PAPER LOG HOUSE. shigeru ban. 

Type of Structure: Carboard Tubes
List of Materials:KIRIN Beer Crates
Sand Bags
13' x13' Plywood Floor
Plywood Pegs
2x8 Pieces of Wood
41/2" Diameter Cardboard Tubes
Waterproof Tape
Tent-like Material
1/4" Steel Rods
Plywood Roofing Connections Time it takes to assemble it on site : less than 6 hours
People it takes to assemble: 1-20
Cost of Building: Under $2000

in june 1995, a great number of people were still forced to live in shabby tents in parks nearby their
destroyed houses even six month after the earthquake in kobe. ban's solution was a cheap and simple structure that could be build by anyone.the foundation was made of sand-filled beer cases, the walls of paper tubes and the ceiling and roof of tent material. the roof and the ceiling were kept separate in summer to allow air to circulate and closed in winter to retain warm air. they were easy to recycle after use,
easy to transport, easy to store and the paper tubes could be made on site.

'the good thing about paper tubes is that they are readily available in various thickness and diameters. the weight they can support depends on these two things. theoretically, I can make buildings a few stories high,
but I haven't yet been given the opportunity,' says ban.

shigeru ban is a pioneer of paper tube structures (PTS), he investigated the substance and found that not only
could recycled cardboard be molded into load-bearing columns, bent into beautiful trusses and quickly assembled, but it could also be made waterproof and fire resistant. in the space between the paper tubes, self-adhesive waterproof sponge tape was applied to both sides.

flexible technical elements
'M House' (1977)


This project by Actar Arquitectura is presented like a "menu" of interchangeable modules. These modules, which form a 0.90 x 4.50 meters grid on the ground, with a height of 2.80 meters, result from a fixed structural section, carefully studied so as to permit their lateral and vertical assembly, and the subsequent incorporation of floor, façade and partition units made of different materials, and with diverse textures and colours. They can be combined by juxtaposition and superposition, and offer a limitless number of configurations based on the variation of a limited number of standard spaces and flexible technical elements (accumulators, fitted walls, vertical circulation systems...). The shape of this "à la carte" building is not based solely on the choice of colour and the outside silkscreening but also on the particular and custom-built design of the standard. The theme of the "catalogue house" is based here on a relationship between industry and design, designed to encourage cheap, quick and simple systems, and technical solutions that are precise and open alike. This construction, which can always be reversed, draws up an implicitly time-related "contract" with the landscape.