Cardboard is having a real moment right now. There’s probably more of it in your life than ever before with all the Amazon packages that wind up on your doorstep. Nintendo recognizes the power and versatility of the material with its various inventive Labo kits. But then there’s a man in Germany who is way ahead of all of us when it comes to loving cardboard: Karl Sperber started constructing a cardboard city when he was 13 years old. Today, he continues to expand “Sperber City,” as he calls it, at the ripe age of 78. Yes, he’s been working on his city for over 65 years (via The Local Germany).

House of Cardboard: How a German pensioner built a mini metropolis over 65 years https://t.co/RODQCI2mJK pic.twitter.com/Ybn4kMs0ka

— The Local Germany (@TheLocalGermany) September 7, 2018

Sperber City is inspired by real-life locations like Frankfurt, New York, and Chicago, and Sperber has built upwards of 4,000 houses over the decades, saying that he builds about a hundred per year. In its current iteration, Sperber City covers over 430 square feet, and it’s a testament to the fact that you don’t necessarily need a ton of time or resources to be creative and make something great: Although he’s been at it for forever, Sperber (who is retired) only spends about three hours a day on his city, and pretty much uses just a ruler, a pencil, glue, and cardboard. If you want to see his city, you can find part of it in a former furniture store in Burgebrach, Bavaria.

What do you think of this phenomenal cardboard city? Let us know what you think down in the comments!

Featured image: m01229/Flickr