Stamp collecting is one of the world’s most long-standing and popular hobbies, with the number of collectors reaching almost 20 million in the United States alone.

Normally collected and carefully stored in albums, stamp collections have traditionally been two-dimensional, although within the modern era this age-old hobby seems to be moving with the times, with the birth of 3D stamps.

Leading the way in 3D stamp revolution is the Netherlands Institute of Architecture, who has teamed up with the postal service in the Netherlands, and created highly innovative stamps, which, when held close to a webcam, shows three-dimensional models of several un-built buildings of architecture offices in the Netherlands.

This stamp-size exhibit, which is in honour of architects and architecture, consists of five buildings, which includes an image of the Netherlands Architecture Institute itself.

Furthering its commitment to bring stamps in-keeping with modern technology, the 3D stamps are also paired with an Augmented Reality app, known as Urban Augmented Reality (UAR), which enables you to place the un-built buildings in ‘meatspace’ by holding an iPhone up to the site.

Although it has been predicted that this so-called ‘paper architecture’ will always remain on paper, the NAI, in collaboration with the Dutch postal service, has found a way to absorb the public in the fundamental architecture projects, which normally only a confined community of privileged academics and architects have had access to.

With stamps this avant-garde and technologically-inspiring, perhaps the stigma of the ‘geeky’ stamp collecting hobby may be transformed into a more fashionable one?

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