Learning from Folding Paper to Develop Folding Mechanisms

This research proposes a method for designers to develop kinetic structures derived from folding patterns, which are viable in architecture based on flat and curved folding. It describes how these folding patterns can be used to generate mechanisms free of common problems like self-locking. It questions how it can be learnt from the mathematics of folding techniques so that what is learnt can be transformed into real plates and linkages of kinetic systems. It also examines geometric formations of kinetic surfaces regarding seventeen symmetry groups of crystals to understand global motion and its enablers. The research contribution of this paper consists of a method with a systematic flow as validated through a case study. The case study exemplifies how any arbitrary sketch is transformed into an actual kinetic structure by folding paper models, digital simulations, and prototypes.