top of page

Schematizing Ron Resch's Rigid Paper Folding Patterns

Year: 2015
School: Istanbul Technical University [ITU], Istanbul, Turkey
Program: Architectural Design Computing
Course: Theory and Methods of Shape Computation in Design
Instructor: Mine Özkar

Ron Resch was an artist and a computer scientist. In the beginning of 1960’s Ron Resch was interested in folding paper to understand how the creases occurred. In order to understand the behavior, he set two restrictions: 1) no cutting or gluing the paper, 2) using only straight line segments. Later on, he introduced a third rule, which in effect increased the possibilities: 3) applying symmetry operations to simple forms on a single folded surface. By this way, he was able to develop a series of periodic paper folding patterns and also he saw the potential of them becoming structurally stable surfaces that he produced some of them in room scale.

 

This study aims to understand Ron Resch’s periodic paper folding patterns via shape computation that is making informed. Visual schemas derived from patterns are defined instead of rules so that further inquiry continues to create emergent variations.

bottom of page