The book demonstrates the potential of folding as a method of generating forms relevant to architectural as well as industrial, product or textile design. The majority of this collection of projects is drawn from design studios and workshops that I have instructed between 2005 and 2006 at three academic institutions.
The book demonstrates the potential of folding as a method of generating forms relevant to architectural as well as industrial, product or textile design. The majority of this collection of projects is drawn from design studios and workshops that I have instructed between 2005 and 2006 at three academic institutions.
Droits d'auteur :
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Formats disponibles
Téléchargez comme PDF, TXT ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd
The book demonstrates the potential of folding as a method of generating forms relevant to architectural as well as industrial, product or textile design. The majority of this collection of projects is drawn from design studios and workshops that I have instructed between 2005 and 2006 at three academic institutions.
Droits d'auteur :
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Formats disponibles
Téléchargez comme PDF, TXT ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd
- !ding as a method of generating forms for architecture, products and fashion
Sophi a Vyzoviti For all partners in this coll ective BIS Publ ishers Het Sieraad Building Postjesweg 1 1057 DT Amsterdam The Nether lands T +31 (0)20 515 0230 F +31 (0)20 515 0239 bis@bispublishers. nl www. bispublishers. n I ISBN 978 90 6369 121 9 Copyright 2006 The authors and BIS Publishers 2nd print ing 2006 3rd printing 2007 4rd printing 2008 5th printing 2009 All right s reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduce d or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanica l, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission i n writing from the copyright owner(s) . BISPUBLISHERS contents Acknowledgement_5 From paperfolds to prototypes_6 Ruling elastic paper band_12 lanternette_16 twister_2o porous screen_3o f lexichai r_ 40 body wraps_5o body donuts_58 multigarment_66 .meander chaise_74 curver_82 Triangulating contract ib le roof_86 k i netic truss_96 future machine_104 Crumpling creased tent_112 crumpled room_120 cave_126 - ambience maker_130 paper crumpler_136 Colophon_142 acknowledgement Supersurfaces demonstrates the potential of folding as a method of generating forms relevant to archi- tectural as well as industrial , product or textile design. The book comprises a report of ongoing design research conducted in the context of architec- tural education. The majority of this collection of projects is drawn from design studios and work- shops that I have instructed between 2005 and 2006 at three academic institutions. For enabling me to embed this research within the academic curriculum I am grateful to Professor Pantelis Lazarides, Head of the Department of Architecture, School of Engineering at the University of Thessaly in Volos; Professor Chye Kiang Heng, Head of the Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment at the National University of Singapore; and Professor Tom Barker, Head of t he Department of Industrial Design Engineering of the Royal College of Art in London. For their support and contributions during the production of this publication I would like to thank Constantine Galanopoulos, Thanasis Totsikas, Yota Adilenidou, Constantine Kyriazopoulos, Zoe Vatti and Lim Jiahui. For priceless advice on the English texts I am indebted to David Greensett Robson. 5 6 From paperfolds to object-space prototypes Since the early 1990s, the notion of surface has evolved into a formal trait in avant-garde architectural discourses. Conceptualized within the Deleuzian ontology of 'the fold' , it has become associated with diagrammatic techniques and digital morphogenesis, prolifically materializing in the pro- jected and the built through continuity, curvature, smooth layering and manipulations of the ground. 1 In the semantic network of present progressive architectural language, the verbs 'folding' and ' unfolding' manifest high conceptual con- nectivity. Browsing through the dictionary of advanced archi- tecture2 reveals the ubiquity of the terms, making explicit the establishment of a design world constituted by notions of surface, folding and unfolding, topology, land strategy, dynamic trajectories, flexibility, obliquity, systems, devices, paradoxes, origami , bends and unbendings, braids, coiling, and contortionisms. The design research in Supersurfaces explores the potential of paper folding as a method of form generation, conscious- ly attending to literal transcripts of the practice. As a matter of fact, the term ' paperfold' is a neologism; a synthetic word introduced here to describe the end result of a paper- folding session. In Supersurfaces , paperfolds are investigat- ed as physical artifacts: how they are made, how we can model them, what their intrinsic properties are, and how they can be productive within a design methodology. Paperfolds are easy to make. In the paper-folding work- shops given at the design studios - whose results comprise :::the contents of this publication -we adopt a 'just ==;:; i ' approach. We follow a step-by-step procedure :.=5 - g simple rules. The basic paperfold algorithm -= s :he fol lowing: =--=-:: ;ith a flat paper surface -=-s-=orm the paper surface [cut, score, crease, fold, --: olve, coil , turn, rotate, pleat, pull , push, wrap, : _o; , ninge, knot, weave, compress, stretch, unfold .... ] a t hree-dimensional paper surface. - _ = a e onl y two constraints in accomplishing the paper- :: maintaining continuity of the surface, and = mout sticking. As a consequence, paperfolds have --:enti a! of retrieving a 'flat-plane state' - comprising in =:_-s"'latical terms 'developable surfaces' . 3 _s-' ds are difficult to model . Describing paperfolds - cally, abstracting and representing their intrinsic _-::-alogy t o a level of generalization, would essentially __ ""E mathematical formalization. In Supersurfaces, _c-aory models of paperfolds demonstrate the step-by- -:: :;'ocedure of transforming a flat plane into a three- :;.-.sonal surface; in other words, through algorithms. 4 - =--s - an describing the formal characteristics of the end - :.. me focus is on the process, on understanding the <n d evol ution of the artifact. the paperfold algorithm is an improvisational that has proven to be fundamentall y sound in the _ of design education. The language of paperfold == ms is not formal; it is a combination of geometry, _2:: ral instructions, 'how to' and visual narratives. ':' _ - g back' the paperfold algorithm is essential in under- -=-:: g surface transformations. The primary objectives =c =-. prehension and the specification of chains of opera- 5.:. at are executed in ordered sequences leading to the 8 three-dimensional object. Unfolding back to t he flat plane reveals the object's generative pattern. A sufficient descrip- tion of a paperfold, its basic model, includes a flat-state pattern and an algorithm of transformative operations. Paperfolds are protean: variable, mutable, adjustable, fluctu- ating; one paperfold is potentiall y several. When reconfigur- ing the order in the chain of surface transformations of the generative algorithm, one flat-state pattern may generate a family of paperfolds, producing a category of objects which share a number of intrinsic properties and whi ch are similar but not identical. The combinatorial possibilities of a plate with 5 slits and 5 strips, if each strip can pierce through one slit, rotated either clockwise or counter-clockwise amounts to (5x5x2) 50 paperfolds. One ruled strip [rule-cut] with continuous boundaries has the potential of becoming an annulus [rotate], a torus [rotate-revolve] , a mobius [twist 90-merge edges), a spira l [coil) or a heli x [twist 360]. A plate scored in a triangular grid achieves variable relief through alternating convex and concave creases. Categorization is an essential characteristic of design knowledge. In Supersurfaces , a taxonomy of paperfolds is constructed on the basis of sufficient description: flat-state patterns and algorithms. In this conceptual scheme, three general categories are distinguished: ' ruling' , 'triangulating' and ' crumpling'. The category of ' ruling's primari ly incl udes flat-state patterns of strips ruled and cut in arrays of lines that are parallel or perpendicular to their edges, as well as meanders and alternating rows. Ruling the flat plate adds elasticity to paperfol ds and facilitates operations that result in curva- ture, enabling steeper torsion than would be unachievable with a non-perforated paper surface. _ :riangulating' category includes f lat-state patterns of -"?_- of equilateral or isosceles triangles. Here, three- - :; sionality is achieved by creasing along the triangle '?- ::es with alternating concave and convex creases, trans- g the flat plane into a double-corrugated surface. -e.-g lated paperfolds share the property of inextensional _ : -g - that is, they can be packaged flat. According to - = ino and Vincent, 6 ' inextensional folding requires that s-e er different creases meet at a common point there be at least four folds, of which three have one sign .ex or concave) and one fold has the opposite sign e or convex) .' --= ::a egory of 'crumpling' includes flat-state patterns of --=-::om crease lines and irregular facets. Crumpling is a of minimum effort;maximum three-dimensional =-:::-:::. expli cated here by the operations: crease, press and -ol ds are manipulable: bendable, flexible, versatile and =-==:Aabl e. Some are able to deploy themselves, expanding --: ontracti ng. Some achieve a number of equilibrium - - "" upon a plane, balancing in different positions. Some = -. e several shapes, adj usting to their context. The ver- :;c 3 and polymorphic nature of paperfolds increases their _:-.=- ial to generate design prototypes. The investigation of c_:: :o make paperfolds productive within a hands-on and __ "'Ss-driven design methodology of form generation is :_:J ed with explorations into material behavior and usabili- - ,oerfold algorithms can be executed on alternative materials: foam, rubber, pvc, polypropylene, poly- =-= e e, re-enforced fabrics, gypsum band, mesh, leather, -:::::er. aluminum or plywood. Scaling up paper into larger, :- er. stiffer and waterproof surfaces instigates inventive ses in terms of size, usage, texture and structure. 9 10 Transcribing the intrinsic properties of paperfolds into the development of prototypes enables improvisations with a wide range of applicability. Oscillating between the micro and the macro scale, supersurfaces engage a design field that is a fusion between architecture, interior, product and fashion. Overall , the design prototypes presented in Supersurfaces correspond to Mollerup's definition of the 'collapsible', an umbrella term he invented for a number of everyday objects that 'fold out for action and fold up for storage''. The series of possi ble applications presented here includes playthings, ornaments, garments, furniture, furnishings , and architectural components. Partially resolved, potentiall y implementable, these emergent proto- types maintain their diagrammatic quality. They abstain from the exactitude of technical drawing, indulging into the affini- ty of directed indeterminacy. Whi le not bound by a linear form of logic, the development of paperfolds into potential objects and spaces is practiced methodicall y: intuiti ve paper-folding session, sufficient description of generative pattern and algorithm, family of objects, comprehension of intrinsic properties and transcrip- tion of those properties towards a prototype within a fusion design field. As a design method , supersurfaces is agnos- tic, experimental, improvisational and liberating, and is fun- damentally a diagrammatic technique. 8 As a counterpart to present-day overriding research into the 'genetics of form' through computer-aided design and manufacturing, super- surfaces can be appreciated as a ' low tech-high concept' 9 approach -a radicaljretro practice: hands-on, process- driven design methodology. Despite its analogue constitu- tion, supersurfaces is an intelligent design method, engag- ing basic-level computation, relying essentially on brainware (and handware) rather than software. references 1 See also: Vyzoviti, S., Folding Architecture- Concise Genealogy of the Practice in Folding Architecture: Spatial, structural and organizational diagrams (Amsterdam, BIS Publishers, 2003) 2 Relationships between the notions of surface, folding, unfoldi ng, topology, land strategy, systems and devices, as well as paradoxes, origami, bends and unbendings, braids, coiling, contortionisms are elucidated in Gauza M. et al, The Meta polis dictionary of advanced architecture (Barcelona, Actar, 2003). 3 Developable surfaces are surfaces that can be flattened to a plane without t earing or stretching; examples include the cylinder, the cone, and the torus. See http:/ ;en.wikipedia .orgjwikijSurface 4 This is a basic level definition of algorithm: A finite set of well-defined rules for t he solution of a problem in a f inite number of steps. An algorithm (the word is derived from the name of the Persian mathematician AI -Khwarizmi), is a fi nite set of well-defined instructions for accomplishing some task which, given an initial state, will terminate in a corresponding recognizable end-state contrast with heuri stic) . See http:/ ; en.wikipedia.orgjwikijAigorithm 5 The category is named by analogy to the 'rul ed surface'. In geometry, a surface S is ruled if through every point of S there is a straight line that li es on S. See http:/ ;en.wikipedia. orgj wikijRuled_surface 6 Pellegrino, S. and Vincent, J. , 'How to fold a membrane' in Deployable Structures, ed. Pelligrino, S. (SpringerWienNewYork, 2001) - Mol lerup, P., Collapsibles: a design album of space saving objects . (London, n ames and Hudson, 2001) 8 The prime advantages of the diagrammatic technique, according to Van 3erkel and Boss, is liberation from architectural typology and the introduction c' qualities that are disconnected from an ideal or an ideology, random, intu- - e and subjecti ve'. Van Berkel and Boss, in Move: Techniques: network spin -'\msterdam, Goose Press, 1999) 9 By analogy to Stan Allen's 'low-definition, high-concept' versus the 'high- =s'init ion, low-concept' in Allen, S., 'The Digital Complex' in Log, volume 5 11 0 0 / 30 31 54 paper ---- torus [annulus revolved clockwise] 60
- - --1 \ ) \ /,- ' / ' \ / '\ / <. \ ':;( ' colophon Text by: Sophia Vyzoviti Design by: Sophia Vyzoviti , Constantine Galanopoulos Photography: Sophia Vyzoviti and the students Project credits: elastic paper band: Stephanie Chen, 2005 Fold it! Workshop, Industrial Design Engineering, Royal College of Art, UK lanternette: Sophia Vyzoviti , 2005 twister: Fani Vambula, 2005 Folding Architecture Elective, Department of Archi tecture, Univer::- of Thessaly, GR porous screen: Haritini Stavroula, 2006 Supersurfaces Design Studio, Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly, GR flexichair: Manolis lliopoulos 2005, Folding Architecture Electi ve, Department of Architecture, Univer::- of Thessal y, GR body wraps: Konstandia Manthou, 2005 Folding Architecture Electi ve, Department of Architecture, Univers- of Thessal y, GR body donuts: Sapho Makri, 2005 Folding Architecture Electi ve, Department of Architecture, Univers- of Thessal y, GR multigarment: Sapho Makri, 2006 Supersurfaces Design Studio, Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly, GR meander chaise: Virginia Sotiraki, 2006 Supersurfaces Design Studio, Department of Architecture, Uni versity of Thessaly, GR - curver: Zhao Qian, 2006 Supersurfaces Elective, Department of Architecture of Design and Environment, National of )lngapore, SG contractible roof: Sophia Vyzoviti 2005 commissioned by Hellenic Democracy, rovmce of Macedonia and Thrace, Municipality of Philipoi kmet1c truss: Georgia Klonizaki & Dina Nikolaidou 2005 Jiploma Thesis, Department of Architecture ' ; ristotle University of Thessaloniki , GR ' ;upervisors: Sophia Vyzoviti, Spyros Papadimitriou, Lois )apadopoulos future machine: Vyzoviti Sophia 2005 creased tent: Ina Theodoru 2005 :olding Architecture Elective, Department of Architecture - niversity of Thessaly, GR ' crumpled room: Vasa Tzima 2005 Supersurfaces Design Studio, Department of Architecture _niversity of Thessaly, GR ' cave: Andreas Halaris 2005 :aiding Architecture Elective, Department of Architecture - niversity of Thessaly, GR ' ambience maker: Maria Kourti 2005 :olding Architecture Elective, Department of Architecture _niversity of Thessaly, GR ' paper crumpler: Gregory Epps 2005 it! Workshop, Industrial Design Engineering, -oyal College of Art , UK Folding Architecture I spatial, structural and organizational diagrams Supersurfaces is the sequel to Folding Architecture, which has subsequentl y been reprinted fi ve times. This very successful publication gives insight into the possibilities of the technique along with the results of research conducted by the architectural faculty of the TU in Delft since 2001. The technique of folding in contemporary architecture is vividly illustrated through a survey o bespoke concepts, projects and buildings in which this technique was applied. Compulsory for every architect wishing to design outside the mainstream. Author: Sophia Vyzoviti 7th print now available.