Offices that look like cubicles are terrible. I know, I've worked in plenty. They always feel very cramped and getting a window is not always a blessing. If there are no drapes or shutters, you get a lot of sun. I love how new offices are coming up with new ideas for their workspaces. The cardboard office isn't something new. We've already featured one in the past. However, this is one that's actually being used right now in Amsterdam, making it really interesting. Corrugated cardboard can be made fireproof and waterproof, so health and safety aren't an issue.
Nothing is a commercial creative agency from Amsterdam that was formed by Michael Jansen and Bas Korsten. They used the idea from the company name to come up with something to furnish their office. Taking nothing and turning it into something. This included creating walls, signage, beams, tables, shelving and a small set of stairs that are all made exclusively out of cardboard.
The actual design was done by Joost van Bleiswijk and Alrik Koudenburg. The walls will also double as blank canvas. Visitors are encouraged to leave their mark on the surfaces. Illustrator Fiodor Sumkin was the first to liven up Nothing's brown color scheme with some nice penmanship. Once they get bored, the studio can replace individual sections of the workspace cheaply, basically for nothing at all. Makes a lot of sense.
Even though you'd think that a cardboard office would look temporary and disposable, it actually looks quite homely. Maybe it's the brown, but I've also noticed some great additions to the whole design, like a conference room and a cafeteria, which are all made out of cardboard. [via core77, photos by Joachim Baan]



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Comments (1)
This is a terrible idea. paper products are not "fireproof", they can only be fire resistant for a short period of time. If, perchance, a fire did break out, the flammable objects in the room (papers, office supplies, etc) would burn first, generating enough convection and infrared heat that by the time flame contact occurs, it's ready to light.
I seriously doubt that any sensible company would consider producing this. The liability insurance alone would kill the enterprise.
Oh, and as far as waterproof goes, every year in Dallas we have the cardboard box floatilla race. We build canoes and boats out of carboard, but everyone ends up in the lake at the end.