colorFold - Sabin Lab

KIRIGAMI, NSF EFRI ODISSEI

Cutting and Pasting – Kirigami in Architecture, Technology, and Science (KATS) / Jenny E. Sabin (architecture), Dan Luo (biological and environmental engineering), Cornell University; Shu Yang (materials science), Randall Kamien (physics), University of Pennsylvania

Principal Investigator: Jenny E. Sabin

Design Research Team: Martin Miller, Daniel Cellucci, Giffen Ott

Overview: From architecture to chemistry, from chalkboards to micrographs, and from maps to trompe-l’oeil, we strive to communicate 3D geometry, structures, and features using 2D representations. They have allowed us not only to communicate complex information, but also to create real objects, from the act of folding a paper airplane to the construction of a bedroom set from IKEA to the digital fabrication of entire buildings. Moreover, we will follow the philosophy of “Interact Locally, Fold Globally,” necessary for deployable and scalable architectures. Using mathematical modeling, architectural elements, design computation, DNA engineering, and controlled elastic response, we will develop new techniques, algorithms, and processes for the assembly of open, deployable structural elements and structures. Our team of engineers, architects, and scientists will bring to bear current ideas, modalities, and techniques to the table to move these ideas from the drafting table to reality.

Our vision to bring together biomaterials, mathematics, architecture, and modern materials synthesis promises wholesale integration of knowledge across disparate disciplines. The outcome will be the basis for new ways of thinking, new modalities for design, and new principles of folding, assembling, and construction. We will pose, process, and answer questions in applied mathematics, engineering, biochemistry, and physics, paving the road to truly interdisciplinary thought and content. Broader

Our work naturally lends itself to public display and interaction, while also bridging fields in the large — faculty of design, engineering, arts & sciences, and architecture, as well as more specific areas of expertise. In particular, Sabin’s exhibits around the world will provide an effective and natural route for outreach and broad participation. Our plan to generate multimedia content will complement and enhance our impact on science, art, and engineering.

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation, Origami Design for Integration of Self-assembling Systems for Engineering Innovation, and is jointly housed at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University.

As part of two NSF funded projects in the Sabin Design Lab at Cornell University, eSkin and KATS (Cutting and Pasting - Kirigami in Architecture, Technology, and Science), ColorFolds is one product of ongoing trans-disciplinary research spanning across the fields of cell biology, materials science, physics, electrical and systems engineering, and architecture. ColorFolds incorporates two parameters that the team is investigating: optical color and transparency change at the human scale based upon principles of structural color at a nano to micro scale. In addition to these material proprieties, ColorFolds features a lightweight, tessellated array of interactive components that fold and unfold in the presence or absence of people. ColorFolds follows the concept of "Interact Locally, Fold Globally," necessary for deployable and scalable architectures. Using mathematical modeling, architectural elements, design computation, and controlled elastic response, ColorFolds showcases new techniques, algorithms, and processes for the assembly of open, deployable structural elements and architectural surface assemblies.

ColorFolds
eSkin + Kirigami: From Cell Contractility to Sensing Materials to Adaptive Foldable Architecture
Interactive folded assembly prototype featuring structural color change
A project by Sabin Design Lab, Cornell University

Team:
Principal Investigator: Jenny E. Sabin
Design Research Team: Martin Miller (Senior Personnel), Daniel Cellucci & Andrew Moorman, Giffen Ott (Project Lead), Max Vanatta, David Rosenwasser, Jessica Jiang, Andrew Lucia (Senior Personnel)

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the CCA and is jointly housed at Cornell University & the University of Pennsylvania.