The lacunosus light achieves its variegated
luminance by changing the scale of the
folds that make up its tessellated surface.
As the pattern gets smaller, its curvature
increases, changing the angle between
the surface and the light source, causing
light to pass through a greater number of
layers of material. The effect is not simply
the illuminance of a curved surface, but a
variegated luminosity like the silver lining of
a cloud. Our work on the lacunosus light
began as an investigation in manipulating
origami tessellations to introduce local
variation within a tessellated surface. Building
on the waterbomb tessellation (developed
by Eric Gjerde), we developed the “Murthy
Fold” as a way of doubling or halving the
scale of the fold pattern without interrupting
the pattern. We quickly realized that by
changing the scale of the fold pattern we
could control the relative stiffness of discreet
areas, inflecting the curvature of the finished
surface. By manipulating the stiffness, we
can in essence sculpt the surface at the
same time we sculpt the light passing
through the surface.