Papercrete

Papercrete is a building material that consists of re-pulped paper fiber combined with Portland cement or clay, as well as other soils.

First patented in 1928 by Eric Patterson and Mike McCain [1] (who originally named it "padobe" and "fibrous cement"), it was revived during the 1980s.

It is generally perceived as an environmentally friendly material due to the significant recycled content, although this is offset by the presence of cement, which emits CO2 during manufacture.

The mixture has the appearance and texture of oatmeal and is poured into forms and dried in the sun, much like the process for making adobe.

Additionally papercrete's ready moldability provides considerable flexibility in the designed shape of structures, for example domed ceilings/roofs can be easily constructed using this material.

[1] In these small building projects, papercrete is being used as an in-fill wall in conjunction with structural steel beams or other load-bearing elements.

Fuller directs government-funded research on papercrete through the Arizona State University Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

The elder Rabon made the acquaintance of Clyde T. Curry, the proprietor of Eve's Garden Organic Bed & Breakfast and Ecology Resource Center.

Curry was an early proponent of papercrete and benefited from the lack of building regulations in the small mountain community of Marathon.

Along with Fuller's work at Arizona State University, Curry's establishment has become a resource center for people interested in papercrete, and workshops are intermittently held there.

This study model is a sample of homes to be built for a sustainable community in Tijuana by students of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.