The Fold and Folding Theory as a Conceptual Design Agent in Folding Architecture

In today’s design world, ‘the fold’ currently appears as an appealing concept or trend, mainly in terms of its aesthetic or structural values. However, ‘the fold’ also has a philosophical depth. The main problem this study addresses is related to the fact that, there is very little research done related to this theoretical aspect of the fold and far less research is done on the potential of the fold and the folding theory as a conceptual design agent for folding architecture. In his regard, this study looks at this potential, through a qualitative inquiry, with a case study research design approach. Firstly, the subject of the ‘fold’, its close concordance to the ‘origami’ paper folding technique, and its physical resonances such as structural and geometrical are introduced. Secondly, through Deleuze, who is famed as the ‘fold’ philosopher, the ‘fold’ is described from this original interpretation of philosophy. As a last step, the study looks at the incarnation process of the fold, from being a concept as a sense, into a physical/spatial phenomenon in architecture and interiors. As a basis for analysis, the work of Sophia Vyzoviti and her conceptual volumetric forms supporting Deleuze philosophy of ‘fold’ were used. These were matched with the works of two famed architects in the field of ‘folding architecture’. As a result, this thesis showed that when trying to understand the ‘fold’, it is insufficient to deal with merely the aesthetic values of the fold, especially in terms of architectural space design. Keywords: The fold, folding, folding theory, folding architecture, case study research.