Sometimes you have to be invisible. That is exactly the point of this project. Our 3D prints play a purely functional role and should otherwise disappear. The protagonist here is the digitally fabricated 3D origami textile by designer Samira Boon; our prints solved a problem that was technical and aesthetic at once — how to tension those 3D woven textile screens.

The prints look like a simple folded strip, but their geometry is far more complex: a shape you could never fold from a straight strip. That was the problem, and it could only be solved by 3D printing. What could not be achieved by folding or bending could be achieved by printing.

A further requirement was that the strips should blend into the colour and texture of the woven structure as far as possible, preferably in a material of natural origin with a low carbon footprint. In metal that would have been difficult, but it was a perfect match for our cellulose-filled biobased plastic, which does not emit carbon dioxide but stores it. Technical, aesthetic and sustainability requirements were all met at once.

ShapeService developed a parametric model specifically for this project, so that the complex shapes could be produced quickly and easily at varying dimensions.