Collective Paper Aesthetics

What an incredible journey it has been!

Although the pop-up installation at the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 Hub in Frankfurt has come to an end, the warmth, creativity, and connections we experienced there will stay with us. And the journey continues!

Some of the HEART-board Pyramids are now travelling with me to ASPAC in Bangkok, taking place from August 18–21, and will also be part of the hands-on showcase at ASTC on September 18.

HEART-board Pyramids are interactive building blocks made from 100% corrugated cardboard. Designed to be assembled by hand, they invite families and children aged 7+ to explore geometry, creativity, and collaborative building. They are available in regular and medium sizes.

This photo was taken during the opening weekend of the World Design Capital 2026 Hub at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt in January. It was wonderful to see families, professionals, and visitors of all ages pick up one, two, or more kits and create places they truly loved.

A huge thank you to bayern design, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Germany, and Farbe des Weines for their support—and to the incredible WDC team for building and running this space with such enthusiasm, dedication, and care.

🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ecF7k24a

📸 Photography: Boaz Arad Photography

ParticipatoryDesign

“By the Time I Get to Phoenix…”

And here we are!

I’m excited to bring Collective Paper Aesthetics to ASTC 2026, hosted at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.

📅 Friday, September 18
⏰ 12:20–12:35 PM

We’ll be sharing a showcase, hands-on experience, and Q&A around our tentative presentation:

“Designing for Participation: How the HEART-board Pyramid Engages Communities in STEAM Learning”

ASTC—the Association of Association of Science and Technology Centers and Technology Centers—brings together science centers, museums, educators, and innovators from around the world to exchange ideas, build partnerships, and explore new approaches to engaging communities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

If you’ll be at ASTC 2026, whether we’ve exchanged emails over the past few years or are connecting for the first time, I’d be delighted to hear from you. Send me a short note if you’d like to meet and explore a possible collaboration, and I’ll be happy to arrange a time between September 16–19.

And, while I’m in Phoenix, I’d also love your recommendations: What should I see or experience beyond the Boneyard and Antelope Valley?

Looking forward to conversations, new connections, and a little Phoenix adventure.

See you in Phoenix! 🌵

STEAM

Earlier this year, we celebrated the opening of the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center in Waco with the launch of the HEART-board pyramid —an interactive installation designed to encourage creativity, curiosity, and meaningful community engagement.

Although the exhibition has officially come to an end and the space is now hosting a new installation, it’s exciting to see the project continue its journey. Doreen Ravenscroft and the dedicated team at Cultural Arts of Waco are bringing the HEART-board pyramid to new locations across the city, extending its impact well beyond the original exhibition.

One of the most rewarding aspects of designing interactive public art is seeing it take on a life of its own through the people and communities who continue to use it.

The project was initiated by Doreen Ravenscroft (Cultural Arts of Waco) in collaboration with Robin McDurham and Lindsey Helton (Transformation Waco ), with support from the Texas Commission on the Arts .

Photography: ticomendoza Mendoza

This week’s summer programme at Zuiderparktheater Den Haag marks the return of Vouw & BouwLAB, a modular play system that invites visitors of all ages to build, explore, and play.

Developed over multiple seasons in collaboration with Zuiderparktheater, MuseumLAB Zuidwest by Museon-Omniversum and Festival de Festival De Betovering , Vouw & BouwLAB reimagines a geometric modular system using corrugated plastic, cardboard, and 260 g paper. The project has evolved across different seasons, formats, and public contexts, demonstrating how adaptable design can foster participation, creativity, and social interaction in shared spaces.

If you’re visiting this week, don’t forget to stay hydrated, enjoy the sunshine, and most importantly—have fun building and playing. ☀️💧

📸 Photo by Aldwin van Krimpen

Ten years ago, we were invited to participate in the International Children’s Art Festival (ICAF) in Beijing during China’s National Day Golden Week.

Hosted in the iconic 798 Art District, the festival brought together art, science, education, and thousands of families in one of China’s most dynamic cultural spaces.

For the occasion, we created 1,000 HEART Board Pyramid Kits. Throughout the week, Luis Díaz Rivera and I build alongside children and families, supported by an extraordinary team of volunteers. Despite the language differences, making together became its own language. Watching a simple cardboard interlocking system evolve into large collaborative structures was a powerful reminder that creativity has the ability to connect people across cultures.

Looking back ten years later, what stays with me is not the scale of the project, but the people—the generosity, the openness, and the meaningful connections that emerged through the shared act of making.

I’m grateful to everyone who helped make this experience possible.

📷 Photo: Wei Guo

After exploring the possibilities of E-flute cardboard, PET felt panels, and F-flute cardboard, we are looking at another material that opens new possibilities for audience interaction, especially in outdoor environments: 3 mm corrugated plastic.

For Macrofractals, our interactive installation created for Fundación “la Caixa” we recreated our original E-flute cardboard modular system, Ring op het Ding, using 3 mm corrugated plastic.

From an engineering perspective, corrugated cardboard and corrugated plastic each bring unique advantages.

E-flute cardboard offers excellent structural rigidity, a high strength-to-weight ratio, and precise performance when carefully engineered for indoor installations. It is also produced from renewable paper fibers and remains a highly recyclable material.

Corrugated plastic, on the other hand, provides different opportunities. Its resistance to moisture, ease of cleaning, and durability under repeated handling make it particularly suitable for outdoor environments and installations with intensive public interaction. Its fluted honeycomb structure combines lightweight construction with flexibility and long-term resilience.

Choosing the right material is always about understanding the context: the expected lifespan, environment, audience interaction, and the balance between structural performance, sustainability, and practical requirements.

Material choices shape not only how an installation is built, but also how audiences experience and interact with it.

📷 Photo: Juan Alfonso Zapata at Museo de la Ciencia CosmoCaixa Barcelona.

How do we connect?

For the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 Hub, we recreated the HEART Board Pyramid in M1 FR E-flute cardboard for the temporary exhibition, together with a mini version in F-flute for hands-on activities and as a giveaway.

Since 2020, Collective Paper Aesthetics has been refining the translation of the studio’s large-scale modular cardboard system from 1.5 mm to just 0.8 mm material—preserving its structural rigidity, playfulness, and potential for reuse. This ongoing research demonstrates how thoughtful material adaptation can extend the possibilities of lightweight, circular design.

🙌 A huge thank you to bayern design , the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Germany NL Culture in Germany, and Farbe des Weines for their support—and to the incredible World Design Capital 2026 team for bringing this installation to life with such enthusiasm, dedication, and care.

🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ecF7k24a

📸 Photography: Boaz Arad Photography

How do we connect?

At Dutch Design Week | DDW 2025, we presented several projects, including the MUDAM GO! PET felt panel prototype, showcased in Forward Furniture , the curated exhibition by Liv Vaisberg.

The talented team at AKOpanel successfully translated the design principles of Collective Paper Aesthetics’ modular cardboard system into a 9 mm PET felt panel—a sustainable acoustic material widely used to improve sound performance in buildings and office environments.

Made from 60% recycled PET bottles, the fire-tested panel offers a sustainable solution for architectural and interior applications.

This collaboration shows how design principles can be transferred across materials while preserving modularity, circularity, and functionality.

📸 Photo by Aldwin van Krimpen

ExhibitionDesign

A visualization of Light Lilies—a public artwork selected for the Amsterdam Light Festival 2025, now ready for its first realization.

To illustrate the installation’s core concept, this visualization places Light Lilies within one of the 700 iconic playgrounds designed by Aldo van Eyck across Amsterdam. By situating the work in this familiar urban setting, it shows how light and form can transform public space while echoing Van Eyck’s enduring ideas of imagination, social inclusion, and human-centered urban design.

🌸 Where would you like to see Light Lilies bloom next?

Light Lilies Volume 01 was created in collaboration with Deheerr de Man for Botanica: Contemporary Art Outside (2023), curated by the Museum of Brisbane , with support from the Stimuleringsfonds and Arup Brisbane.

📸 PIXREADY & Aldwin van Krimpen

InstallationArt CreativePlacemaking AldoVanEyck HumanistUrbanism ContemporaryArt

The summer activities at Zuiderparktheater Den Haag return this week, bringing back the modular elements created last year. Stay hydrated, enjoy the sunshine, and most importantly—have fun playing!

Vouw & BouwLAB is a collaborative project that has unfolded across the seasons at Zuiderparktheater with MuseumLAB Zuidwest Museon-Omniversum , and Festival Festival De Betovering . Together, we developed a participatory experience that reimagines a geometric modular system using corrugated plastic, cardboard, and 260 g paper, adapting it across different seasons, formats, and contexts.

This approach has created continuity for young audiences—and the young at heart—in The Hague, while enabling partner organisations to share resources, strengthen collaboration, and extend the programme’s reach.

For Vacantiepark opening hours, visit: https://lnkd.in/eQP53vQX
If you’d like to read more about this cultural collaboration, subscribe to the studio newsletter—or bear with me a little longer while I figure out how to connect Mailchimp and LinkedIn more seamlessly. 🙂

Interested in learning more about the Kunstsilo-kulen module? You can explore its development and the ideas behind it in the Collective Paper Aesthetics feature on the Kunstsilo Channel: https://lnkd.in/erNGxk7H