On 02/11/2013, at 10:34 AM, Israeli Origami Center <orig...@netvision.net.il> wrote:
> The list makes interesting viewing, but in my opinion many of the selected > buildings are more faceted than folded. Origami implies a form whose > origins as a sheet are evident. A faceted form implies a form that was > carved from a solid block or assembled from many irregular polygons, which > to me is how many of the buildings appear. This confusion among designers > between 'folded' and 'faceted' is common. Thanks for kicking off the conversation Patsy. I think this is an interesting point Paul. I'm currently investigating the language of folding as a PhD thesis topic, and one of the areas that comes up quite obviously is architectural scale works. You make two very interesting points: 1. That origami implies the existence, or evidence, of a sheet. 2. The differentiation between a faceted form and a folded form. Whilst I can agree with you on assessment of a some of the buildings, that they are more facetted than folded, I can imagine that they would all be foldable, either as single sheets or from units, and so in a way I find the term "origami inspired" apt, as opposed to say, origami building. A collaboration between Tomohiro Tachi and Eric Demaine, a piece of software called Origamizer http://www.tsg.ne.jp/TT/software/ that can fold up any polygonal form. Which means that any faceted surface could be folded. So the reality is that as soon as a building is made from polygons (or facets) then it could be folded. I think the definition of origami, or the aesthetic of folding, differs between practitioners of the art, and designers. An origami artist often deals with a sense of purism related to the uncut sheet, or sheet principle in general, which you have articulated above. I do appreciate your examples (thank you for them), they clearly show how the sheet is evident in those other buildings. It is useful to note that the architects are looking at origami, and do cite their inspiration as origami http://architizer.com/projects/karuizawa-museum-complex/ (an elegant structure in my opinion). As is the building in Rye, Australia. If I had money I'd like to build something similar. I'm interested in the notions of origami that are developed by designers and architects because they are also notions that often transferred to the general public who consume the products and visit the buildings. best, Matthew
