Minimalist modular designs are modular
designs made from modules which are created using the
minimum number of structural folds. Since the modules for
many classic modular designs, such as Paul Jackson's Cube
and Robert Neale's Octahedron, which are not considered
minimalist, are created using just four structural folds,
the maximum number of structural folds available to
create a module for a minimalist modular design is just
three. Moreover a minimalist modular design is still
modular and therefore, by definition, required to be
self-integrating (see the Definitions and Notes page) and reasonably stable
in its assembled form. Meeting such tight criteria means that it is
likely compromises will have to be made elsewhere in the
design. This may mean, for instance, that the design may
be best made from card, rather than paper, as, for
instance, in the case of the traditional 6-Card Cube, or
that the number of modules a design requires might need
to be to be increased beyond what might otherwise be
acceptable, as in the case of my own 2-Fold Cube, or that
the paper shape might need to be, for instance,
triangular, as in the case of my 2-Fold Star.
To some extent
stability may also need to be sacrificed. The classic
example of this is Kenneth Kawamura's Butterfly Ball, the
module for which is made with just three structural
folds, although in this case the instability of the
design is cleverly exploited as a feature.
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