shigeru ban: paper tower

looking up the paper tower
image © designboom

shigeru ban's paper tower is part of the size + matter project which matches
leading architects and designers with a chosen material, asking them to push the
boundaries of that material's potential, and to also challenge our perception of those
materials by demonstrating new applications and forms for them.

the japanese architect was selected to work with cardboard manufacturer sonoco,
constructing a 22m high cone-shaped tower made from hundreds of compressed
cardboard tubes. by taking a humble material typically used to make boxes,
ban utilizes the cardboard to construct something which soars above the south bank skyline.

presented as part of london design week, the tower will be on view until
october 18th, 2009 at the southbank centre, london.


the paper tower in its entirety
image © designboom


openings in the base of the structure allow visitors to enter
image © designboom


looking out of the tower
image © designboom


the triangular patterning of the cardboard tubes
image © designboom


detail of the metal joints used to hold the cardboard tubes together
image © designboom


image © designboom


cardboard tubes and metal joints
image © designboom


the point of the tower
image © designboom


looking up the tower from inside
image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


alternate view of the tower
image © designboom