Inspired form the projects done by the Architect Shigeru Ban, a 7m long and 3m high saddle shaped vault was designed with papertubes.  The project was a result of the team effort made by students at Faculty of Technology, CEPT University.  But due to lack of understanding towards the building material and making errors in its structural design and construction, we were unable to execute it successfully. As a result of which a thorough study was carried out to find out the reasons behind its failure. The structure was analyzed under various geometrical and design conditions. Strength parameters of papertube were compared to other organic materials. The structural behavior of the joint was studied and a concise study on construction methodology and design techniques of existing papertube structures was carried out. Based upon these structural inquiries, several recommendations were provided in terms of design and engineering.

Publication : A. Shah, “Design and failure study of a papertube structure”, in 5th Annual International Conference on Architecture and Civil Engineering (ACE 2017), Singapore, May 2017.