His latest demonstration of innovating these humble materials is a 13.5 by 13.5-foot temporary structure built out of 156 paper tubes, plywood, and tensile fabric, erected on a foundation of 39 milk crates. Originally designed in 1995 to shelter Vietnamese refugees displaced by the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe, Japan, the design has proven to be both cost-effective and quick to deploy across five continents over the last 30 years.