New Schools Built From Cardboard Tubes

Posted by Miss Cellania in Architecture, Travel & Places on January 7, 2009 at 12:56 pm



Last year’s earthquake in Sichuan province, China killed 69,000 people and flattened thousands of buildings, including schools. A team led by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban is constructing new temporary but strong school buildings using plywood and cardboard tubes.

Recycled paper tubes aren’t just useful for holding architectural blueprints. They can be molded into load-bearing columns, bent into trusses and rapidly assembled, and can be made waterproof and fire resistant. Because paper tubes are available in various thickness and diameters, they can be added to a structure to support more weight as necessary. Ban has said he hopes to build structures a few stories high.

The work is being done by Japanese and Chinese students working together. See pictures of the process, and a completed school at Treehugger. Link -Thanks, Chris Tackett!


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11 comments to "New Schools Built From Cardboard Tubes"

  1. Idil
    January 7th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    Something tells me that won't hold in another earthquake....

  2. Alex
    January 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pm

    Being hit by falling cardboard tubes probably beat being hit by falling concrete.

  3. Christophe
    January 7th, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    Chinese concrete having the same strength it won;t change anything

  4. Scooter
    January 7th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    Those really thick walled cardboard tubes are surprisingly strong.

  5. Rocky Rook
    January 7th, 2009 at 5:32 pm

    I think they'll survive the earthquake, but they may not survive wind.

  6. Skipweasel
    January 7th, 2009 at 5:33 pm

    Pour concrete down the tubes.

  7. sw
    January 7th, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    multiple stories seems foolhardy

  8. DOJ
    January 7th, 2009 at 6:03 pm

    If they're going to go through all this trouble, why not just build a permanent structure?

  9. Blackdogsong
    January 7th, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    Shigeru Ban has been doing these kinds of projects for years. I'm a huge fan of his work and the cardboard tubes are much stronger than one might think.
    They can also be treated to be water/fire resistant.
    If you look him up, you'll see some of the work he's done for refugees around the world.

  10. mustardhamsters
    January 7th, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    Just fill em with concrete once it's built. Done and done.

  11. Jobot//
    January 9th, 2009 at 7:58 pm

    This structure is not a school, it is a series of tubes.


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