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Concept

The Origami House

Architectural Concept · Unbuilt — site to be found · Ongoing

A residence conceived as folded planes — the roofline rising and creasing like paper, glass filling the structure between the folds. The photo-real film below is a study of the concept standing in open landscape.

The Origami House continues a thread that runs through forty years of work: the single clear move, the honest structural frame, the building that changes character with the light. What follows is the concept as it stands today — early form studies, the cabin interior, a folded bunkie extension, and the hand sketches it all grew from.

The Concept

The Origami House begins as one folded surface — a single plane creased and lifted off the ground until it makes walls, roof, and opening in one move. These early studies test the geometry before any material is chosen.

The Origami House — The Concept, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Concept, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Concept, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Concept, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Concept, Unbuilt — site to be found

The Cabin

Inside, the folds become the architecture. Pine-lined surfaces follow every crease, triangular windows are cut where the geometry allows, and the gable opens completely to the landscape. No applied finishes — the structure is the room.

The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Cabin, Unbuilt — site to be found

The Bunkie Extension

A companion to the main cabin: a row of folded bays stepping across the site as a guest bunkie. Each fold is a small sleeping room; the gaps between them frame the trees and pull the path right through the building.

The Origami House — The Bunkie Extension, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Bunkie Extension, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Bunkie Extension, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Bunkie Extension, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Bunkie Extension, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Bunkie Extension, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — The Bunkie Extension, Unbuilt — site to be found

Sketches & Drawings

It still starts by hand. These are Charles’s working sketches for the Origami House and its bunkie — plan, section, and structural detail worked out in pen — alongside the elevations they became.

The Origami House — Sketches & Drawings, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — Sketches & Drawings, Unbuilt — site to be found The Origami House — Sketches & Drawings, Unbuilt — site to be found

Concept renders and sketches by Charles Gane

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