Cardboard Houses of the Future

by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 03.27.08
Design & Architecture

cardboard-house-of-the-future.jpg

From rocking the cardboard cradle to the cardboard coffin, there isn't much you can't do with cardboard. We've seen green furniture cut from cardboard, some called Bloxes and cardboard lighting and even cars made from the recyclable wunder-material, and have even seen what makes a cardboard house a home. For anyone who thinks cardboard boxes aren't good enough to live in, sink your teeth into this: the Cardboard House of the Future.

TreeHugger Warren first spied it a few years back (it was even more futuristic then), noting that if "it was recycled, the house would save 12 cubic metres of landfill, 39 trees and 30,000 litres of water" -- not too shabby. It isn't as spacious as the Motorola House of the Future or as funky (or full of plastic) as the Monsanto House of the Future, but there is something to be said for an 85% recycled, 100% recyclable house. And you can even buy one today (for $32,204), built it tomorrow and live it in by the weekend.

cardboard-house-of-the-future-from-above.jpg

From their site, "A cardboard house places the least demand on resources and encourages people to shift their preconceptions about the 'typical Australian house'. Many Australians enjoy camping on their holidays, easily shifting their lifestyle from the rigidity of the urban home to the freedom of the campsite.

cardboard-house-of-the-future3.jpg"Being extremely low cost and transportable, the Cardboard House could be used in a wide variety of applications. You could live in one while your permanent house is being built or renovated, for emergency housing, or for short-term accommodation."

Nice. And what happens when it rains? The roof is waterproof, thanks to HDPE plastic (that's #2 plastic), which is also used for water storage tanks under the house. Get all the details at ::Houses of the Future via ::DVICE

Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!

Comments (17)

So it replaces a cabin? When you are not using it you fold it up and store it? Interesting. I honestly don't know how practical, as $30,000 is a bit much for a disposable house.

I hate to be negative but I just have to say that that is the most expensive cardboard box ever.

jump to top harvey_birdman says:

It seems like an ingenious idea, but I think the price is a bit high.

jump to top Joyce says:

In my day we just used a refrigerator box.

jump to top calenth says:

what happens when it rains?

jump to top brooke says:

Not the type to READ first before asking, Brooke?

From the ARTICLE:

"And what happens when it rains? The roof is waterproof, thanks to HDPE plastic (that's #2 plastic), which is also used for water storage tanks under the house."

jump to top Mr. Obvious says:

well that isn't flammable at all..

jump to top PS says:

wouldn't it melt? i like in kentucky, so rains come spaztically, so i don't think this'd be able to replace a cabin
it's a good thought though... (maybe not a $30,000 thought, but still a good one...) lol

jump to top drakee1229 says:

It is expensive at $30,000 but this price includes several other benefits, "... the house would save 12 cubic metres of landfill, 39 trees and 30,000 litres of water...". Obviously, those benefits would also help other human kind as well as yourself. Now, does the price seem more reasonable??? I am not sure myself.

jump to top JJ says:

this is realy googd but wunt it be cold

jump to top matty ellis says:

uhmm. i do mean to be negative because,
like what if it rained your house would be all sogy and it would be smelly and grosse. and it would be very COLD. this is not a good house.im sorrry

jump to top bobert says:

uhmm.i do not mean to be negative.but i need to share this. uhmm. what if it rains your house would be all sogy and it would smell and it would be very cold.
BOBERT

jump to top BOBERT says:

Me gustaría recibir información en español, de ser posible.
Me interesa conocer a fondo su sistema constructivo, para aplicarlo en Cuernavaca, México
Muchas gracias

jump to top Arq. Francisco Pedraza says:

I didnt know that cardboard is so expensive. when we can have a wooden one built at less than 20,000 usd and fixup in a week.

If you want have 3 hour house , use a 40" container totally made of steel ... get a old container and a 40" container truck to carry it around... built in the accessories and solar panel and etc.

But if the price is lower, this cardboard house maybe quite interesting... please note that low cost housing in INDONESIA is less than 6000 usd ... with low grade cement. and each house is pre fab. and create very fast, using local material...

jump to top francis says:

can you post more about these low cost housing in INDONESIA please mate. cheers, andy.

jump to top andy says:

1st use recycled cardboard instead on new, cost less...free. 2nd make the walls a foot thick cover with wire mesh found in dumpster and sew together with polypro string also found in dumpster, encase in stucko or some afordable, bomb proof sealer to protect cardboard from bugs and weather and UV. Cozy warm for less than the price of a used car. Your cardboard house would make a nice graduate school project but this ain't academia, this is the real world.

jump to top Jerbear says:

Im an architecture student busy designing a cardboard house. Although I think this is a good design I also think its a bit overdesigned or over calculated. e.g. Take a look at the layers and layers of cardboard used for the support structure. Now compare it to the Artek pavillion of architect Shigeru Ban. The Artek pavillion is bigger than this house and used much less cardboard. Although Artek was made from a cardboard/wood composite the principle stays the same. Isnt the aim to use as little material as possible to reach the same result? .

But all in all, good idea.

Ill post my designs with photos of the finished product when im done.

jump to top Wynand says:

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)




th top picks