Building with paper tubes

Building with paper seems to become more and more popular. It is, after all, a cheap and abundant material, as well as light and recyclable. For the Festival des Architectures Vives 2017, Studio 3A designed a pavilion called Paper Cloud, while Studio Gang sculpted a ‘bee hive’ in Washington, DC’s National Building Museum, both made only from paper tubes.

Studio 3A’s pavilion is composed of 2,000 pieces of plastic laminated paper rings, which are assembled without any bolts or glue. Instead, they are simply slotted into each other.

The paper is a monochrome white colour, playing with light and shadow. During the festival, it was set in a stone courtyard, with which the lightness of the paper formed a stark contrast.

Studio Gang’s construction consists of 2,700 paper tubes, resulting in a 18 metres (60 feet) high structure. The ‘hive’ has a catenary shape, with each of the three chambers balancing structural forces and supporting its own weight. The tubes are silver on the outside and magenta on the inside. The aim of the project is to show vistors how material can modify and reflect sound and light.

For other architectural projects using paper and cardboard, click here and here.

Photos: Studio 3A via V2com / via Designboom