Sustainable cardboard houses can serve as emergency shelter after floods or bushfire disasters

When Northern Rivers residents were forced to live in tents after floods, a new disaster solution was born – held together by cardboard.

The idea for cheap, renewable and quick-to-repair temporary accommodation came about after the 2019/20 bushfires and 2022 floods.

“We are still trying to recover from the 2022 floods and one of the biggest issues back then was the lack of housing and accommodation,” said Professor Andrew Rose from Southern Cross University.

Big catastrophe, small home solutions

The so-called Cardboard House is the vision of Professor Rose, along with University of Queensland Associate Professor Joe Gattas and PhD student Mahmoud Abu-Saleem.

It consists of wooden panels bonded to a composite of recycled cardboard and wood waste with compressed cardboard and is used as “noggins”, horizontal supports in a building.

“The structural components are made of cardboard, which is entirely recycled or waste product, bonded to plywood skins,” said Dr. Gattas.

Tiny House gets a big welcome

The “cardboard house” sparked a sense of curiosity and hope among those who paid a home visit to the exhibition at Southern Cross University in Lismore.

Curious Northern Rivers residents Julie Green and Doug Yates took a tour.

“It's a more interesting shape… I thought it would look like a cardboard box. I think it’s visually appealing and natural looking,” Ms Green said.

“It smells pleasant, it smells natural, free of adhesives and plastic.”

Doug Yates would also be happy there.

“It’s a low-cost, small-scale housing alternative with innovations like recycled cardboard,” he said.

The circular economy keeps costs low

The prototype costs about $1,000/m² for materials and has an area of ​​10 m², but the actual price would be twice that.

“Essentially it can be put together with a drill and a few people and everything can be prefabricated,” Professor Rose said.

About half of the materials used would otherwise end up as waste or as a product with very little value.

For Dr. For Gattas, the real appeal of the temporary shelter was its ability to quickly create local jobs.

“After a disaster, if there is a lot of money available to provide temporary housing and the money flows directly from the community to buy imported products, that does not really contribute to a stable recovery,” said Dr. Gattas.

The front porch poles are hardwood thinnings that come from plantations to allow other trees to grow larger.

“Typically they are 100 to 200 millimeters in diameter and are made of spotted rubber, durable and strong,” said Dr. Gattas.

“They have some problems with shrinkage cracking and most are used as fence posts or exported as pulp.”

Could you live in one of them?

Professor Rose said creating a livable space was key.

“It's visually appealing, a little wooden porch at the front, it looks and feels like a little house that you would enjoy living in,” he said.

“The roof is made from standard roofing metal and ensures the house is waterproof.”

The government is taking a tour

NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib stopped by to take a look.

“I was impressed by the ingenuity behind this idea and the sustainability element in it and enjoyed getting to know some of the team members behind it,” said Mr. Dib.

“I welcome innovative ideas when it comes to emergency shelter after a disaster.”

A forever home? Maybe not

For those who have experienced a flood, mold is a big problem, and the architects of the “Cardboard House” thought about it.

Airflow was improved by the high gable roofline.

The next phase will see the house return to the University of Queensland.

“In the Brisbane summer you'll basically be sitting outside exposed to the usual storms and downpours, so we can test what happens when you're exposed to them.” [that] Kind of weather,” said Professor Rose.