3meters
3meters --- is the most I've done out of paper ('bristol'--photo-backdrop paper). The model was of moderate complexity: the Monkey. I've also done a Horse-and-Rider from a 2-meter square of contact paper backed by medium foil. Before leaving Chicago I a started dreaming about (and making materials experiments for) a lifesize Horse & Rider, from a 10m square. Stay tuned. HOWEVER!: the results on the first model were far from satisfying—even after about 6 hours of hard physical labor (clambering around and into corners etc...) I supported the feet with sticks but the tail and body still sagged. Where there were several layers to the paper, the planes tended to separate from the different weight stresses. And it turns out that even tiny mistakes which are acceptable in a hand-sized model tend to ruin a large one that can be inspected up close. Physics is against us here. A folded model keeps its shape mostly by tensile (and some compressive) stresses, most of which run along the fold-lines. As you increase the scale, you increase the weakness of these supports linearly (the longer line giving more opportunity for stress failures). But what's worse is that the paper’s weight increases as the square of its length, so the weaker lines now have much more to hold up. (For similar reasons it's much easier for insects to jump or fly than it is for larger animals.) I have another rule too: that the amount of hassle on these pieces increases with the square of the length but the benefit & impressiveness increases only linearly... In the last months though I've developed a technique using stiffer foil that I'm pretty sure can work for most models (even without an armature), for squares of up to 2.5 meters. Beyond that, I can't guarantee---yet. Paul told me at the Meeting that the 'sag effect' is true of all the large-scale origami he's seen (so I don’t feel so bad), unless its supported by fancy armatures. That's why he thinks, for the Sukkot project, that the large-scale pieces should be flying animals, maybe Teradactyls, that are hung from the ceilingby transparent cords to as many points as needed. This might even help with the acoustic brightness of that room. And besides, it solves the problem of what to do when the sponja lady comes. If there are to be large pieces in the Museum, though, it's unlikely ceiling-lines are an option. So maybe we should think about creatures that don't stand like most origami but are squatting or are flat to the ground. Isn't there a nice flat Lizard by Montroll someplace?? Saadya