The City of Ballarat engaged Fold Theory to produce a large-scale centrepiece and exhibition furniture for the 2026 festival hub of its annual Ballarat Heritage Festival. The approximately half-scale recreation of a 1901 Chinese Arch — an artistic interpretation more than a replica — was still an enormous 4.15-metre span for a 100% cardboard structure, and required load testing and structural engineering certification. The rest of the exhibition was told through interpretive cardboard walls, printed with the Hidden Histories of Ballarat, with artefacts supported by load-bearing cardboard plinths. The exhibition ran for four days, with all the cardboard recycled afterwards.
Client: Ballarat Heritage Festival
Location: Ballarat Mining Exchange
Date: 2026
Photography: Mira Kim, Meda Design