Enjoy a Cardboard House on a Paper Budget?
August 04, 2016
You know what they say about people in glass houses and throwing stones, right? If not, spoiler alert: it’s bad. But what if you’re the kind of person who is prone to throw a stone from time to time no matter what sort of house you’re living in? Glass construction is out the window (pun!), so it’s time to move on to the next best thing.
Paper! This is not a joke (nor is it a House of Cards).
“Paper is greatly under-appreciated as a construction material – even for large-scale projects,” says Ernest President, Tim Wilson. “Correctly layered and designed, it can withstand crush tests way beyond what seems possible. Plus it’s recyclable and sustainable.”
Throw in how inexpensive it is to procure and you have the exact reasons why some innovative architects love creating homes out of paper. FastCo Design recently profiled several architects who have created paper buildings, including the Fiction Factory who designed the Wikkelhouse:
Wikkelhouse from Wikkelhouse on Vimeo.
Let’s just say that in the story of the 3 Little Pigs, if one of those swines would have used paper instead of sticks or straws the story would have turned out a little different.
There are no screws or nails in the entire home, and it is made of 24 layers of corrugated glued together. Each layer is part of the same sheet, meaning there are no seams (and therefore no weak points). The whole thing costs about as much as a new car. It’s only missing one thing … a cardboard Fender Stratocaster for laying down some smooth jams with some friends.
“We work with all kinds of materials during our custom packaging design process, but paper has been our bread and butter for nearly 70 years,” continues Wilson. “I’m not saying that it will always be this way, but it will be difficult to knock the king off his throne when it comes to the go-to packaging material.”
The Ernest Packaging Solutions love affair with corrugated is nothing new to regulars of the Buzz blog. We’ve covered what amazing things other (and us!) have done with paper for years, and we’re not concerned we’re going to run out of topics anytime soon. Paper is a versatile, durable, sustainable material. What more could you ask for in a packaging product?
Get to know more about what Ernest can do with paper and a lot of creativity. Contact us today to see how we can build a “home” for your products that will be the best on the block. After all, if paper can be used to create just about anything, is there anything we can’t do for you?
