Folding Frank
John Hill
14. Juni 2017
Photo: Laurence King Publishing
One of the numerous publications coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright's birth asks people to cut and fold the architect's creations using the kirigami technique.
Marc Hagan-Guirey, a kirigami paper artist, has collected fourteen Wright buildings in Frank Lloyd Wright Paper Models, published next month by Laurence King. Unlike origami, which is limited to folding, kirigami also includes cuts to the sheet of paper. The book comes with instructions on the technique, some background on each building, and drawings of them on 135 lb (200 gsm) stock, just the right weight for cutting and folding. The sheets come with some cuts, such as windows, already done, but there are lots of cuts and folds to be done. In other words, this is not a book with readymade models; it requires a good deal of work – and patience – on the part of the reader/model maker.
Front Cover (Photo: Laurence King Publishing)
The fourteen projects, in order of the book:
- Unity Temple
- Frederick C. Robie House
- Imperial Hotel
- Aline Barnsdall "Hollyhock" House
- Millard House (La Miniatura)
- John Storer House
- Freeman House
- Charles Ennis House
- National Life Insurance Building
- Taliesin West
- Herbert and Katherine Jacobs I House
- Edgar J. Kaufmann House "Fallingwater"
- Johnson Wax Administration Building
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Back Cover (Photo: Laurence King Publishing)
Upon receiving an advance copy of the book, I couldn't help but try out the kirigami technique with what appears to be the easiest model, the Jacobs House.
Herbert and Katherine Jacobs I House (Photo: John Hill/World-Architects)
One down, thirteen to go.