| Origami Heaven A paperfolding
paradise
The website of
writer and paperfolding designer David Mitchell
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| Modulars in Motion |
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| Active play modular designs ie modular
designs that change shape when played with. |
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Name: 2-part Decoration Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 2 modules from squares
using standard folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1989. Also independently
discovered by Tung Ken Lam who realised it would
squash flat in two directions, thus turning a
rather ordinary paperfold into a charming toy. On
seeing this I realised that the Skillman Ball
will also squash flat, something I had previously
not been aware of.
Reference:
038
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Ad
Infinitum - an endlessly revolving toy Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 4 modules from squares
using standard folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1995.
Reference:
118
Diagrams:
BOM 175 December 1995 // Learning Mathematics
with Origami - Tung Ken Lam and Sue Pope - 2016 -
Association of Teachers of Mathematics - ISBN
9781898611950 // On-line diagrams are available
on the Modular Designs page of this site.
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Name: Back
to Front - a simple action toy in which
rotating the elements in relation to each other
brings each to the front in turn. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 3 modules from squares
using standard folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 2004.
Reference:
259
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Bouncy
Bricks - part of the Pyramid of Leaves
project. Modules / Paper shape / Folding
geometry: 2 modules plus strengthener for each
brick from silver rectangles using standard
folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 2001.
Reference:
501
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Colour-Change
Collapsible Cube - begins as a square
section tube which can be twisted and collapsed
to create an odd-looking cube. The cube will
squash flat sideways and can be manipulated in
the palm of the hand to cycle through all four
coloured faces in turn. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 4 modules from silver
rectangles.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1993.
Reference:
096
Diagrams:
CDO Convention Pack November 2004 // Infinity
2005/1 - Tarquin Publications // Sticky note
version in Sticky Note Origami - David Mitchell -
Collins and Brown - ISBN 1-84340-227-0 // On-line
diagrams are available on the Modular Designs page of this site.
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Name: Elite
Flexicube Modules / Paper shape / Folding
geometry: 24 modules from silver rectangles using
silver rectangle folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1992.
Reference:
087
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Modular 2-Way Tube
- a modular version of Robert Neale's 2-Way Tube
(which can be made (in several ways) from a
single sheet of paper or light card). Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 2 modules from any
rectangle using standard folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1997.
Reference:
151
Diagrams:
BOM 184 June 1997 // As the Magic Tube in Office
Origami - Adam Russ - Universe Publishing - ISBN
0-7893-1313-8 // Learning Mathematics with
Origami - Tung Ken Lam and Sue Pope - 2016 -
Association of Teachers of Mathematics - ISBN
9781898611950 // On-line diagrams are available
on the Devious Devices page of this
site.
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Name: The Modular Flip Flop
is my reconstruction of a design by the Danish
paperfolder Thoki Yenn which has become lost
(probably because Thoki abandoned it in favour of
his one piece version of the same design). The
design is a version of a well known mathematical
toy with the strange property that it will squash
flat in two different directions. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 2 modules folded from
double bronze rectangles using 60/30 degree
folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1989.
Reference:
046
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Mothership
- design made using Paulo Mulatinho's
UFO as a macro-module - from squares. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: Each UFO is made from 2
modules from squares using standard folding
geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 2001.
Reference:
265
Diagrams:
In Building with Butterflies - David Mitchell -
Water Trade - ISBN 978-0-9534774-7-0.
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Name: Rotating Ring of Six
Tetrahedra Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 6 modules from 2x1
rectangles using root 5 folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1996.
Reference:
130
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Rotating
Ring of 8 Rhombic Tetrahedra Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 4 or 8 modules from
silver rectangles.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1995.
Reference:
130
Diagrams:
Mathematical Origami - Tarquin Publications -
ISBN 1-899618-18-X // In Portuguese - Origami
matematicos - Republicao - ISBN 972-570-257-3 // Mathematical Origami (2nd Edition) -
David Mitchell - Tarquin publications - ISBN
9781911093169
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Name: Rotating
Ring of 12 Platonic Tetrahedra Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 12 or 24 modules using
60/30 folding geometry..
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1996.
Reference:
130
Diagrams:
Diagrams not yet available.
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Name: Rotating
Toy - modules require glueing together. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 4 modules from squares
using standard folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1992.
Reference:
092
Diagrams:
Diagrams not yet available.
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Name: Pop-up
Hexahedra - made from Sonobe,
Corner-pocket Sonobe, Sonobe triangle or
Letterbox modules can be collapsed flat then
popped back into shape. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry:
Designer /
Date: Larry Hart published a single-sheet design
for a Snap Hexahedron in the late 1980s. In
hindsight it seems obvious that the same
principle could be applied to a modular
hexahedron but I am not aware of knowing about
this before I came across the idea while playing
with pop-up silveroctahedra in 2015.
Reference:
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Pop-up
Silveroctahedra Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 2 sets of 2
mirror-image modules from squares using standard
folding geometry. Can be made from many different
parallelogram and triangle modules.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1989 and 2015.
Reference:
Diagrams:
On-line diagrams are available on the Devious Devices page of this site.
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Name: Rolling
Ring of 8 Rhombic Tetrahedra Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 4 modules from silver
rectangles.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 1995.
Reference:
130
Diagrams:
In Mathematical Origami (2nd Edition) -
David Mitchell - Tarquin publications - ISBN
9781911093169
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Name: Squashy
Star is a star that is capable of being
squashed flat in all three directions. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: modules fron squares
using standard folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 2011.
Reference:
338
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: The Tube
Cube - cube made from six linked tubes
which will squash flat. Modules / Paper
shape / Folding geometry: 6 modules from squares
using standard folding geometry.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 2014.
Reference:
371
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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Name: Twin
Deltahedral Dodecahedra - convertible
design. Modules / Paper shape / Folding
geometry: 6 modules from silver rectangles.
Designer /
Date: David Mitchell, 2017.
Reference:
544
Diagrams:
Not yet available.
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