Week 4

Common Threads

In looking for a path of interest for me in the previous research on prosthetics and 'wearing architecture', I know at this point that I am not interested in the technology aspect but I did find some common elements, or threads, that are very interesting to me. 

First is the importance of the end user - the examples are made to fit and/or are unique to or personilized 
by the user.
Second is the material - each is composed of a textile/woven material, plate/solid material, or a combination.

 

1. User personalization

My Model:  Nodes, the spaces between nodes, how they are connected, and what happens at the point of connection can be flexible, adaptable, personalized.

2. Material

Textile refers to materials made of complex fiber assemblies and includes a wide spectrum of materials. Textile materials are made by interweaving fibers, creating friction between the fibers and holding the material together. (Cerovic, Textile Architecture)

                                                                  Fiber Assemblies

               Random distribution fibers                                    Basic assembly, wrapping                             Advanced Assembly,
                                                                                                                                                                                      braid, weave, knit 

Textile relation to architecture can be as a metaphor, a building assembly, or as an actual building material. 

An example of textile metaphor used as a design concept to create formis Frederick Keisler's design of Endless House and his explanation that the walls were like textile clothes and correlate with the human  body.                

My model: Curvilinear 'textile walls' create space, open to outside space, with a skin which can be draped, folded, compressed, stretched, gathered.

Konrad Wachsmann proposed a solution to the great number of bars and connections required for long span structures.  His Experimental Structural Web wove together continual bars (fibers) to create a textile structural assembly for a long span  based on friction rather than jointing.

My models:  Weaving wires to create a spherical dome (flexible in this model).
 

                   Woven grid can be used to organize program elements, fenestrations and envelope, urban fabric

Next steps will involve studying Gottfried Semper and Kenneth Frampton and their works on tectonics and the more on the relationship between and comparison of fashion and architecture.


Sources

Cerovic, Milutin. "Textile Architecture: Exploring The Potential Of Fiber Assemblies And Their Application In Architecture." SAJ: Serbian Architectural Journal 4.3 (2012): 280-297. Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

Coates, Nigel. "Skin/Weave/Pattern." Architectural Design 76.6 (2006): 44-49. Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.