Cardboard Art Exhibit Installed at One Arts Plaza

April 11, 2012 - PRLog -- Dallas, TX (www.eandhweek.org): Giant cardboard picture frames, housing giant cardboard art, grace the lobby at One Arts Plaza, 1722 Routh St., Dallas.  So does a massive 6-foot cardboard squid.  There are also designer shoes, stereo speakers, a shelter, and a host of other unique products … all recycled and upcycled from everyday, recyclable cardboard.
The display even features a cardboard voting booth recently used in the democratic elections in Yemen. “It’s a powerful symbol of democracy,” says Stephanie Hunt, founder of the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity.  The institute is hosting Engineering & Humanity Week, April 15-20. The One Arts Plaza exhibition is an element of the week-long, citywide celebration of the use of engineering innovation to improve the quality of life for the global poor.
“Cardboard was invented 195 years ago,” says Hunt, “and is one of the most versatile and durable mediums for innovation today.”
   Another element of the Engineering & Humanity week celebration is a Cardboard Design Competition open to all ages and, according to Hunt, designed to help businesses, professionals, and students engage in the process of changing the world through technology and innovation.  Jurors for the competition include Betsy del Monte of The Beck Group, Brad Oldham of Brad Oldham International, Inc., and Scott Armstrong of Armstrong-Douglas Partners, LLC.
   The second annual celebration of Engineering & Humanity Week provides in-depth exposure to global economics, cultural awareness, collaborative leadership, and principles of sustainability. The public is welcome to the many events outlined at www.EandHWeek.org.
   The exhibit at One Arts Plaza will continue through April 30. Further insights are offered below.
For further details, to attend any of the Engineering & Humanity Week events or to interview speakers, please contact:
Linda Mastaglio – 903.312.8651 – Linda@twi-pr.com
Alternate Contact: Tracy O’Day – (206) 932-1468 – tracy@tracyoday.com

Amazing Uses of Cardboard

•   Perhaps nothing better symbolizes the spirit of innovation in the developing world than the cardboard voting booth. In Yemen, and other countries throughout the Arabic world, the cardboard voting booth is both a tool of democracy and a source of inspiration. Easy to transport and assemble, cardboard voting booths can be deployed in a matter of seconds, offering privacy, peace of mind and fulfillment for voters around the world—some ingredients of freedom.

•   The furniture retailer IKEA has replaced its wood shipping pallets with a lighter, thinner and more affordable cardboard variant. Corrugated cardboard shipping pallets are strong enough to support loads of up 1,650 pounds, which is the same as timber. When compared to the traditional wooden pallet, the cardboard version is one-third of the height at 2-inches tall and is 90-percent lighter, weighing only 5.5 pounds. In January, IKEA switched all of its 10 million wooden pallets to cardboard, which will save the company an estimated $193 million per year in transportation costs.

•   A low-cost modular bed made entirely of cardboard has been created for emergency and temporary housing. The LeafBed is an easily transportable and affordable alternative to bulky camp beds that are deployed by governments and relief organizations during disasters. One hundred of the beds were delivered in December 2010 to people living in unstable houses in Niamey, Niger. Six months later, 99 percent of the recipients were still sleeping on the beds, and 85 percent of the beds were undamaged. LeafBeds are also 100-percent recyclable.

•   Minnesota-based Cardboard Innovations is leading the way in creating products that are entirely made of cardboard. The company specializes not only in retail displays but also in cardboard furniture, such as full-sized tables, chairs and shelving units that are custom-made and completely recyclable. Other cardboard items that the company produces include cat scratchers, easels, decorative products and more.

•   The London Festival of Architecture commissioned a group of local artists, architects and designers to curate a pop-up exhibition that explored the intersection between hats and architecture. Hoping to make people smile and help them to understand that architecture can be playful by putting it somewhere unexpected, they produced a series of hats inspired by the city of London. One of the favorite displays: A recycled corrugated-cardboard bowler hat by the architects at Austin + Mergold, who have graciously loaned us the bowler for display at E&H Week.

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Thoughts, Words & Images (TWI), founded in 1996, offers comprehensive public relations and marketing strategies for businesses, universities, and non-profit associations nationwide. We help clients communicate with customers, employees, investors and the media … and our efforts lead to measurable, bottom-line success. TWI is a minority, woman-owned business enterprise certified through the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency. The firm is directed by Linda Mastaglio, an established, award-winning leader in the communications industry.