Figure 2.2 Basic fabrication process . Source: Blonder and Grobman, 2016, Design and fabrication with fibre-reinforced polymers in architecture: available from: https://scholar.google.com

The second type is when textile-like spatial structure or form is produced in architecture, such that forms are designed as skirts, veils, curtains and so on. The third way is when architecture engages with textiles through texts such as in fictional and theoretical writings. Bazrafshan (2014) demonstrates the second and third types in a dissertation about translating the Weaving Art into Architecture. Inspired by Joseph Muller’s poem on grid systems, he imagines the gridded city of Washington DC as a carpet with both horizontal and vertical streets. Each existing block is seen as a manifestation of pattern in the carpet, in a detailed scale and a building can be interpreted as a knot in a fabric. The fourth type is when textiles or hybrids of textiles and composites are used in the actual construction or materialisation of architecture. This study will focus on weaving practices and their translation.

2.5 Form finding and structural weaving

Goldsmith (2014) explains the difference between form-finding and shape- finding. A shape-finding approach is based on personal visualisation of the end product while form finding occurs when the designer is inspired by processes and coordination in nature which inform ways to organise the building project. This study will adopt the form-finding approach which will be demonstrated in the modelling of forms and textile patterns that will be determined by material properties.

Weaving patterns depend on the material’s mechanical performance to frictional and bending resistance generated by the interlacing sticks (Naboni and Breseghello, 2015). They further explain that weaving shows potential for the design and construction of complex doubly curved surfaces, due to the specific bending characteristics of the material. Blonder and Grobman, (2015) proposed a method of form finding with FRP, based on textile characteristics of fibre elements in composite FRP, in the form of woven fabric and self-organisation properties. The method involves hanging up textile membrane, impregnating it with resin, then curing it and overturning the result to obtain a shell like structure, as shown in figure 2.2 below.

Figure 2.2 basic fabrication process, (Blonder and Grobman, 2015)