Cardboard Houses of the Future
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 03.27.08
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.
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.
"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
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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.
It seems like an ingenious idea, but I think the price is a bit high.
In my day we just used a refrigerator box.
what happens when it rains?
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."
well that isn't flammable at all..
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
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.
this is realy googd but wunt it be cold
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
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
Me gustaría recibir información en español, de ser posible.
Me interesa conocer a fondo su sistema constructivo, para aplicarlo en Cuernavaca, México
Muchas gracias
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...
can you post more about these low cost housing in INDONESIA please mate. cheers, andy.
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.
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.