Wikkelhouse
In May 2016, Fiction Factory, a company of creative makers from Amsterdam, revealed a modular building system made of cardboard components.
Named 'Wikkelhouse', which translates from Dutch as 'Wrap House', the completed prototype comprises a series of interlocking cardboard segments that each weigh 500 kg and can be assembled in just one day.
Each of these tubular components is 1.2 metres deep which can be connected and disconnected to extend or reduce the length of a building. They also make it easily transportable.
Four years of research and development by the team has led to a pioneering construction technology that involves a rotating house-shaped mould, around which are wrapped layers of cardboard. A total of twenty-four layers are bonded together using an 'eco-friendly' superglue. The result is an incredibly robust sandwich structure that provides good insulation. The components are finished with a waterproof, breathable foil and wood panelling.
Each Wikkelhouse is tailor-made with windows, different finishes or individual colour schemes. Fiction Factory suggest the structure can be adapted to a variety of uses such as a holiday home, guest house or office space.
Fiction Factory claim that since each Wikkelhouse is sustainably produced and made of materials that have minimal impact on the environment, it is three-times more eco-friendly than traditional housing. As well as this, the segments can be reused and are 100% recyclable.
Wikkelhouse is currently only available in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, the U.K., and Denmark, although they hope this will change in the future.
Content courtesy of Fiction Factory.
Images credited to Yvonne Witte.
For more information, see Wikkelhouse.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Closed plan.
- Cube Houses.
- Design for deconstruction.
- Disposable Houses.
- Floating church.
- Green building.
- Hex House project.
- Kit house.
- KODA house.
- Modular buildings.
- Prefabrication.
- Prenuptial Housing.
- Sustainability in building design and construction.
- Sustainable materials.
- Wiki house.
- Y Cube.
- Y House.
Featured articles and news
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.