Corrugated, of course. The gothic stone cathedral that was the centrepiece of Christchurch, New Zealand, was badly damaged in a 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people and has temporarily been replaced with a corrugated  alternative. The triangular prism shape of the 700-capacity cathedral was fashioned around 98 interlocking corrugated tubes set on a concrete base. Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has also constructed corrugated shelters and homes in Haiti and New Orleans after natural disasters there.

Corrugated furniture has been around for a while too, although it tends to be a novelty item. More likely to take off, literally, is an Israeli mechanical engineer’s corrugated bicycle. The latest version of this bike is said to be waterproof, rust-proof, made of renewable and recyclable materials, and able to support a rider 20 times its weight.

All three items (cathedral, furniture, bicycle) speak to the great strength properties of corrugated board and point to its prime purpose, to deliver goods safely and efficiently to their destination. The corrugated box, of course, has impressive environmental attributes as well: made from a renewable resource, high in recycled content (most corrugated boxes manufactured in Canada are 100% recycled content); recyclable and compostable. You can read more about these attributes on a new website we have just launched that focuses specifically on corrugated. If you take the Quiz, you might even find out what corrugated is!

P.S. This just in. Another interesting use of corrugated as furniture: Aarambh converted discarded boxes into classroom furniture that can also be used as school bags for developing nations  by

 Leah Gonzalez on May 22, 2014. @leahgonz