How we make the Radial Vortex: 8 hours in 35 seconds
What you see in 35 seconds took 8 hours to create. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s 8 real hours of precision work, spread over several days, with decisions that cannot be undone and a result that, until the last module is assembled, is not guaranteed.
This is the first time we’ve shown the complete process of the Radial Vortex, from start to finish.
The concept: before touching paper
The Radial Vortex starts on paper. But not on the paper that is folded — on the blank paper where the color map is drawn.
The radial geometry is a structure that grows from a center outwards in symmetrical arms. The name "vortex" is not decorative: it accurately describes what happens when the eye scans the piece from the outside towards the center. The eye enters the spiral and cannot easily leave. This effect is not accidental — it is the result of a calculated chromatic progression module by module.
The color map of the Radial Vortex III goes from deep green at the base to textured sand tones at the top. There are 221 modules, each with a specific chromatic value within that transition. The gradient doesn't jump — it flows. And for it to flow that way, you have to plan exactly which module goes in which position before folding the first one.
The calculation: 221 modules, none to spare
The structure of the Radial Vortex is a flat radial geometry composed of asymmetrical trapezoidal modules. "Asymmetrical" is the key word: unlike the Sonobe module or the cubic module, the Vortex module does not look the same when rotated 180 degrees. This means that each module has a correct and an incorrect orientation, and placing a rotated module ruins the continuity of the gradient.
221 is the exact number of modules this structure needs to close correctly. Not 221, not 222. The geometry of the radial polyhedron underlying the piece determines that number with the same logic an architect uses to calculate the bricks in an arch: one too many or too few and the tension breaks.
The folding: 8 hours start here
Folding is the longest phase and, in a sense, the most solitary. 221 modules, one by one. Each module takes between 1 and 2 minutes to fold with the necessary precision. That's between 4 and 6 hours just for folding.
It's not dead time. Every fold is a decision: 0.5 mm precision on the crease line determines if the module will fit correctly in the assembly. A fold one millimeter out of position in 221 modules generates an accumulation of error that can prevent the final structure from closing with the proper tension and at the exact point. That's why folding is not done in one go: there are 2-3 hour work sessions with quality checks in between.
Modules are organized into chromatic groups as they are folded: the darkest greens in one pile, the intermediate greens in another, the browns, the sands. When they are all ready, the table looks like a disassembled color spectrum.
Assembly: the moment geometry takes control
The assembly of the Radial Vortex begins at the center. The first modules are joined following the radial pattern, and for the first few hours the structure is flat, fragile, without the tension that will hold it upright. This is the most delicate moment: any error in the center is amplified outwards.
As the structure grows, the tension between modules increases and the piece begins to gain rigidity. There is a moment — generally around module 180 or 190 — when something happens that has no precise name in any technical manual: the structure begins to vibrate. Geometry takes control. What was once a fragile assembly becomes a piece that reflects perfect colorimetry, maintains a flowing gradient, and vibrates. That moment justifies all the previous hours.
The last modules — the outer ones, the lightest sands and darkest greens — are integrated into the already firm structure. They are the easiest technically and the most emotionally satisfying: each one that fits is confirmation that the color map drawn on paper before starting worked.
Photography: where paper becomes sculpture
The photography of a MÖMÖ Lab piece is not documentation. It is the final artistic decision.
The Radial Vortex is photographed with hard light from a calculated angle. There are no diffusers, no soft light. Hard light creates precise shadows between the modules that reveal the three-dimensionality of the structure. Without those shadows, the piece looks flat in the photograph. With them, each module has its own volume and the entire structure seems to have its own light.
The result: limited edition, no restock
The process you just read is repeated every time a Radial Vortex is made. There is no simplified version, no shortcuts. 8 hours every time. And that's why each edition is limited: not for marketing strategy, but because it's not possible to mass-produce these pieces without losing exactly what makes them what they are.
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