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Tag Archives: pop-up cities

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New York City in a Box

  21 July 2019 , ,
As featured in this article from Live Auctioneers

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Inspired by the Stettheimer Dollhouse at the Museum of the City of New York, this pop up model in a recycled metal box (measuring 8 inches wide by 15.5 long and 2.5 deep) reveals a miniature world of New York City architecture and landmarks within. About 30 buildings made from hand cut paper and tin are spread across a flat ground of painted streets. Each building is made from a single sheet of paper that is cut and folded like origami to create different shapes and sizes. A hand cranked lever operates a mechanism of chains and gears hidden beneath the  paper surface of the city streets. These gears move the magnetized trains and airplanes through the city.

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Hand-crank and music box recording from Freesound

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The University of Oxford in a Box

  1 October 2018 ,

 

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Music: Minuet in G Minor by Bach

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This paper model of Oxford folds out of a leather suitcase. This is a souvenir of my Oxford experience.
Half the model features university’s main buildings: The Radcliffe Camera, Bodleian Library, Sheldonian Theatre, University Church, and the Clarendon Building. The other half is the campus of Saint Catherine’s College in Oxford.
Attaining precision in a small model is difficult and took about two weeks to build. It is made from paper cutouts, which were folded into various shapes. Below are two of the cutouts before assembly. Dimensions: 7 by 14 inches and 1.5 inches deep.
Below is the image of one of these cutouts before assembly, and the ground plan of the campus before the paper buildings were mounted on cardboard.

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Saint Catherine's College in foreground. The center of campus in background.
Saint Catherine’s College in foreground. The center of campus in background.
Radcliffe Camera - History Library
Radcliffe Camera – History Library
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Clarendon Building - the original home of Oxford University Press
Clarendon Building – the original home of Oxford University Press
Saint Catherine's College
Saint Catherine’s College
Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in foreground.
Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in foreground.
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Columbia University Artwork

  5 August 2018 ,
Featured in:
– The Columbia Daily Spectator in September 2016
– The Columbia student newspaper in October 2016
– The 2018-19 edition of the Asia Pacific Affairs Council journal
– And the Columbia College alumni magazine in spring 2020

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A map of campus

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This ink and watercolor drawing shows every building, window, and architectural detail on campus. The number of windows on each façade are faithful to reality. There are at least 2,000 windows. The perspective was formed from Google Earth satellite and street view images. The image measures 26 by 40 inches and is framed in my dorm room. I wanted to create a souvenir of my four years at Columbia. Years from now, I will look at this image and remember.
The scan below is suitable for viewing but not for large-format printing. Please request access to the full-size scan at ~300dpi
View more artwork like this about my experiences walking in New York City.

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Columbia Campus

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Ink sketches of campus

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Hamilton Hall at Columbia University
College Walk
College Walk
College Walk and Broadway
College Walk and Broadway
Van Am Quad
Van Am Quad
Low Library
Low Library
Fayerweather Hall (History Dep't)
Fayerweather Hall (History Dep’t)
Faculty House
Faculty House

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Columbia in a Box

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Before my first year at Columbia University, I assembled this tiny model of the campus out of painted and folded paper. Each building was measured out on a flat sheet of paper, decorated, painted, cut out, and then folded. Each building is made with no more than one sheet of paper. This creation folds out of a vintage cigar-box. Dimensions: 5 inches wide, 9 inches long, and 3 inches deep.

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Music: Columbia University Fight Song

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Morningside Campus
Morningside Campus
Columbia University in a box
Columbia University in a box
Low Library
Low Library
Lerner Hall
Lerner Hall
Barnard students
Barnard students
Student with mattress
Student with mattress
Hamilton Hall
Hamilton Hall
Butler Library
Butler Library
Panorama of Low Library
Panorama of Low Library
Philosophy Hall at Columbia University
Philosophy Hall at Columbia University
Riverside Church
Riverside Church
Grant Memorial
Grant Memorial
Riverside Church
Riverside Church
Low Library at Columbia University
Low Library at Columbia University
Van Am Quad at Columbia University
Van Am Quad at Columbia University
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
Philosophy Hall at Columbia University
Philosophy Hall at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University

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Timelapses of Morningside

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This project features six time-lapse sequences of Columbia University’s campus. I mounted a camera above my desk as I drew and painted each watercolor.

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Music: Columbia University Fight Song performed by Justin Zhao

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College Walk
College Walk
Alma Mater
Alma Mater
Van Am Quad at Columbia University
Van Am Quad at Columbia University
Butler Library
Butler Library
Hamilton Hall
Hamilton Hall
Van Am Quad
Van Am Quad
Low Library
Low Library
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Model of Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn

  15 July 2016 ,

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A wind-up music box featuring Jane’s Carousel along the Brooklyn Waterfront. When closed, the antique cigar box measures a mere 7 by 7 inches and 3 inches deep. When opened, the Brooklyn Bridge and historic Jane’s Carousel fold out. The carousel spins to the tune of the music while the moon slides across the night sky.
Materials: $4 cigar box, $5 wind-up music box, electrical wire (for trees), plastic lids for wheels, string, tape measure, tin foil, and thick paper

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New York Skyline
New York Skyline
Jane's Carousel along the Brooklyn Waterfront
Jane’s Carousel along the Brooklyn Waterfront
The Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge
Jane's Carousel 1
Jane's Carousel

Carousel with my hand and a pen for scale.