WINTER 2017: The construction of the wall elements provided a number of technical challenges, mainly because there were no presidents for the use of these materials in such a building. This required 1:1 experiments to be undertaken in order to determine all properties of the modules.
Firstly the load bearing capacity of the elements was determined by loading them with water tanks until failure. The durability of paper wall modules was a concern from the outset, to test this a number of prototypes were left outdoors over the winter and exposed to wind, rain and snow. Observation showed that the outer skin of posters, pasted with a mixture of flour, water and vinegar, absorbed some water but tended to dry very quickly, the inner structure with the fruit crates and insulation remained dry. Fire resistance was tested experimentally, here again the outer skin proved extremely resilient and difficult to ignite, even under prolonged exposure to a blow torch, the elements did not properly ignite.
