A Visit from Singapore
We welcomed Adrian Sebastian Chua, founder of Paper Carpenter, to our workshop in Spain. He visited us together with Irene Ng, Marketing Director at Paper Carpenter, and their two daughters.
Rather than a formal meeting, the day unfolded as a hands-on exchange. First, they toured our facilities. Then, they tested some techniques in the workshop and spent time speaking with our team about structural systems, fabrication processes, and design decisions. In this context, the visit felt less like an institutional encounter and more like a conversation between peers working with the same material in different parts of the world.
As Adrian said during our interview, despite the geographical distance, “we speak the same language… the cardboard language.”
Adrian and his daughters in our workshop.
Adrian and Irene at their studio in Singapore.
From Advertising to Cardboard Carpentry
Adrian’s professional path did not begin in architecture. Instead, it started in advertising, where he worked as a designer, art director and later as a production director at a multinational agency in Singapore.
“My background was in advertising… I worked as a designer, art director, and eventually a production director.”
Over time, managing production challenges in a context with limited manufacturing infrastructure, as in Singapore, pushed him to rethink traditional workflows. As a result, cardboard became a practical and efficient alternative. It allowed him to prototype quickly, validate ideas and reduce dependency on large facilities.
“You can have an idea in the morning, start CAD modeling in the afternoon, and by evening, you can be testing a full-scale prototype.”
Therefore, speed and accessibility were not just advantages, they became the foundation of Paper Carpenter. In his view, cardboard is not a low-cost substitute. On the contrary, it is a structural system with its own logic, constraints and possibilities.
Sustainability Is Not Just About Using More Recycled Material
A central part of the conversation focused on sustainability. However, Adrian approaches the topic from a perspective that goes beyond surface-level metrics.
“Being sustainable doesn’t mean using more recycled boards. It means reducing the carbon footprint with smarter design.”
In other words, material intelligence matters as much as material origin. He explains that overly recycled cardboard may lose structural performance faster. Consequently, designers might compensate by adding more material, which ultimately increases resource use.
“People assume using cardboard means cutting down trees. But we’re very particular about sourcing.”
For this reason, sourcing decisions must be precise. FSC-certified material, structural efficiency and optimized layouts are part of the equation. Ultimately, sustainability is not about labels alone, but about designing systems that reduce impact from the very beginning.
A moment from the interview we conducted, hosted by Rocío Ogáyar.
Part of a project by Paper Carpenter for Singapore Changi Airport.
Rethinking Reuse and Circularity
At Cartonlab, reuse and disassembly are central to our approach. Nevertheless, Adrian offered a context-driven nuance that is worth considering.
“Transporting a structure back for reuse often creates more emissions than recycling it on-site.”
In Singapore, for example, storage space is limited and expensive. Under those conditions, keeping large structures for future use may not always be the most sustainable solution. Instead, recycling locally can sometimes generate a lower overall footprint.
“If you’re working with us because you care about sustainability, then that commitment has to extend through the whole project.”
Therefore, circularity cannot be reduced to a single strategy. Each project requires an evaluation of production, logistics, storage and end-of-life scenarios. In that sense, sustainability becomes a design decision that extends far beyond the material itself.
A playful moment of interaction with Paper Carpenter’s giant cardboard Birkenstock slipper installation.
Sharing Knowledge to Move Forward
Throughout the visit, one idea kept resurfacing, the importance of sharing knowledge across borders. Although markets differ, the challenges surrounding cardboard design are often similar.
“When we share openly, our mistakes, our ideas, our wins, it helps everyone improve.”
According to Adrian, this exchange works like a continuous update: “It’s like upgrading your software after every visit.”
Rather than positioning themselves as competitors, studios can benefit from open dialogue. Like the visits from Paula González from Graphicut in Mexico, or Tobbias Horrocks from Fold Theory in Australia, where we learned a great deal from each other.
By sharing processes, systems and lessons learned, the entire field evolves faster. In the long term, this collaborative mindset strengthens the perception of cardboard as a serious structural material.
Ultimately, the visit reinforced something we strongly believe. There is a growing international community treating cardboard as a reliable and strategic design material. And as these conversations continue, the material itself continues to evolve.
