'Unfolding' at the 2021 London Design Biennale

OOC DTP student Ana Gatóo led the 'Unfolding' project, which features in the 2021 London Design Biennale.

Ana's project is a collaboration with her Doctoral partner PLP architecture and the Centre for Natural Material Innovation. The project grew from her PhD research. Ana looks at affordable housing with timber and digital tools and she is focusing on flexible interiors with timber walls that can be folded and fabricated digitally to become cost effective.

About the model

Image of 'Unfolding' project

"'Unfolding' explores some of today’s most crucial issues related to architecture and design, including sustainability, biophilia, prefabrication, material wastage and shipping efficiency.

The project examines the evolving relationship between nature and city, natural materials and buildings, and a flexible, adaptable and responsive future unfolding that balances people with the planet.

It is produced using timber, the only structural material that captures and stores carbon, and kerfing, a cutting method that enables rigid panels to be folded or curved.

Unfolding is conceived as a light, flexible and transformable structural exploration that investigates the ways in which engineered timber can be used to build a more sustainable urban future. The material has excellent structural properties and is the only structural material that sequesters carbon in its cells while growing. Besides being reliable and efficient it has a recognised contribution to wellness and helps to create a more pleasant, healthier, relaxed, sociable and creative urban experience."

Find out more about the model here