ARCHI FOLDS | Samira Boon

ArchiFolds, winner of the Creative Heroes Awards, is an innovative series of textile structures inspired by traditional Japanese folding techniques: “Embedded origami patterns afford natural movement characteristics, growth and metamorphosis” explains Samira Boon. The textile structures are the result of extensive and ongoing research by Studio Samira Boon in collaboration with TextileLab and Prof. T. Tachi from the University of Tokyo.

ArchiFolds embodies Samira Boon’s vision on healthy environments as spaces that: “are flexible and dynamic like natural systems. Adaptive textiles are able to accommodate and regulate changing needs on spatial circulation, efficient energy usage and acoustic ambience.” By translating traditional paper-folding into digital weaving techniques, she created architectural interventions that are extremely flexible in their use and possibilities. The woven structures can be folded and unfolded into different shapes, allowing two identical products to be installed in completely unique manners, re-used in different shapes and sizes, installed permanently or temporarily, and easily transported or moved. They can incorporate various smart properties that allow them to adapt to their surroundings -including light, heat or sound- while retaining a soft and tactile appeal.

The development in computerized textile materialisation of origami structures is unique and carries enormous potential. The first concrete application of ArchiFolds has been at TheatersTilburg, who commissioned Samira Boon to re-design the interior of the Audax room. This space is daily used for events, small gatherings and public meetings. With ArchiFolds, Samira Boon created a dynamic flexible environment, a so-called ‘open infrastructure’ as well as an eye-catcher representing the cultural programme of the theatre. As Rob van Steen, director Theaters Tilburg explains, the work bridges together science, technology and art: “You can constantly give this object a different look, I always get the feeling as if I’m walking through a visual art work, while at the same time it is a very functional space.”