bolted together. For this reason
assembly becomes heavy and time-consuming. Reckless disassembly in buildings
for temporarily use (container-buildings), result in lots of waste. An environmental
friendly alternative is available: a cardboard cable duct. Easy assembly and
disassembly, lightweight, re-usable and recyclable.

Multished
Architect Taco van Iersel
the Netherlands
Builders students TU Delft
Location Duiven
the Netherlands

2002

The load barring construction were paper tubes

(inside diameter 120 mm, thickness 10 mm). The core
of the walls (honeycomb, thickness 60 mm) were
laminated with a solid board top layer (1000 gram/m2,
plus 25 gram/m2 of plastic -PE-) on both sides.

Fire

Paper burns well. But when tested cardboard

came out surprisingly well looking at fireresistance. The material reacts in a similar way
as wood; the thicker the material, the better the
fire-resistance. The material chars and protects
and thereby protects itself from flames and heat.
On top of that, cardboard contains a built-in
flame-retardant. Used paper contains elements
(CaCO3) which repels oxygen during a fire and
thereby obstructs the fire-process.
Tests for the Multished have shown that a
simple piece of massive cardboard complies to
a low fire-class, according to nen classification.
This might suffice for a building with other
destinations than living.
To increase the fire-resistance additives can be
used. Fire-retardants are based on salts. These
modifications can be very expensive. The re-usability will not be affected, salts dissolve in water.

28

29

hide

me

Temporariness

Nature and culture supply us with many examples

of very efficient use of materials. A human bone
has a very efficient foam structure to carry loads,
bridges combine a large bearing distance (span)
with as low a weight as possible. With the aim
of letting the divine light shine in, the buttresses
at the outside of gothic cathedrals ensure an
efficient flow of forces. Nature, as well as man,
strives for lightweight and smart use of material
(material there where needed) with maximum
strength, in order to have to provide a very low
energy-effort.
Most of the time building is hard work.
Legislation continuously alters the boundaries.
Lightweight materials are of importance during
the building process, (for the back of the worker),
for transport (cost and energy reduction) and
the weight of the building itself (foundation).

32

Cattle Shed
Architect P.B. Hangelbroek
the Netherlands
Builders Hordijk Prefab
Berkel en Rodenrijs
the Netherlands
Location National Park The Veluwe
the Netherlands

1975 - 1979
Slaps of corrugated board (2 x 9 m 1 ) folded and stitched together.
The cardboard has a top layer of PE (polyethylene, 50 grams/m 2 ).
The corrugated board itself has been glued together with waterproof glue. Some areas of the shed were painted to maximize waterresistance. The cattle shed was a research object for IMAG (Instituut
voor Milieu- en Agritechniek, Wageningen). After several years it
was torn down because of budget and research reasons.

34

35

The Wall
Architect
Location
Internet

2005 -

Fons Verheijen
the Netherlands
Leidsche Rijn
the Netherlands
www.vvkh.nl
www.burgfonds.nl

A sound barrier was designed to protect a new dwelling area near Utrecht.
Behind the barrier, shopping and leisure is planned. Architect Fons Verheijen
combined two functions into one building: The Wall. Thanks to discontinue
building process, the first facade has a sound barrier function during first phase.
After 2 years the complete building will take over. Than the facade should have
some openness to ventilate exhaust gas. Over 5 kilometre paper tubes
(with plastic cover) close the caps in the concrete facade and add weight
for sound blocking reasons.

36

protect me
37

t
l
e
sh

e
m
er

Packaging Architecture
Architect Mats Karlsson
Stockholm, Sweden
Location Stockholm, Sweden
Internet www.turf.se

39

Corrugated board is folded into a compact package, which can be pulled

into a structure suitable for birthday celebrations, emergency housing
and homeless people. The cardboard is made waterproof by a polyethylene
film (PET) and the joins between buildings parts are fixed with tape.
Expectations are that lifetime is limited, due to the UV-light that breaks
the top layer down in about 3-6 month.

Cardboard house
Architect
Location
Internet

Col James, Australia

Sydney, Australia
www.housesofthefuture.
com.au/hof_what01.html

2005

This cardboard structure is a fully recyclable and build with 85%

recycled materials. It is seen as genuine short-term housing option.
The house is delivered in a flat pack and can easily be assembled
by one person. The house has been demonstrated during the
Olympic Games in Sydney. This project is a research result of the
Ian Buchan Fell Housing Research Institute, University of Sydney.

40

41

42

Graduation project
Architect Jop van Buchem
the Netherlands

43

2004

Fascinated by the thrill of fashion, concept design and massproduct customisation, the final MsC-project was created.
The combination of 3d-computer design and cardboard
production techniques creates a blob shape dwelling made
for a trendy lifestyle.

Recycling

The basic material of cardboard is a renewable

raw material (trees) and the material is highly
recyclable. Paper often not only uses itself as
its basic material, also when being fabricated
directly directly off the tree, it still uses scrap
material from the wood industry: sawdust,
bark and branches.
The aim of building a cardboard extension to a
school in England (Westborough Primary School,
1999 - 2002) was the use of 90% recycled and
recyclable material. At the end of the expected
lifespan of 20 years all the materials used
(cardboard, wood, natural rubber tiles) can
be recycled.

Architect
Engineering
Location
Internet

Cottrell & Vermeulen, UK

Buro Happold, UK
Westcliff-on-Sea, Great Britain
www.cardboardschool.co.uk

Cardboard school

2001 -

For the walls three 50 mm thick layers of honeycomb, and another 15 mm of solid board, was used to get
a strong panel. The edges of these panels are timber, giving it extra strength and helping to join the panels
together. The cardboard has been treated with a chemical to make it water-resistant. On the outside
a breathable membrane is used to keep liquid water out, but to allow any vapour to leave if it gets in.
Use of external cladding (a mixture of wood pulp and cement) keeps water off, provide protection
impacts (footballs) and provides external fire protection.

44

re-use
me

see
me

Office

2005 -

Architect Ad Kil and R. Koster

the Netherlands
and Belgium
Location Eindhoven
the Netherlands
Internet www.adkil.nl

A total of 7300 pieces of honeycomb, glued

in 32 layers (1.2, 2, 3, 8 cm thick) create the
interior walls. Walls serve also as cupboards,
shelves and facilitate the desks. On top, the
sound absorbing effect of the walls create
a superb working environment.

48

49

Fibres

The strength of a material depends on many different factors; but especially on the raw material,
method of production and the structure of the
material. For the strength of paper this specifically
means: variation in recycled and fresh paper
fibres, the reaction of the fibre to water and the
fibre direction gained in the production process.
Paper consists of a network of fibres. These
fibres come from raw material (sawdust, bark
or branches) or from recycled paper.
The fibres are mixed with a large amount of
water. The thus created pulp consists for about
99% out of water and just 1% fibres. Thereupon
the water will be sieved out mechanically and
roll-pressed flat. The result is paper of various
thicknesses.
The fibre direction is being controlled during
the production process. When the pulp is sprayed
over the sieve, 70% of the fibres orient themselves
in the running direction of the machine (Machine
Direction). About 20% lies perpendicular to this
direction and 10% in the direction of the thickness of the paper. This means, like with wood,
that the strength of a paper sheet varies in each
direction.

50

Theatre
Architect

1983

Hans Ruijssenaars
the Netherlands
Engineering ABT, Velp / Delft
Location
Apeldoorn
the Netherlands
Internet
www.architectengroep.com

The members are constructed out of seven layers of corrugated

board (1,2 m 1 ). At the end of each side of a member, pieces of hardboard
are laminated. The node combines six members with a wooden ring and
a hose clip. A screwdriver was used to assemble the complete structure.
A top layer op plastic covered the complete construction during
several weeks.

52

53

54

To connect

Most of the apparent connections usable with

cardboard are being used in the packaging
industry. Cardboard boxes are being folded,
stapled and glued. To transport bottles pieces
of cardboard are being pushed together.
The building world knows a much greater number
of techniques: welding, laying bricks, screwing.
In the different cardboard projects, various possibilities have been used. There are connections
wooden blocks, steel knots, and plastic connection
pieces. Also experiments have been conducted
with the physical pushing together of cardboard:
strips of honey-cell cardboard were pushed
together as a rib- and truss system.

56

57

Babylon

With a rich variation in raw materials (virgin

and secondary fibres) and production techniques,
a varied spectrum of paper and cardboard is
being created. Every kind has its own properties
and reacts in a different way. There is a lot of
knowledge in the paper and cardboard industry
about their products, but always in relation to
its use; information carrier or packaging.
In the world of building, cardboard is an unknown
material. This world has its own terminology
with specific building-understandings and values,
like tensile strength, bending rigidity and a
classififcation according to quality. Materials are
described with mechanical and building-physical
characteristic numbers and accepted design rules.
Besides that, long-lasting guaranties are demanded
regarding building materials.
Maybe it is best to characterize the differences
between both industries in the difference of
thought. An architect thinks in square metres and
a paper manufacturer in grams; for the architect
a4 is 210 x 297 mm, for the manufacturer 80 grams.

58

Graduation Project
Architect
Location

Internet

Henk van Dijke

the Netherlands
Design Academy
Eindhoven
the Netherlands
www.id2d3d.nl

2003

Looking at the Spanish architect Gaudi, the designer came fascinated by

organic created constructions. Limited (constructional) material aspects are
overcome by nature threw clever design. For example eggs become surprisingly
stiff (in axial direction) by its shape. The shell construction with his curved
surface guides the pressure around. The cardboard of an egg box (3d-board)
imitates this behaviour. This fact made him choose cardboard and turned
a 100% recycled material into an astonishing beautiful design.

60

61

surprise

me

Amorphous construction
Artist
Location

Horst Kiechle
Germany
Darren Knight
Gallery, Sydney
Australia

1998

The artist focuses with his work on new double curved shapes (blobs).
Realization started at the early computer era with homemade software.
Nowadays sophisticated programs do the job. The complex designs can be
simplified into flat surfaces and 3 points in space. The simplicity of cutting,
folding an assembling cardboard gives him the opportunity to realize the
project in a cheap and environmentally friendly way.
Internet http://oldsite.vislab.usyd.edu.au/staff/horst

Strengh

Actual rules of thumb or calculated data, used in

the building industry for the mechanical properties of materials, have not yet been acquired.
For now we can only give a coarse direction.
The compression and tensile strength differ
depending on fibre direction; parallel to the
machine the strength is greater than perpendicular to it (anisotropy; comparable to the
character of wood).
Creep (the elongating of a material under
constant pressure during a long period of time)
depends on the kind of cardboard, the pressure
applied, the relative humidity and other factors.
However, it seems to be a factor to be taken
into account.
It is well known, that when you want to tear
paper you have to begin at one point. Tearing
perpendicular to a line, in that manner spreading
the force, paper is much stronger. This means
that forces gripping on one point (peak tensions)
are the weaker link. Especially at connections
this will be a focal point.

66

Additives

To improve the properties of cardboard, a number

of additives can be added during the production
process or thereafter. During the process usually
natural materials are being added, like clay, chalk
and starch. After the production process different
kinds of paint, coating, and foil can make cardboard damp- and fire resistant. The glue used
to connect different layers of paper, can also
play a part in this. However, additives can have
environmental consequences.

68

69

Moisture

When paper comes into contact with water or

vapour it returns to the pulp it was created from.
Strength diminishes immediately, unless specific
substances have been added creating better
moisture resistance.
The amount of moisture in the air surrounding
the cardboard, defines the amount of moisture
in the cardboard itself; high humidity means a
greater amount of moisture in the cardboard,
low humidity a smaller amount.
Especially for the constructive properties of
cardboard, moisture holds great influence.
Until about 7 % of water inside the cardboard it
retains its basic strength. This equals the humidity
of a normal indoor climate. When the amount
of moisture exceeds 7 %, the strength diminishes
rapidly.
Additives inside the paper itself and top-layers
on the paper can provide protection to the highly
humid surroundings on a building site. The bestknown example of successful moisture repelling
is the milk carton. When laminating cardboard
with plastic, aluminium, or any other material
it is important to remember that the header
often stays unprotected.

70

Cardboard architecture
A publication of
Kenniscentrum Papier en Karton,
Arnhem, the Netherlands
IJsselburcht 3 / 6825 BS Arnhem
the Netherlands / www.kcpk.nl
January 2006
Editors & Text
ir. Elise van Dooren, TU Delft
ir. Taco van Iersel, TU Delft
University of Technology
Faculty of Architecture
Berlageweg 1 Delft
PO Box 5043 / 2600 GA Delft
the Netherlands
Translation
Mark Wit
Graphic design
hakijk Jan Kleingeld
Printed by
drukkerij Groen Leiden
Photography
Sahar Momen
Harry Noback
P.B. Hangelbroek
Arie Hooimeijer
Hans Ruijssenaars
Hiroyuki Hirai
Buro Happold
Anita Huisman
Horst Kiechle
Ruy Teixeira
Brendan Austin
V V K H architecten
Maria den Boon
Jan Kleingeld
Papierfabriek Padalarang nv
Sources
Op Papier gesteld, Bram Bouwens, 2004
Die Sprache des Papiers, Therese Weber
Shigeru Ban, Mathilda McQuaid, Phaidon