Overview of corrugated cardboard as building material and future perspectives: a review of technology and research progression of Archicart Lifehouse project

From the rice-paper interior partitions of the Japanese building tradition to the experiments of Shigeru Ban, building components using cellulose-based materials have been successful over time mainly for the realization of so-called ephemeral architecture. Technological innovations in terms of production methods and protective surface treatments allow these components to be steered in unexplored directions. Thinking, for example, of the introduction in Japan of a technical regulation for the use of cardboard as a structural material, one can glimpse how wide the possibilities are for studying the material. The paper presents an overview of the use of cor- rugated cardboard as a building material and the performance that corrugated cardboard-based components can offer. The sector is in the making and applications are mostly prototypical but with a high level of innovation in terms of technology and aesthetic-morphological results. It is within this framework that the Archicart LifeHouse research, currently in its start-up phase, fits in, whose objectives and expected results are outlined.