Designing an Origami Inspired Skyscraper in CAD

In this Instructable, I’ll walk you through the design process of creating a high-rise skyscraper in CAD. This Instructable is not intended to be a step-by-step guide to replicating what I made; it is instead meant to inspire you and provide a foundation for turning your own design concepts into a 3D model.

To accomplish that, I will be walking you through:

1. Finding the right modeling software.
2. Choosing a foundation.
3. Sizing your structure.
4. Laying out your central support and elevators.
5. How to build in windbreaks.
6. Selecting a roof design.
7. Texturing your model.
8. Rendering your model.

My two main design goals for this project were as follows: first, to create a structure that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing in real-world settings; and second, to use folds inspired by the traditional Japanese art of origami as both a practical and an aesthetic design element.

So whether you’re interested in architecture, structural design, or simply building out your ideas in CAD, this project is for you, so let’s get started!

For this project, you'll need:

1. A computer with an internet connection.
2. 3D modeling software.
3. A 3D rendering software.

The first step is selecting your design software. I recommend using whatever 3D modeling program you’re most comfortable with. However, if you’re new to modeling, I suggest SketchUp: it’s free, browser-based, and easy to learn. Fusion 360 and Onshape are also powerful free options, but they have a steeper learning curve. For this project, I used SketchUp.

If you want to render your 3D design, you will also need rendering software. I used D5 Render, a free downloadable program. Fusion 360 also has a powerful built-in rendering software.

What I used:

1. SketchUp for Web | Online 3D Modeling | Browser Based Design | SketchUp
2. D5 Render | Real-Time 3D Rendering Software with AI

Other options:

1. Autodesk Fusion | 3D CAD, CAM, CAE, & PCB Cloud-Based Software | Autodesk
2. Onshape Free Plan

Now that you have your design software ready, the next step is to understand how tall buildings actually behave in the real world. For my project, I studied real skyscrapers, wind patterns, and foundation systems, and I also dug into case studies from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and wind-engineering research.

One thing became clear very quickly: geometry matters. Wind-tunnel tests and fluid dynamics studies show that wind behavior around tall buildings is heavily shaped by the building’s form and surface details. Research suggests that faceted shapes reduce vortex shedding and side-to-side movement compared to flat facades, which is why I chose an octagonal design for my building. The eight sides help smooth the wind, reduce pressure differences, and naturally break up wind loads.

The foundation design followed a similar approach. Geotechnical data shows that very deep foundations are needed for tall buildings, especially when bedrock or stiff strata layers are not close to the surface, such as in earthquake-prone or soft-soil areas. Usually, piles or drilled shafts are used because they help transfer the heavy vertical and lateral loads deep into stable soil or bedrock below the ground.

Helpful articles and websites:

1. Home - Council on Vertical Urbanism
2. https://dozr.com/blog/deep-foundations-explained
3. Tall Building Foundation Design | SkyCiv Engineering
4. Wind engineering studies on tall buildings—transitions in research - ScienceDirect
5. Frontiers | Wind load impact on tall building facades: damage observations during severe wind events and wind tunnel testing

As explained in the previous step, we need a deep, strong foundation. For this reason, I chose to use the pile-assisted raft design, which is the industry standard for tall buildings in urban environments. The vertical piles are each ten feet wide and 200 feet long. They serve to anchor the structure to the ground and to distribute lateral loads into the ground. The raft is a concrete pad 15 feet thick by 325 feet wide. It distributes the structure's vertical load evenly across the foundation. For more explanation, I recommend this article: Tall Building Foundation Design | SkyCiv Engineering

After modeling the foundation, the next step is to lay out the basic shape of your structure, along with the estimated height and width. As you can see, my basic shape is an octagon 250 feet wide, and my estimated height for the structure is 920 feet tall.

For our skyscraper to be structurally sound, it requires a central core capable of absorbing the massive lateral loads caused by the wind. To accomplish this, I sketched a sixty-foot-by-sixty-foot square column at the center of my structure. I positioned my elevator shafts along the sides of this column, with two on each side. For visual appeal, I connected the corners of the elevator bays, resulting in an octagonal central support and a total of eight elevators.

Now that the central core is complete, we can start building the exterior walls. I decided to place a main entrance on every other face of the outer structure. On each of these sides, I used three revolving doors to maximize pedestrian flow. After laying out the entrances, I added a large window and an origami-inspired overhang above the doors, then extended the central column to its final height. Finally, I added an 11-foot-thick ceiling that will also serve as the floor for the next layer, and installed decorative folded spikes around the entrances. (Note: I later doubled the number of spikes for the sake of symmetry.)

The next step is to determine how tall you want each floor to be. I made mine eleven feet tall, with a ceiling three and a half feet thick, so each floor had a total thickness of fourteen and a half feet. I then added some window frames and made that floor a group so I could copy and paste it until I reached my desired height.

As I mentioned earlier, wind can significantly impact a skyscraper, and without proper protection, it can cause serious damage. To address this, I incorporated folds into the design. In the real world, aerodynamic shaping is commonly used to reduce wind effects, which is crucial for a building's structural integrity. In my project, I employed both vertical and horizontal bands of folded peaks, as shown in the image above. These folds alter local flow patterns, disrupting large vortices and decreasing wind pressure. I also took this step as an opportunity to start adding some texture and color to the build.

Next, you'll add the roof, which requires careful research and planning. At the top of a tall building, turbulent wind creates strong uplift and pressure differences that can increase sway and fatigue the structure below. To counter this, the roof is designed with folded, origami-esk planes that break up and redirect the airflow. Instead of a single, strong vortex, the wind splits into smaller, less energetic streams, reducing uplift and peak pressures. This also dampens oscillations traveling down the tower. Structurally, the angled planes also act as a stiffened diaphragm at the crown, increasing rigidity and helping transfer wind loads downward.

For this last stage of modeling, I added some folded spikes around the entrance to improve the overall look and add a bit of style. I also completed the texturing process for the entire structure, making sure all surfaces have the right finish and detail for rendering.

I exported my 3D model from SketchUp and imported it into the D5 Rendering engine. As someone new to rendering software, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy D5 was to learn. Even better, D5 is free, and if you show proof of student status, they offer a premium version at no cost. Once you’re set up and familiar with the interface, you can start exploring its asset library. In my second image, you can see how D5 provides a variety of stock structures and background facades to help add realism to your final images. In addition to that, it provided me with thousands of preset textures to apply to my model.

In conclusion, that's how I designed and rendered my modern skyscraper using the ancient art of origami. I appreciate you taking the time to explore this project with me. I hope you learned something from this Instructable and were inspired to make something of your own. Thank you once again for reading this Instructable.

Until next time God bless!