FORMS OF STATIC TENSION

Material Exploration

Shape Grammar

Rapid Prototyping

How might form embody tension and the potential for motion?
During my Introduction to Design studio (4.021), I ventured into making practices that equipped me to explore tension and folding at different dimensions.

Planar model

I began with exploring paper folding and color. Inspired by the biology concept of how complex protein shapes emerge from a finite code of amino acids, I fabricated a single furling of paper that was held by the tension of a single type of fold repeated across its length.

Volumetric model

Inspired by this emergent curling of paper, I translated the shapes from my planar experiment to a volume. The base of the volume is a six-sided prism. When in it’s solid form, the volume stands flat on a table and evoke stability. To entice viewers to fold and interact with this form of ‘low-energy’ I highlighted certain regions in bright orange. In the process of unfolding, a person would find that the form unfolds in irregular ways that are reminiscent of a flower in bloom.