Most of you will undoubtedly have come across the so-called ‘living hinge’ pattern which, when cut into thin wood stock, allows it to be bent along one axis (as illustrated below – not my picture).
Taking this concept one step further, I started experimenting with line patterns that would allow the wood to be bent in 2 dimensions, i.e. horizontally, vertically and everything in between. The pattern itself is based upon some pictures I found on the internet so I’m certainly not claiming I came up with this. Anyway, I cut a square of 300 x 300 mm as a test. The results were satisfying but not overwhelming. The bend radius in the pictures is as extreme as I could get it without snapping the very thin features in the pattern.
To conclude, I’d say that I could see an application for this as static cladding for an organic surface. As a hinge, it may prove to break too easily under stress and excessive back-and-forth bending.