Eco-friendly architecture is in vogue around the world with innovative building materials cropping up. The latest is 2000 beer crates used to make Boxel, a temporary experimental pavilion created by digital design students from the University of Applied Sciences in Detmold, Germany within a week. Turning beer crate into building is sure an eye-popper!!

The temporary construction was designed using parametric software to control the position of the boxes in relation to the overall geometry and to analyse the structural performance. Several static load tests were made to understand the structural behaviour of the unusual building material. In parallel to a series of shearing and bending tests in the university’s laboratory of material research, the structural concept was simulated and optimised using FEM-Software.


Finally, a simple system of slats and screws was chosen for the assembly of the pavilion that allowed for a flexible and invisible connection. Additional bracings were placed in the upper part of the boxes to generate the required stiffness of the modules. The structural load transfer was realised by concrete-lined boxes at the three base points that served as foundation for the pavilion.

Still wondering what makes the structure eco-friendly? Well, the beer crates are recycled old beer crates donated by a local brewery. Though temporary in nature, the structure reminds us of applying imagination to turn a host of daily use items into architectural wonders!!

Source : Interior design blog