Tubing

A pavilion made of cardboard tubes highlights the uses of discarded materials.

Architecture students from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia used recycled cardboard tubes to build a temporary pavilion in front of the Sydney Customs House.

Constructed towards the end of 2010, the project was part of the CH4 Student Design Competition, which saw students from universities across Australia taking part in this event that formed part of the Sydney Architecture Festival.

With the competition goal of using recycled materials to educate festival goers on sustainability, UNSW’s Built Environment team used 2 000 cardboard tubes that they got from a cardboard manufacturer.

The students designed, prefabricated and pre-assembled the cardboard pavilion on their campus. They used plywood sheets and cut holes in the wood to create the structural forms, which the cardboard tubes slotted into while a foundation of wooden slats anchored the pavilion.