Live Recycled in a $5,000 Paper House

Swiss company The Wall AG has a perfect solution for third-world shanty towns, semi-permanent refugee camps and approximately 7.2% of adult Americans: paper houses!

This isn't mere papercraft—the Universal World House is a $5,000, 390-square-foot modular home, outfitted with plumbing and boarding facilities to support up to eight residents each. The secret of its construction is its "paper" shell; the resin-soaked cellulose, made from recycled paper, is shaped into honeycomb walls, which provide structural integrity and insulation to the houses. The house has a convertible closed/open-air kitchen with table and benches. A few countries have placed orders for the UWH, including Nigeria and Angola.

*excerpted from story by John Herrman