Working in the design world, we see lots of architects’ project submissions, but rarely do we see renderings as exciting as the work itself… so when we saw this modern take on the portfolio from Wendy Evans Joseph, an award-wining architect whose public commercial and residential structures span the country, let’s just say that we were pleasantly surprised. Instead of a stale set of photos that hardly do justice to the buildings or can just as easily be viewed online, Pop Up Architecture uses flaps, tabs, and flipping pages to turn 10 of Joseph’s projects into miniature paper models!

Joseph got the idea from her husband, who suggested an alternative to the standard photo monograph that many architectural firms produce. “What people really like, and what clients really like, are models,” Joseph says. “So we created what we might call an adult pop-up book. It’s highly crafted; it’s very highly engineered.”

Joseph worked with “paper engineer” Kees Moerbeek, a Dutch pop-up master. For her, conceptualizing and executing the book was much like creating an actual architectural project. “When we work with structural engineers, the way we evaluate them is efficiency,” says Joseph. “And with paper engineers, it’s the same.… A good paper engineer will achieve a really exciting design using the least amount of folds and glue joints.” The end result is smart, well crafted, and definitely worth a look (or a play).

More fun than any coffee table book we’ve ever encountered—and the least likely to collect dust—it’s a great gift for the architecture-buff in your life. Check out some of our favorite, foldable pages from the book and the architecture that inspired them.

String and paper allows this bridge to rise boldly from the clean white pages.

Joseph’s bridge creates a walkway for students of Rockefeller University in New York City.

A residential observatory comes to life amidst a smattering of stars.

The home observatory is located in Ghent, New York.

Shiny silver paper mimics the gleaming, curvaceous shopping center façade.

The Wykagyl Shopping center in New Rochelle, New York.

For more information about Wendy Joseph Architecture, visit WejArchitecture.com. To purchase Pop Up Architecture, visit Amazon.com.—Leah Konen