Origamic architecture (OA)
Origamic architecture is a paper craft form created by the architect Masahiro Chatani (1939, Hiroshima) in the early 1980s.
It consists of a paper or card that is cut and folded, in order to create a pop-up 3-dimensional shape as the card is opened. Unlike tradional pop-ups, these paper models are usually cut and folded out of one sheet of paper.
The design is frequently of buildings, but there are many other possibilities.
It consists of a paper or card that is cut and folded, in order to create a pop-up 3-dimensional shape as the card is opened. Unlike tradional pop-ups, these paper models are usually cut and folded out of one sheet of paper.
The design is frequently of buildings, but there are many other possibilities.
Escher
Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was a dutch world famous graphic artist. During his life he designed so-called impossible structures, but also wonderful realistic work. Escher made 448 lithographs, woodcuts and wood engravings and over 2.000 drawings and sketches. He illustrated books, designed tapestries, postage stamps and murals. He played with architecture, perspective and impossible spaces. At this site you can find his caleidocycli.
'Caleidocycli" are based on the five convex regular polyhedra (platonic solids):
... tetrahedron - a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, three of which meet at vertex.
... hexahedron or cube - a polyhedron with six faces (of perfect squares)
... octahedron - a polyhedron with eight faces (composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each vertex)
... dodecahedron - a polyhedron with twelve faces (composed of twelve regular pentagonal faces, with three meeting at each vertex).
... icosahedron - any polyhedron having 20 faces, but usually a regular icosahedron is implied, which has eauilateral triangles as faces.
A caleidocyclus is a 3-D ring of tetrahedra. A ring of this kind can be turned continuously through its own centre.
The word caleidocyclus has been extracted from the Greek: kalós (= good) + eidos (= figure) + kyklos (= ring).
The caleidocycli demonstrated here are designed in 1977 by Doris Schattschneider and Wallace Walker and published in 1992 by Benedikt Taschen Verlag GmbH. ISBN 3-8228-0612-9 (dutch version)
You can click below the images of the caleidocycli for a mathematical symmetry analysis of mechanisms in rotating rings of tetrahedra.
A video presentation at YouTube of the rotating rings is also available.
'Caleidocycli" are based on the five convex regular polyhedra (platonic solids):
... tetrahedron - a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, three of which meet at vertex.
... hexahedron or cube - a polyhedron with six faces (of perfect squares)
... octahedron - a polyhedron with eight faces (composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each vertex)
... dodecahedron - a polyhedron with twelve faces (composed of twelve regular pentagonal faces, with three meeting at each vertex).
... icosahedron - any polyhedron having 20 faces, but usually a regular icosahedron is implied, which has eauilateral triangles as faces.
A caleidocyclus is a 3-D ring of tetrahedra. A ring of this kind can be turned continuously through its own centre.
The word caleidocyclus has been extracted from the Greek: kalós (= good) + eidos (= figure) + kyklos (= ring).
The caleidocycli demonstrated here are designed in 1977 by Doris Schattschneider and Wallace Walker and published in 1992 by Benedikt Taschen Verlag GmbH. ISBN 3-8228-0612-9 (dutch version)
You can click below the images of the caleidocycli for a mathematical symmetry analysis of mechanisms in rotating rings of tetrahedra.
A video presentation at YouTube of the rotating rings is also available.
Origami
Origami is the Japanese word for paper folding: ori means folding and gami means paper. The art of paper folding is developed in Japan and already very old. In the beginning it was used in temples and monasteries. The folds that were made were ritual and they used them in special occasions.
About me...
I started with origami in the 1980s. Later on I folded the caleidocycli and boxes of Escher. However, from the moment I saw the OA paper models of Masahiro Chatani I was fascinated and enhanced by it. At first I only made the models of other designers like Masahiro Chatani and Ingrid Siliakus, but nowadays I create my own designs.