Thinking Outside the Box: Cardboard Architecture Does Some Heavy Lifting
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It’s one of the most familiar materials on the planet, with some 72 million tonnes produced annually across the world. Many of us come into contact with it at least once a day, even if that’s only when we go to the bathroom, but it’s very rarely thought of as anything other than packaging.
Nevertheless, the idea of using cardboard as a construction material is nothing new. Writing on this subject for a thesis at Delft University, Jerzy F. Latka makes a compelling case for architects to seriously consider using more of this product in their designs. It offers some outstanding examples to show just how long practitioners have been doing just that — tracing a timeline way back to 8th-century China and the development of partition screens within home interiors.
If that sounds like we’re clutching, case studies of full paper structures have existed for over 150 years. Specifically, Adt’s cardboard prefabricated houses were presented in 1867 at the World Exhibition in Paris. More recently, the blueprints developed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban became increasingly paper-happy, starting out by using cardboard tubes within exhibition spaces before examining the possibility of these being included as structural elements in larger designs. By 1991, his firm was finishing the iconic Library of a Poet in Zushi, Japan, widely recognized as the first permanent building to use paper tubes as structural materials.
Cardboard light fittings hang from the ceiling inside Red Cross On The Street by Tomás García Píriz Studio, Granada, Spain
The list could go on, and on, all the way through to 2024, when Tomás García Píriz Studio unveiled the stunning Red Cross On The Street in Granada, Spain, for the namesake humanitarian and crisis response charity.
Here, cardboard is employed in such a way as to actually resemble and celebrate the material we all know and recognize, rather than mask it. Combined with MDF, cardboard becomes a remarkably strong load-bearing solution with very simple installation processes and low associated costs.
In the foyer area, cardboard is used for a false ceiling, as an acoustic trap, air ventilation and to create separate enclosed areas within an open whole. To the eye, its likeness to wood — one of the reasons Ban began using it in the first place — produces a warmer and more natural feeling compared to alternatives like concrete.
Cardboard walls and false ceiling at Red Cross On The Street by Tomás García Píriz Studio, Granada, Spain
As striking a prototype as any futuristic low-impact material, the carbon footprint of the design is markedly lower than, say, steel or cement, too, helping support the Red Cross’ own environmental aims. And the visual impact is inimitable, which is crucial to the cause.
The decision to separate the building’s entrance and ground level from the sidewalk outside with huge floor-to-ceiling windows isn’t just about inviting that incredible Andalusian sunshine to the interior. Hiding nothing, anyone passing the façade is instantly drawn-in by the look of this new landmark. In turn, this ensures they will, perhaps immediately, possibly over time, learn why the building exists and what happens inside.
Architectural drawings for Red Cross On The Street by Tomás García Píriz Studio, Granada, Spain
The relationship between a structure and its street is complex and varied, and hinges on purpose. In the case of a charity HQ, making the design inviting and inclusive is important to represent the organization’s ethics and purpose.
Questions are not asked about who is or isn’t deserving of emergency response when a natural disaster occurs or human rights are under threat and medical aid is needed. Similarly, everyone is — in theory — welcome inside the organization’s office.
Beyond this, the significance of street-side presence for charities is becoming more of an issue due to the harsh realities facing many of these operations. According to the Charities Aid Foundation, cost of living and a perceived decline in interest among younger people are driving a decline in overall donation numbers. Between January and April 2022, for example, just 57% of the British public — stereotyped as one of the most donation-happy in the world — gave to one cause or another. That’s down from 65% for the same period in 2019, continuing a trend that began in 2016.
Office spaces partitioned with cardboard tubes at Red Cross On The Street by Tomás García Píriz Studio, Granada, Spain
Similar situations can be found across Europe, albeit that fall-off is happening at a slower pace compared with Britain. Overall, though, the continent now contributes less than Africa and a number of other low income regions, which, given the income disparity, is particularly surprising. One reason could be successive controversies hitting western media regarding some of the biggest organisztions in the so-called ‘third sector’, damaging trust and weakening the impetus to contribute.
Whatever the cause, considering this, it’s vital a charity’s headquarters make themselves known to the community in which they sit, in the same way the advertising industry only exists because regular visual prompts — rather than catchy slogans and on-trend campaign ideas — are a proven way to trigger engagement. So the Tomás García Píriz Studio’s Red Cross project is a resounding success across the board: aesthetically, complementary to the organisation’s sustainability ambitions and ethical foundations. A worthy finalist in Architizer’s A+Awards, what more could a client ask for?
The winners of the 13th Architizer A+Awards have been announced! Looking ahead to next season? Stay up to date by subscribing to our A+Awards Newsletter.
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