Collective Paper Aesthetics

Continuing our revisit of the studio’s lesser-known documented modular designs: L’OEIL du Collectionneur.

Created in 2017 as the culmination of an art education program, the project brought together schoolchildren from across the city to explore and engage with the permanent collection of the Musées de Strasbourg . Collective Paper Aesthetics was commissioned to develop a modular pop-up display system composed of interlocking units designed for hand-only assembly. Each module incorporates integrated photo frames on its larger faces, intended to hold A4 reproductions of artworks from the museum’s collection selected by participating children.

Geometrically speaking, the system is based on a tetrahedral prism terminated by pyramidal forms at both ends. These elements integrate slots and tabs that enable seamless interconnection of multiple units without adhesives or additional tools, forming a flexible and scalable exhibition system.

Curators: Fabienne Vogel and Martine Debaene
📷 Klaus Stöber

Ring op het Ding was originally designed and developed in E-flute cardboard for the Polytech Festival 2015, organized by the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow and held at VDNKh Park. At the time, the project interpreted the museum’s new visual identity as a man-made pop-up space.

In 2017, the work was re-engineered in 1.6 mm foldable plastic for its presentation at Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami in the Miami Design District during the opening weekend of Design Miami. For the CosmoNits at Museo de la Ciencia CosmoCaixa last summer, the design evolved again into 3 mm foldable plastic, adapting to new spatial and structural conditions. The Macrofractals will return to Seville this September. Stay tuned for more details.

Across each iteration, the project explores how material translation informs design thinking—moving between indoor and outdoor contexts, and between temporary and more durable configurations. Each shift reveals how material strength, flexibility, and limitation actively shape the conditions and potentials of participatory experience.

Photography: Alexander Weinstein (Moscow), Edin Chavez (Miami), Juan Zapata (Barcelona)