BVN100 Celebration

To celebrate 100 years of architectural practice, BVN Architecture partnered with House of Cardboard to create a custom exhibition fit-out that would showcase architectural models, exhibition content, and the firm’s design thinking through a sustainable and innovative display system.

The final installation featured a suite of custom cardboard display tables, dry bar tables, and oversized printed graphic panels designed specifically for the exhibition space.

The exhibition required a range of custom display elements that could showcase architectural models of varying sizes while creating a cohesive visitor experience. In addition to model display tables, the space needed oversized printed graphic panels and standing tables for guests during the event.

The scope included:

• 3 oversized display tables: 6m x 1.5m, 3m x 1.5m and 1.5m x 1.5m
• Custom dry bar tables
• Oversized graphic panels

The solution needed to support the weight of architectural models while remaining lightweight, easy to transport, reusable and fully recyclable at the end of its life.

The project evolved significantly during the design process.

As the BVN team became more familiar with the structural capabilities of cardboard, the concept moved beyond a conventional exhibition fit-out and developed into a display system that celebrated the material itself.

“The ideas started quite safe, but as we understood the possibilities of cardboard, the design developed around the models, the people and the space. It became a simple modular system that could support the architectural models while making the cardboard construction and joinery part of the design.”

Together, we developed a clean, modular family of display elements that could be adapted to suit different model sizes and exhibition requirements while maintaining a consistent architectural language throughout the space.

Cardboard was not initially considered for the exhibition.

Like many first-time users of structural cardboard, the team questioned whether the material could support the significant loads required for architectural models. Once the structural capabilities were demonstrated, cardboard quickly became the preferred solution.

“Everyone knows what cardboard is and what it looks and feels like, but you don’t often see it used this way. The tables, dry bars and posters showed how much you can do with such a simple material, and we loved that.”

The material also aligned perfectly with the project’s sustainability objectives:

• Made from recycled cardboard
• Lightweight and easy to transport
• Delivered flat-packed
• Assembled without glue or tape
• Fully recyclable at end of life

House of Cardboard designed and manufactured a fully modular exhibition system using structural cardboard engineering.

Every component was created using an interlocking construction method, eliminating the need for glue, adhesives or permanent fixings. The display tables, dry bars and graphic panels were supplied flat-packed and assembled on-site, significantly reducing transport volume and installation complexity.

Rather than concealing the construction method, the exposed joinery became a design feature, showcasing the ingenuity and versatility of cardboard while maintaining the sharp, clean aesthetic required for a professional architectural exhibition.

This project demonstrates how cardboard can be used far beyond traditional packaging applications to create functional, visually striking and structurally robust exhibition infrastructure.

A key feature of the installation was its circular design approach. Every component was engineered to interlock mechanically, allowing the entire exhibition system to be disassembled once the event concluded. Without the use of glue or tape, the display elements could be flat-packed, transported and reused with ease.

Following the exhibition, the installation was donated to a university for ongoing use, extending the life of the materials and significantly reducing event waste before eventual recycling at end of life.

The result was a flexible exhibition solution that combined structural performance, sustainability and thoughtful design.

• Custom-designed exhibition furniture and displays
• Structural solution capable of supporting architectural models
• Lightweight and efficient to transport
• Flat-packed for easy logistics
• No glue, tape or permanent fixings
• Fully interlocking modular construction
• Rapid on-site assembly and disassembly
• Reusable and relocatable components
• Donated for a second life after the exhibition
• Fully recyclable at end of life
• Locally designed and manufactured in Australia

Client: BVN Architecture
Location: Brisbane, QLD
Event: BVN 100-Year Anniversary Exhibition
Scope: Custom cardboard furniture and exhibition displays
Applications: Architectural model display tables, dry bar tables, oversized printed graphic panels and exhibition infrastructure

Whether you’re planning an exhibition, product launch or branded activation, we’d love to help bring your ideas to life.