First 'cardboard' city - now 'cardboard' schools

by Graham Ridout



Work will start on site this summer to erect an innovative building that will be made from cardboard wherever possible.

Approval to go-ahead with the scheme, for a multi-purpose building for Westborough primary school, in Westcliff-on-sea, Essex, was granted last week by the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions.

It follows a year of research into the properties of cardboard.

Consulting engineer Buro Happold is leading a team comprising architect Cottrell & Vermeulen and three manufacturers, Smurfit Paper and Board Mills, Essex Tube Windings, and Quinton and Kaines.

Designing the cardboard components to resist water is the main concern. For the walls, a triple protection system is being considered. A recycled-plastic coating material will be used to protect the load-bearing core of the wall panels. Cardboard for the panels will be made as water-resistant as possible by relying on techniques developed by the packaging industry. Finally, the paper used for the cardboard will be treated with a water-resisting additive, which can be removed if the card is re-pulped, prior to the paper being made into cardboard.

Fire is said not to pose a major risk because cardboard reacts in a similar way to timber whereby the surface tends to char rather than burn quickly. A range of treatments is planned to reduce the surface spread of flames.