The Pacific Northwest is one of the richest sources of fiber – including wood fiber – in North America. As a result, I’m always looking for new and creative ways that paper and pulp are being used.
Unfolded-Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry, by Petra Schmidt and Nicola Stattmann (Birkhäuser 2009), is an amazing book showing how far we can go with cellulose.
Publisher Birkhäuser says: In Unfolded-Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry paper conquers the third dimension and demonstrates the undreamed-of possibilities it holds today for lightweight construction, product design, fashion and art. From the collection of bags by Stefan Diez, to Konstantin Grcic’s paper models, and the scented paper garments of Issey Miyake, this book presents paper as a high-quality contemporary and ecological material.
An enormous selection of projects, the lavish design and numerous illustrations provide designers with invaluable inspiration for their work. The content core of the book is a comprehensive list of state-of-the-art paper products and innovative paper technologies, supporting designers in their everyday work with detailed information on the “high-tech” material – paper. From Japanese washi paper and paper foam, to ceramic paper and carbon fiber paper, “Unfolded” presents the latest in research and development, as well as the most important methods and technologies in handcrafts and industry.
The first part of the book shows the many wonders of contemporary paper. The humble material can turned into a dramatic temporary installation in an art gallery but it can also be used to build a school, delicately cut it evokes a fairy-tale world, combined with electronics it’s a breathing shirt. Give paper to Japanese engineers and they’ll plan an origami paper plane that can return to Earth from space. Paper can be as rough or as aerial as artists and engineers need it.
The second part of the book gets far more techy and rigorous. It reveals the materials, manufacturing processes and technologies that allow for so many 3D applications. Paper can be tear-proof, transparent, breathable, weatherproof or even fire-resistant.
Read more of this review from We Make Money Not Art.
