Many may remember playing with cardboard boxes as children. The material is widely common and found almost everywhere. However, it is rarely seen in a contemporary design setting. Now imagine having coffee in a fully functioning cafe built almost entirely out of cardboard. Thanks to Mumbai-based architectural firm NUDES, that idea was made into a reality. The new Mumbai-based cafe Cardboard is turning heads with the use of a familiar, cardboard. From light fixtures to chairs and tables, corrugated cardboard fills the entire landscape of the cafe. The interior is comprised of flowing undulating walls made from carefully sculpted cardboard sections. 

Many may be thinking what about the moisture and humidity in the area?  However, NUDES founder Nuru Karim put much thought into transforming this common material into a sustainable and versatile one. The 100% recycled material is biodegradable and made of 50% air. The material's texture, void, and corrugated nature helped Karim and his team focus on the material's durability and lightweight nature. By exploring "micro" and "macro" sinuous forms, this allowed for the design firm to create a stable correlation between each cardboard sheet as it was joined together. 

According to NUDES, there were several iterations of testing and prototyping before getting the material to perform the way they hoped. A wax treatment was applied to the cafe's tabletops to assist with the table's maintenance and use over time. The wax treatment prevents water absorption and food damaging the material while in use. Cardboard Mumbai was made possible by a collaboration of people passionate about using environmentally friendly products and renewable materials to help address alternative methods of fighting climate change. 

The idea and project execution were made possible with the help of Nuru Karim of NUDES, Amit and Bhavna Dhanani of BAD Management, and Shilpa Tulaskar and Vishal Shetty from Thyme & Reason Hospitality. The cafe is located in the Bandra Kurla Complex of Mumbai whose architectural landscape is filled with large commercial buildings. Steel and glass structures fill the area, but according to the team, their goal was simple. "More than just making a statement, we wanted to showcase that it’s possible to be playful and make a difference. Also, sustainable materials should be the norm on projects of such scale."