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Inside a cafe made of cardboard

A luxe take on an eco-material

By Liz Stinson
The interior of a cafe in India. The walls, chairs, counters, and light fixtures are made of cardboard. Photo: Mrigank Sharma via Designboom

Cardboard, the material of moving boxes and cat houses, is experiencing something of an architectural renaissance (see: Pritzker winner Shigeru Ban’s handful of cardboard design projects).

Need more proof? Check out this modern cafe in Mumbai, India, whose next-level use of cardboard shows how versatile the material really is. Indian design studio Nudes crafted the interior of Cardboard Bombay with corrugated cardboard touches, including chairs, light fixtures, tables, and architectural elements.

The inside of a cafe where the tables, chairs, and walls are all made out of corrugated cardboard. Photo: Mrigank Sharma via Designboom

Using sturdy stock, the designers crafted sinuous waves of corrugated cardboard that when layered next to each other look almost like hardwood. Stacked layers of paper create the base of a chair; a cantilevered table made of cardboard juts out from the wall.

A wall made out of layers of corrugated cardboard. The cardboard is arranged in a layered pattern creating a ridged, curved shape on the wall. Photo: Mrigank Sharma via Designboom
A wall made out of cardboard. The cardboard is cut into shapes which give it an undulating wave like structural shape.

The most stunning piece of cardboard wizardry comes in the form of undulating circular wall panels that give the restaurant a wave-like form.

Of course, cardboard alone doesn’t really make sense for an dining environment, so the designers coated the paper material with a wax treatment to ensure the furniture remains impervious to heat, humidity, and, yes, spilled drinks.

Via: Designboom

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