Buro Happold aims to use cardboard components for a school in Essex that will use 90% recycled materials, and which will be 90% recyclable at the end of its life.
Outline planning permission is being sought for the scheme, which will start on site in summer 2000 and be ready for use by March 2001. The building will provide space for an after-school club, a changing area, a kitchenette and a toilet block for Westborough Primary School, Westcliff-on-Sea, near Southend.
The cardboard building is being jointly funded by the DETR through the Partners in Innovation scheme and a research team comprising Buro Happold, Cottrell & Vermeulen Architecture, and manufacturers Smurfit Paper and Board Mills and Essex Tube Windings.
The team is currently looking at cardboard building projects already in existence, including refugee shelters designed by Japanese architect Shigaru Ban, before developing a prototype. “We have a brief in terms of the building’s size and uses but we haven’t yet decided on a shape,” said Andrew Cripps, research co-ordinator for Buro Happold and project manager.
“Because cardboard is not generally seen as a structural material, there is a risk of clients rejecting its use in buildings,” said Cripps, adding that the aim of the project was: “To show that cardboard elements can be incorporated into a real, practical and useful building.” Cripps admitted that fire protection and water uptake are important issues. “Cardboard has obvious shortcomings, which is why it is not used routinely.” The study will be used to “overcome these barriers”.
The team hope to show that cardboard can displace the use of more energy-intensive materials such as concrete or steel, particularly for buildings intended to have a short lifespan.
