This week I covered the topic of folding and pleating more specifically. Based on an interest in developing dynamic forms from sheet material, origami and pleating techniques seemed to be a valuable approach.
I began by diving into numerous texts and resources around these subjects. After some time, I found that the book Complete Pleats: Pleating Techniques for Fashion, Architecture and Design by Paul Jackson was an unbelievably valuable resource, as it specifically looks at pleating in the context of design. Furthermore, the book outlines methods, along with compelling images and a DVD guide at the end.
To begin the process, I began experimenting with very simple, large-scale folding techniques for the sake of familiarizing oneself with the behaviors.
After this, I looked at V pleats and started following a number of guides that would gradually develop an instance of V pleating. The process was interesting, in that it required folding a full sheet into parts, then folding that thicker mass in varying angles to achieve differing affects.
I began initially with 100 pound drawing paper, then eventually transitioned to the Shoji paper that I intended to use for the final lamp project. Upon working with the Shoji paper, I realized how critical the thickness of the medium is while working with it. If too thin, the material is not stiff enough to retain its form. If the material is too thick, it is not pliable enough to work with.
In one attempt, I worked to develop two sheets of v-pleated material, which would for 2.5 sides each of a four-sided geometry. This would then be adhered, allowing for the overlap to close the form. Due to the scale (7x7 inches), the material was too weak to effectively hold its form and suffered from imprecise edge conditions.
Some of my process and attempts can be seen below. The most effective examples ended up using standard printer paper, as the material is both thin and stiff.
With this in mind, I went back to the drawing board and considered a pleated, faceted, parallelogram form, which would include multiple layers (chipboard with Shoji laminated over top). This would help to showcase a more precise approach to pleating, where etching on the laser would be used to guide folding direction.
Fabrication begun swiftly. Due to the size constraints of the laser cutter, I cut each face independently, applying tabs on the top, bottom, and side for connecting later. The chipboard was patterned such that the faceted elements would still remain structurally solid, while allowing light to pierce through.
Using a straight edge and sharp material corner became critical as well, as the somewhat flexible material needed to be guided in order to avoid folding in places that were not intended for folding.
