carboard house

australian architects Stutchbury and Pape have designed a house to be built out of recycled cardboard, velcro, nylon wingnuts and tape. it can be erected in six hours by two people, and transported flat-packed in a light truck. to be filled with ikea furniture, presumably. i know shigeru ban has done a lot of work with cardboard-tube construction, because it's cheap, light, and affords considerable design flexibility. it's also surprisingly strong when used correctly. this is the first time i've seen anyone else attempt cardboard constructions.

the house is only $35,000 and is completely autonomous (rainwater collection, solar-powered lighting) so if a mate of yours has a big backyard, and six hours spare to help you set it up, it could be yours.