Folding as Utility, and Responsiveness: Prototyping in Ottawa

This thesis studies the utility of folding and how it could be a beneficial addition to structures with regards to responsiveness. Folding has been used previously as a design technique for architectural forms. The built forms, however, rarely fold themselves. This thesis explores the forms that can be created through folding structures and the potential opportunities for use that they present. The folding techniques were discovered primarily through drawings and models that developed into folding structures that are responsive to the environment around them and informational input. Three folding structures were developed as an exhibition of the folding methods and the ways in which they can be used. These three structures are sited through Ottawa, Canada and serve as both useful, interactive public infrastructures and an addition to making these public areas more dynamic.