Textile Tectonics. Research and Design

Textile Tectonics reveals how natural, ornamental and folkloristic patterns – from the veins of leaves to Gothic rose windows, from foam formations to traditional styles of hair braiding and from Celtic knotwork to knitting patterns – can be digitally elaborated into breathtaking, programmable and architecturally viable structures. Internationally renowned architect and researcher Lars Spuybroek has been investigating the relationships between art, architecture and information technology. After a twentieth century dominated by standardization and mass production, contemporary digital technologies are now offering unprecedented possibilities. Textile Tectonics maps out this new territory. Spuybroek presents a theoretical framework and a detailed taxonomy of patterns and structures, followed by more than 100 richly illustrated pages with designs for skyscrapers and façades based on organizational principles ranging from rose windows to knitting patterns.
Since the early 1990’s Spuybroek has researched the relationship between art, architecture and computing. He received international recognition after building the Water Pavilion in 1997, the first building in the world fully incorporating new media. In 2004 NOX finished the D-Tower, the Son-O-house and a cluster of cultural buildings in Lille, France (Maison Folies). In 2006 Spuybroek was selected for the Thomas W. Ventulett III Distinguished Chair of Architectural Design at Georgia Tech to further his research, outreach and intellectual development. The Chair was endowed by and named after the 1957 Georgia Tech alumnus whose global architecture firm designed many of Atlanta’s landmark buildings.
In association with the Georgia Institute of Technology