Collective Paper Aesthetics

Collective Paper Aesthetics Collective Paper Aesthetics designs and develops educational resources promoting STEAM learning in a

Continuing our revisit of the studio’s lesser-known documented modular designs: L’OEIL du Collectionneur.Created in 2017...
24/06/2026

Continuing our revisit of the studio’s lesser-known documented modular designs: L’OEIL du Collectionneur.

Created in 2017 as the culmination of an art education program, the project brought together schoolchildren from across the city to explore and engage with the permanent collection of the Musées de Strasbourg . Collective Paper Aesthetics was commissioned to develop a modular pop-up display system composed of interlocking units designed for hand-only assembly. Each module incorporates integrated photo frames on its larger faces, intended to hold A4 reproductions of artworks from the museum’s collection selected by participating children.

Geometrically speaking, the system is based on a tetrahedral prism terminated by pyramidal forms at both ends. These elements integrate slots and tabs that enable seamless interconnection of multiple units without adhesives or additional tools, forming a flexible and scalable exhibition system.

Curators: Fabienne Vogel and Martine Debaene
📷 Klaus Stöber

Ring op het Ding was originally designed and developed in E-flute cardboard for the Polytech Festival 2015, organized by...
22/06/2026

Ring op het Ding was originally designed and developed in E-flute cardboard for the Polytech Festival 2015, organized by the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow and held at VDNKh Park. At the time, the project interpreted the museum’s new visual identity as a man-made pop-up space.

In 2017, the work was re-engineered in 1.6 mm foldable plastic for its presentation at Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami in the Miami Design District during the opening weekend of Design Miami. For the CosmoNits at Museo de la Ciencia CosmoCaixa last summer, the design evolved again into 3 mm foldable plastic, adapting to new spatial and structural conditions. The Macrofractals will return to Seville this September. Stay tuned for more details.

Across each iteration, the project explores how material translation informs design thinking—moving between indoor and outdoor contexts, and between temporary and more durable configurations. Each shift reveals how material strength, flexibility, and limitation actively shape the conditions and potentials of participatory experience.

Photography: Alexander Weinstein (Moscow), Edin Chavez (Miami), Juan Zapata (Barcelona)

Summer 2016—almost a decade ago.While the Walker Art Center was renovating the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, visitors to...
19/06/2026

Summer 2016—almost a decade ago.

While the Walker Art Center was renovating the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, visitors to the Walker’s Art Lab collectively built an intricate paper city using our studio’s very first modular system: the A4 Paper Toy.

Originally developed for the 2008 London Festival of Architecture , the A4 Paper Toy was designed as a hands-on way to explore the octet truss patent of Richard Buckminster Fuller. Since then, museum education departments around the world have used it to engage children and adults in STEAM learning through problem-solving, creativity, and spatial thinking.

The Minneapolis–Saint Paul region may not have the sheer number of cultural institutions found in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, but it consistently stands out for the depth and accessibility of its cultural offerings per capita.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to see what the Minneapolis Institute of Art will co-create this year with our studio materials and its visitors under the leadership of Family Programs Coordinator Frannie K

For a look back at the original project:
https://lnkd.in/duq7Tih

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena last week and meeting in person with the team that ...
18/06/2026

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena last week and meeting in person with the team that delivered and facilitated the Mighty Build Guild project in 2021.

Beyond the joy, creativity, and energy that fill the space, I was reminded of how important it is to create environments that bring younger and older generations together. It was a valuable opportunity to reflect on what worked well, what could be improved, and how the principles of the Collective Paper Aesthetics project continue to resonate within a children’s museum setting.

Our conversations highlighted the value of physical, colorful, and engaging spaces where people can connect through shared experiences. In a world increasingly shaped by digital interactions, there is something particularly meaningful about exchanging feedback in person, learning from one another, and taking the time to reflect together.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to revisit this project, reconnect with the team, and gain new perspectives on its outcomes. Experiences like these reinforce the importance of curiosity, collaboration, and community, and I look forward to carrying those lessons into future projects.

📷: Jamie Pham

5 museum visits and 1 gallery in 2.5 days in LA — what an experience.I started the day at Kidspace Children's Museum , a...
15/06/2026

5 museum visits and 1 gallery in 2.5 days in LA — what an experience.
I started the day at Kidspace Children's Museum , a former client, and will share a separate post about that visit and the experience of seeing the space firsthand, as well as hearing the team’s reflections on the Collective Paper Aesthetics project (2021–2022).

From there, I visited The Huntington Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens — a place I knew very little about until last week, and one I could easily have spent another full day exploring. I’m especially looking forward to seeing the library interior once renovations are complete, and returning to the Australian Garden on a cooler day.

Thanks to filmmaker and content creator Jeremy Eichenbaum, I also had the opportunity to walk through the recently renovated Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus, experience the outdoor works, and gain insightful context about the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum — including unexpected and fascinating historical details about the site.

On the second day, I spent the morning at the The Museum of Contemporary Art enjoying watching children on holiday actively engage with the family activity booklets, asking thoughtful questions to gallery hosts as they worked through them. I also revisited the conceptual work of Michael Asher and experienced the architectural installation by Haegue Yang.

Across the street at The Broad I spent time with Jeff Koons’ work and explored the museum’s dialogue between historical and contemporary voices.

I ended the visit at Hauser & Wirth - Art Gallery , where Keith Tyson : The Generative Universe was a true highlight — a surprising and powerful experience of colour, scale, and pattern, rounded off by the opportunity to sit and listen to the artist speak about his practice.

Our modules, Tirana Pyramid — a modular system created for Design and Heritage Empower Communities as part of the Design...
13/06/2026

Our modules, Tirana Pyramid — a modular system created for Design and Heritage Empower Communities as part of the Designscapes project developed by Collective Paper Aesthetics in collaboration with CHwB Albania between 2019–2020 — are on their way to a new client.

An octagonal pyramidal shell with rectangular prism side panels, designed to connect and reconfigure through both its octagonal and rectangular faces, the structure invites participation, exchange, and storytelling.

Along the journey, we find ourselves reflecting on the stories modular forms can carry. How do structures transform as they move between places, people, and contexts? How might they continue to evolve through new communities and new narratives?

We’re looking forward to seeing how this work takes on new meaning in the near future at the Meet Minneapolis . Stay tuned.

The PolyCade modular system was custom-designed for the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention for Creativity & Inven...
11/06/2026

The PolyCade modular system was custom-designed for the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention for Creativity & Invention in Gainesville, Florida. Inspired by the Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Spiral, the project draws from mathematical principles that have influenced art, architecture, and design for centuries, including the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

“Innovation and invention are not possible without first pushing the limits of imagination. Ms. Haim has designed The PolyCade Project exclusively for the Cade Museum and our community to encourage individual exploration, a community-wide shared experience, and to provide an important opportunity to fuse imagination with the STEAM learning process,” said Stephanie C. Bailes, Cade Museum Executive Director (2019).

The PolyCade Cardboard Kit consists of a tetrahedron enclosed within a cube, which is then enclosed within a dodecahedron. Each geometric form can connect modularly to identical forms, creating an expandable system that encourages collaboration, creativity, and hands-on exploration.
The modular system was produced twice for the Cade Museum (2019 and 2023) and once for the Institute of Imagination in London (2021).

📷 Photo by Andrew Baker

Follow Me! is a modular system created for the opening of the Werkräume at Stiftung im Berliner Schloss.Geometrically, ...
05/06/2026

Follow Me! is a modular system created for the opening of the Werkräume at Stiftung im Berliner Schloss.
Geometrically, the work is based on an octagonal toroid inspired by the octagonal prism at the base of the museum’s dome, transformed into a toroidal polyhedron composed of 32 quadrilateral faces (8 × 4).
At the same time, the form evokes a doughnut—a playful nod to John F. Kennedy’s legendary “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech.
The model is available in two sizes and can be customized through print.
📷

Place-crafting | Exhibition Design as Social InfrastructureOriginally developed for the 청주공예비엔날레 2019, this project eme...
03/06/2026

Place-crafting | Exhibition Design as Social Infrastructure

Originally developed for the 청주공예비엔날레 2019, this project emerged as the prize-winning proposal of the Craft City Lab Competition.

The modular exhibition system draws inspiration from the geometry of traditional Korean windows — handmade paper carefully stretched across wooden frames — translating craft heritage into a contemporary spatial language.

Designed as a flexible framework for interaction and participation, the structure explores how exhibition design can function beyond display: as a platform for dialogue, learning, and collective exchange.

In 2023, the same system was reinterpreted for Projekt Most [MiCT], envisioned and curated by the Education Department at Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. Built together by children from Poland and Ukraine, the exhibition became a safe and participatory environment for conversation, sharing, and community-building.

📷 piotr-krzysztof-kaminski

This week, we are revisiting some of the studio’s lesser-known modular design projects.Featured here is Paper Batik, a p...
01/06/2026

This week, we are revisiting some of the studio’s lesser-known modular design projects.

Featured here is Paper Batik, a project originally designed and developed for the Kota Tua Creative Festival 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The festival formed the second phase of The Future of Craftsmanship in Architecture, a project curated by with support from the Creatieve Industrie.

Paper Batik explores how traditional craft can inform contemporary design. Drawing inspiration from Indonesian batik patterns and geometric principles found in Islamic design traditions, the project transformed these influences into a foldable cardboard system that served as both a playful installation and a centerpiece for public engagement.

The workshops and production in Jakarta were realized in collaboration with (Dus Duk Duk) and (Lingkaran), demonstrating the value of cross-disciplinary partnerships in bringing ideas from concept to reality.

In 2021, the modular system evolved into a series of individual creative kits developed for Muse Knoxville’s summer experience, MusePop, and the Institute of Imagination’s Big Build project. Each kit enables participants to construct a triangular prism, extending the project’s educational and participatory potential to new audiences.

Projects like Paper Batik remind us that modular systems can be powerful tools for connecting cultural heritage, creativity, and hands-on learning across different contexts and scales.

📷 Photo by Wendy Pratama

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