Deployable Origami Wall with Patterned Knit Panels

This paper explores the process of creating a unique triangulated origami folding wall, highlighting its relevance to design as research and research through design. By integrating hand-making techniques with digital methodologies, the project challenges traditional design methods in architecture. The design process involved a process of hand to digital and digital-to-hand for the different elements of the project. Using Rhino3D and Grasshopper to simulate various pattern designs, which were then ultimately fabricated by hand. Meanwhile, paper origami hand models inspired the overall frame structure, which was later modeled, in Rhino3D and Grasshopper to simulate the folding process. While designs were simulated both digitally, the use of digital tools is used during different phases of the design, emphasizing the potential of parametric thinking alongside manual creation. Hand-making techniques, including domestic knitting machines and hand-manipulated stitches, were used to craft detailed and customized panels. Varying pattern densities created a dynamic interplay of light and shadow. The design for the pattern is based on a binary pattern of stitches and floats, harkening back to early coding and jacquard looms and punch cards. These knitted panels are attached to the folding frame design to create a wall system that is spatially dividing but also plays with porosity. The design allows some light and shadow play as well as varying density and depth between the layers. The project demonstrates the potential of blending computational design with manual development in architectural design. While working through this research on the relationships between physical and digital production as a means for design artifacts.