Kanata Warisaya

Statement

I am a PhD student in the “Origami Lab” led by Tomohiro Tachi at UTokyo. My field is computational geometry and fabrication, with a primary research focus on discovering, analyzing, designing, and fabricating forms and behaviors generated by tessellations. When I develop a new idea, I try not to keep the model confined to the computer; instead, I make physical prototypes whenever possible. For me, observations through tactile interaction contribute to a deeper understanding, facilitate the communication of ideas to others, and can also lead to the discovery of new phenomena. When producing physical models, I aim to leverage the properties of tessellations by minimizing the number of distinct components, enhancing manufacturing efficiency.

Artworks

This work is inspired by T=2 icosahedral viral capsids assembled by 120 identical proteins, which do not fit within the Caspar–Klug theory. We investigated whether this tiling can be realized by spherical polygons, using an optimization approach with geometric constraints. As a result, we found possible examples where small holes are allowed. By controlling the shape of the tiles while preserving symmetry and introducing interlocking features, tiles with a thickness of 5 mm fit together to form a shell without the need for additional joint components. This work was derived from a collaborative research project with Sakura Homma, Seri Nishimoto, Tomoya Tendo, Tonan Kamata, Takashi Horiyama, Yasuhiro Matsunaga, and Tomohiro Tachi.