Origami Top Ten : Using Origami in Unexpected and Imaginative Ways!

Origami is an art form that has been around for centuries. The literal meaning of origami is "fold" (ori or oru) and "paper" (gami or kami) and the technique of folding paper into various shapes has always been fascinating.

​But Origami is not just for paper!​  Its simplicity lies in its transformative power that has been harnessed by artists, architects, and designers to transform a range of materials.
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​As an artist with a love for geometry, manipulation, and transformation, I have developed a unique technique of blending the delicacy of porcelain with the simplicity of origami. Blending origami with porcelain allows my work to be spontaneous and full of life, my ceramic geometric sculptures play with light and shadow and embrace negative space. Using origami, it is the asymmetry in the geometry that is really exciting for me.
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Here, you will find other origami lovers who have created stunning pieces in new materials. Let's explore the beauty of folded paper together and create magical pieces that capture the essence of origami.

1.Jiangmei Wu combines maths, science and engineering in her art and design projects

​Her Ruga Lumina project has a folding interior skin with dynamic light. As the viewers move in the space, their movements are captured by the Kinect Sensors and the information is translated into color changing information in the digital projections on the Coroplast skin.
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Photo Courtesy of Kyle Overton and Manzi Yang.

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2. Issey Miyake 

With an astonishing career lasting more than five decades,  Issey Miyake designed a range of fashion that expanded from two-dimensional geometric shapes into structured shirts, skirts, pants and dresses.
Inspired by origami ideas and its sculptural forms he explored futuristic ideas in fashion design.
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Image from www.isseymiyake.com

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3. Conductive Origami by Yale Akirav

Industrial designer, Yael Akirav, uses 3-D printing technology to print conductive material onto textiles, resulting in the creation of illuminated origami works. The pliability of the textiles allows for the lighting fixtures to be collapsible and expandable, enabling them to be displayed either open and lit or folded into a closed position. This movement of the fixture stretches the conductive filament, resulting in a dimming effect. By slowly pulling the fixture, the light gradually turns on, and then turns off when it is compressed back into its original position.
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Photo: Ofek Avshalom

Photographer:Ofek Avshalom

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4. Knitted Shawl by designer Margie Kieper

​With a pair of knitting needles and some time you can create your own sartorial style and knit yourself a geometric wrap with pleat and zigzag sections that alternate throughout. This design is unique in that it was the first to mix vertical and diagonal folding and was inspired by origami paper folding and the fabric designs of Issey Miyake. 
​Pattern at Ravelry.com

by greensnapple

by AndreasRuthemann

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5. The Song of the Earth and the Sky by artist Ankon Mitra 

The pavilion has been crafted using mild steel arch frames, hand-folded sheet aluminium, with copper finishes, pebbles, grass and LED lights.
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Photography by Gujral Foundation/Ankon Mitra Studio

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6. Origami as social commentary

Heather Peak and Ivan Morison of Studio Morison installed a multifaceted mesh-covered pavilion around a statue of Maximilian I in the centre of Munich, to raise awareness of the city's homeless and impoverished. 
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Photograph by Rainer Viertlböck.

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7. Origami House by TSC Architects features a roof modelled on folded paper.

Standing from the earth like a tent it folds in five places creating a series of triangular facets which envelope the interior and provide outdoor living shade.

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Photograph:Masato Kawano

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8. Nestle Chocolate Museum, Mexico

Designed by ​Rojkind Arquitectos the museum is a striking container of corrugated metal and scarlet tones that allude to a chocolate bar wrapper.
The first chocolate museum in Mexico. it was built in only 3 months and ttached to a pre-existing factory. The museum has dramatic 300m long facade alongside the motorway and a fun entrance into the museum.
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Nestle Chocolate Museum_©rojkindarquitectos.com

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9. Tessellations by Ilan Garibi of Garibi Origami
Garibi designs furniture, jewelry, and works of art using a range of materials like metals, wood, and glass.
His designs focus on geometrical and repetitive patterns and appling tessellations to a range of materials.
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Image by Ilan Garibi

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10. Crouching Digital Origami Tigers by LAVA
​Commissioned in 2010, the Year of the Tiger, by the Customs House in Sydney, Australia, these tigers were then adopted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). These "large" cats are made of recyclable materials and are brought to life with pulsating low-energy LED lighting.

Image:Peter Murphy; David Biene; Patrick Bingham Hall