Programmable Thick Kirigami: Folding and Cutting with Non-Zero-Thickness Materials

Jingyang Liu; Luyao Ma; Miao Long; Xinle Tian

Programmable Thick Kirigami: Folding and Cutting with Non-Zero-Thickness Materials

Jingyang Liu
, Luyao Ma
, Miao Long
, Xinle Tian

Department of Architecture

Research output: Chapter in Book or Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Proceeding › peer-review

Abstract

This paper presents a computational workflow for the design, simulation, and fabrication of programmable kirigami structures using materials with non-zero thickness. The proposed workflow integrates three components, including mesh mapping, thickness-aware unfolding, and kinematic simulation, to generate manufacturable 2D cut-fold patterns that reconstruct complex 3D geometries without collision or geometric distortion. To evaluate the approach, a kirigami-based acoustic wall composed of 67 differentiated flat, convex, and concave units was designed and fabricated using 3 mm cardboard. The results demonstrate the potential of programmable thick kirigami as a practical design and fabrication strategy for architectural systems.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CAADRIA 2026
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 31st International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA)
Place of Publication	Hsinchu (Taiwan)
Pages	523-532
Number of pages	10
Volume	2
Publication status	Published - 26 Apr 2026

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Keywords

Computational Design and Making
Kirigami
Material-Aware Design
Thick Folding

Access to Document

https://papers.cumincad.org/cgi-bin/works/paper/caadria2026_207

Cite this

@inproceedings{0bdfb26dec8a441881101704ac9a962d,

title = "Programmable Thick Kirigami: Folding and Cutting with Non-Zero-Thickness Materials",

abstract = "This paper presents a computational workflow for the design, simulation, and fabrication of programmable kirigami structures using materials with non-zero thickness. The proposed workflow integrates three components, including mesh mapping, thickness-aware unfolding, and kinematic simulation, to generate manufacturable 2D cut-fold patterns that reconstruct complex 3D geometries without collision or geometric distortion. To evaluate the approach, a kirigami-based acoustic wall composed of 67 differentiated flat, convex, and concave units was designed and fabricated using 3 mm cardboard. The results demonstrate the potential of programmable thick kirigami as a practical design and fabrication strategy for architectural systems.",

keywords = "Computational Design and Making, Kirigami, Material-Aware Design, Thick Folding",

author = "Jingyang Liu and Luyao Ma and Miao Long and Xinle Tian",

year = "2026",

month = apr,

day = "26",

language = "English",

volume = "2",

pages = "523--532",

booktitle = "CAADRIA 2026",

}

Liu, J, Ma, L, Long, M & Tian, X 2026, Programmable Thick Kirigami: Folding and Cutting with Non-Zero-Thickness Materials. in CAADRIA 2026: Proceedings of the 31st International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) . vol. 2, Hsinchu (Taiwan), pp. 523-532. <https://papers.cumincad.org/cgi-bin/works/paper/caadria2026_207>

Programmable Thick Kirigami: Folding and Cutting with Non-Zero-Thickness Materials. / Liu, Jingyang; Ma, Luyao; Long, Miao et al.
CAADRIA 2026: Proceedings of the 31st International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) . Vol. 2 Hsinchu (Taiwan), 2026. p. 523-532.

Research output: Chapter in Book or Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Proceeding › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Programmable Thick Kirigami: Folding and Cutting with Non-Zero-Thickness Materials

AU - Liu, Jingyang

AU - Ma, Luyao

AU - Long, Miao

AU - Tian, Xinle

PY - 2026/4/26

Y1 - 2026/4/26

N2 - This paper presents a computational workflow for the design, simulation, and fabrication of programmable kirigami structures using materials with non-zero thickness. The proposed workflow integrates three components, including mesh mapping, thickness-aware unfolding, and kinematic simulation, to generate manufacturable 2D cut-fold patterns that reconstruct complex 3D geometries without collision or geometric distortion. To evaluate the approach, a kirigami-based acoustic wall composed of 67 differentiated flat, convex, and concave units was designed and fabricated using 3 mm cardboard. The results demonstrate the potential of programmable thick kirigami as a practical design and fabrication strategy for architectural systems.

AB - This paper presents a computational workflow for the design, simulation, and fabrication of programmable kirigami structures using materials with non-zero thickness. The proposed workflow integrates three components, including mesh mapping, thickness-aware unfolding, and kinematic simulation, to generate manufacturable 2D cut-fold patterns that reconstruct complex 3D geometries without collision or geometric distortion. To evaluate the approach, a kirigami-based acoustic wall composed of 67 differentiated flat, convex, and concave units was designed and fabricated using 3 mm cardboard. The results demonstrate the potential of programmable thick kirigami as a practical design and fabrication strategy for architectural systems.

KW - Computational Design and Making

KW - Kirigami

KW - Material-Aware Design

KW - Thick Folding

M3 - Conference Proceeding

VL - 2

SP - 523

EP - 532

BT - CAADRIA 2026

CY - Hsinchu (Taiwan)

ER -