The paper-pulp composite—that's really all it needs to be!—is composed of pulped or mashed paper pieces, sometimes reinforced with fabric, bound with an adhesive such as glue, paste, or starch.

Nobody minds. The wet sheets of pulp—now studded with tiny blooms—are carefully peeled off their frames, pressed and dried on clotheslines. What emerges at the end of the process is a sheet of ...

But paper pulp is a different beast, owing more to school craft projects than to sturdy buildings. Subscribe to the Design newsletter. The latest innovations in design brought to you every weekday ...