Designs from Mondrian modules
Designed by David Mitchell
Mondrian modules are
Sonobe type parallelogram
modules folded in an
asymmetric manner. I
discovered that this was
possible in 1995.
Mondrian modules will make
cubes, hexahedra, 12-point
stubby stars and, probably,
although I have not yet
experimented with this, cube
combination forms as well.
However, because of their The Mondrian Cube
asymmetry, they will not make
many of the other forms that can be made with standard Sonobe
modules.
The instructions show you how to make a 12-part Mondrian Cube folded
from either modules divided widthwise into a third / two thirds or a
quarter / three quarters divisions. This does not, of course, exhaust the
possibilities. You will find it a simple matter to reconfigure the modules to
allow you to make the other possible forms.
I originally made this cube in four colours ( see picture above ) but, as
Leyla Torres has pointed out, the design also works well if you use the
pallette of five colours, blue, red, yellow, black and white, that Piet
Mondrian is famous for using in his paintings. I have included assembly
diagrams for one arrangement of each of these colourings. Many others
are possible.
Although the corners of the Mondrian module are turned inside out to
create pockets these pockets are not used in the assembly process.
However, creating them contributes to the clean finish of the design.
David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules 1
Folding the basic third / two thirds Mondrian module
Mondrian modules are folded from squares. In order to achieve the third /
two thirds division you will need an extra square of the same size to use
as a template. You can use any kind of paper. If you are using irogami
begin with your paper arranged white side up.
1
2
1. Fold the template in half upwards,
crease, then unfold.
2. Fold both the top and bottom edges to
the middle, crease, then unfold.
3
4
3. The template is finished.
4. Begin by laying your square on top of
the template like this, making sure the
corners are aligned to the edge of the
template and the crease in the way
marked with circles here.
2 David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules
5 6
5. Fold the right hand corner inwards as 6. Open out the fold made in step 5 and
shown. Make sure the two squares don't remove the square from the template.
slip out of alignment as you make this Arrange with the crease at the top to look
fold. like picture 7.
7 8
7. Fold in half sideways, then unfold. 8. Fold the top edge downwards using the
existing crease.
9 10
9. Fold the bottom edge upwards to 10. Unfold.
lie against the bottom edge of the front
layer.
David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules 3
11 12
11. Fold the top left corner diagonally 12. Unfold.
inwards like this.
13 14
13. Open out the fold made in step 8. 14. Remake the fold made in step 9.
15 16
15. Fold the bottom right corner inwards 16. Unfold.
like this.
4 David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules
17 18
17. Turn the bottom right corner inside out 18. Remake the fold made in step 9 while
in between the other layers using the simultaneously turning the top left corner
existing creases. inside out between the other layers using
the existing creases as shown here.
19
19. The basic Mondrian module is
finished.
Folding the basic quarter / three quarters Mondrian module
Mondrian modules are folded from squares. You can use any kind of
paper. If you are using irogami begin with your paper arranged white side
up.
20 21
20. Fold in half sideways, then unfold. 21. Fold in half upwards, then unfold.
David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules 5
22 23
22. Fold the bottom right corner onto the 23. Fold the top right corner onto the
crease made in step 21, then unfold. crease made in step 22.
23 24
23. Fold the bottom edge upwards to butt 24. Continue with steps 10 through 19 to
against the bottom edge of the front layer. create the basic module.
Constructing the Mondrian Cube
You will need twelve basic modules of the same proportions to construct
a cube.
Configuring the modules
25 26
20. Turn over sideways. 21. Fold in half sideways using the
existing crease then unfold to right angles.
6 David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules
27 28
27. Turn over sideways.
28. Configure all twelve modules to look
like this.
Assembling the four colour Mondrian Cube
You will need three modules in each of four contrasting but
complementary colours.
29
30
29. Four modules, one of each colour, go
together to form one face of the cube.
30. The result will look like this.
David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules 7
31
31. Add the remaining
modules one by one
keeping to the pattern of
colours shown here. In this
arrangement each colour
forms a diagonal zigzag
band around the cube.
32
32. The front and back corners of the
finished four colour Mondrian Cube will
look like this. All the other colourings
that are possible with standard 12-part
Sonobe Corner-pocket Cubes are also
possible with the Mondrian Cube.
8 David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules
Assembling the five colour Mondrian Cube
You will need two modules each in red, blue and yellow, and three mod-
ules each in black and white.
33
33. The modules go together
like this.
34
34. The front and back corners of the
finished five colour Mondrian Cube will
look like this. Many other five colour
patterns are possible.
David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules 9
Other forms
The 6-part Mondrian Hexahedron
The 24-part Mondrian Stubby Star
Copyright David Mitchell 2017
www.origamiheaven.com
10 David Mitchell / Designs from Mondrian modules
