Study Architecture 
ProPEL 
Author(s): Brendan Sullivan Shea & Neal Lucas Hitch
Architectural design research on local materials and vernacular building is increasingly moving toward an integrated model of design-build optimizing processes of digital modeling and fabrication. Conversely, this paper details a low-tech—though high-performance—alternative: exploring the construction of architectural structures using mass-produced, recycled paper products to offer a promising avenue toward grassroots sustainability as it intersects with circular economy and sustainable craft. Informed by architectural histories of environmentalism, the paper presents design research, architectural applications, and construction logistics in the form of documentation and discussion of two recently fabricated domestic prototypes and one speculative housing proposal, all tested at sites in the extreme climate of the American Southwest. The first prototype documented investigates the application of paper strips soaked in non-toxic adhesive as casting material for convexo-concave thin-shell structures—showcasing the use of paper as a primary construction material using an inventive process that reduces material waste by half and limits the need for industrial equipment. The second prototype examines the usefulness of paper pulp as a facade solution applied similarly to stucco or plaster—yet offering a more renewable alternative. Lastly, the paper imagines speculative futures in which these technologies can become implemented at large scales to create resilient, Zero-Carbon Communities as safer and healthier alternatives for the environment and users.
https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AIA.Inter.21.34
Volume Editors
Rico Quirindongo & Georgeen Theodore
ISBN
978-1-944214-39-5
