7C-8-Cardboard Bungalow

Our Maker faire project was to make a functional cardboard bungalow. My group was very excited to get started on this project because we had always wanted to make a bungalow, which is basically cooler version of a fort. When we started off on this project the first problem we ran into was that getting precise measurements of the cardboard so we could put it together perfectly was very challenging.

We decided to make a cardboard bungalow after an extended period of time set for brainstorming. The Bungalow is a 5 sided shape with a 7 paneled roof made from cardboard and sealed by duct tape, containing 3 windows and 1 door. Other materials used include 2 foam insulation panels, many felt pillows, hot glue sealing, scotch tape, 4 ping pong balls, half of a soda can  and multicolored LED lights (powered by 2 AA batteries). My group member Kiera and I (Rinchen) were inspired to create such a project by the fact that we felt the need to sleep on her balcony. Although, we weren’t permitted to do so due to the fact that our guardians were unconvinced from the fact that we wouldn’t be exposed to things such as birds, insects, hypothermia, and discomfort. We succeeded in disproving all such things with our bungalow. Although, during the process of completing said tasks, we were faced with many difficulties. Our greatest issue was our roof not fitting together, due to the shape the Bungalow. We overcame this problem, after many trials and errors of shapes of different roof panels; eventually coming to a fitting conclusion with our roof. When we informed our third group member (Maya), of this idea she contently agreed. The most problematic step to our project will be getting it up 3 flights of stairs and onto a balcony; considerably our most feared step to the process.

In the process of making our bungalow we not only learned how to work as a team, but enjoyed the fact that we became so insync not only as a team but with our friendships. Through many issues that we were faced with with our project we tested and our patience grew. Advice to others thinking about pursuing such a project, include having patience, testing different models to see which is best fit, and using trial and error not as a last resort but rather a tactic. If we were to have done something differently in this process it would have been to, come up with exact measurements and shapes beforehand, to simplify the project.

Some sites we used as references during the bungalow building process include: How to make a cardboard bungalow, amazon. The estimated total cost is about 19 dollars, we were able to achieve this low cost by reusing most materials besides duct tape, fairy lights, hot glue, and stuffing.