Origami: Cement at Its Most Sculptural

Origami is OUTERclé’s bold step into the world of three-dimensional tile, molded from our signature cement. It encompasses three sculptural forms — pleats, coves, and cords — each one putting a modern spin on classic relief tile. It’s a tile that takes on many different personalities.

A concrete tile in pink with a pleated shape.

Origami Pleats in Slipper

A concrete tile in orange with a concave stripe shape.

Origami Coves in Flower Pot

A concrete tile in blue with a convex stripe shape.

Origami Cords in Federal Blue

The collection nods to the monolithic motifs found in brutalist architecture, and in particular work of Italian Modernist Gio Ponti. As its name suggests, it also draws breath from classic Japanese aesthetic traditions such as simplicity, reductionism, harmony between form and function, and material expression — sensibilities shared with Brutalism.

Origami lends architectural gravitas leavened by wit and flair wherever it lands and is ideal for outdoor spaces in temperate climes.

Timely Yet Unexpected

Folded pleats, fluted coves, rounded cords — Origami comes in three sculptural identities, each one putting a thoroughly modern spin on a classic form. This allows the collection to traverse multiple design and architectural styles with ease, echoing classicism and brutalism one moment, then modernism and post-modernism the next. We also see ties to streamline moderne and art deco architecture of the 1920s and ’30s.

Then there are Origami’s color offerings, which range from neutral shades of White, Metal, and Black, to earthen tones of Flowerpot and Leaf, to playful shades of Duckling, Basil, Federal Blue, and Slipper.

A panel of green tiles shows the effect of rotating the direction of the pattern of the tiles; a yellow panel shows the pattern facing the same direction.

Origami Pleats in Leaf and Coves in Duckling

A close up of an inky blue concrete tile.

Origami Coves in Federal Blue

The Ultimate Shape Shifter

With its sculptural forms and multifaceted color palette, Origami manages to combine the classic with the modern, fitting into a vast array of aesthetics including FORME and ‘58.

Choose a brightly colored pleat such as Duckling to lean into Origami’s bold and modern side. Go for a cove or cord in a muted shade like Leaf to conjure a romantic or eclectic feeling.

Playful genre jumping. Shape, movement and activation.

Smell

CONCRETE by Comme des Garçons. Sandalwood with notes of musk, rose, clove, and cardamom.

Taste

Nigiri and sashimi. Botan Rice Candy. Salt water taffy. Matcha.

See

Tampopo by Juzo Itami. The Grand Budapest Hotel. The works of Hayao Miyazaki. Barragan: Armando Salas Portugal photographs of the architecture of Luis Barragan.