A new type of folded sandwich structural form was developed at the University of Oxford to enable ultra-light sandwich constructions at architectural scales. They are created by attaching faceted inner and/or outer face sheets to a folded plate core pattern. The faceted faces provide two major benefits over traditional curved-face sandwich construction: they enable strong, continuous edge connections between core and face layers; and they allow unbent, rigid sheet materials such as metals and composites to be assembled into complex curved geometries.

The Plate House was the first application of the folded sandwich structural system developed . It is an origami-like plate assembly constructed from repeated modules, with a triple-layered shell providing strength and thermal insulation. The modules can be constructed from any convenient sheet material, with joints digitally fabricated directly into the sheet during fabrication, so that no tools or additional connection components are needed for assembly. The structural form is also highly flexible and highly redundant, so plates can be manufactured, replaced, upgraded, or repurposed on site. A full-scale arch was constructed from 3mm thick cardboard layers and had a 4m span and 2m height. The Plate House was a UK regional finalist in the James Dyson Award 2013.

Please see the Digital Fabrication research page for more information.