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
