Dedication
To my sunshine, my mom, who taught me the greatest lesson of love.
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Abstract
This thesis investigates the notion of home beyond its functional performance, physical comfort and even aesthetics values. This proposal is about distilling out the essence of what it means to feel at home and weaving sentiment, sagacity and propositions together. Home, the most familiar architectural entity, should not merely provide physical shelter but should also house our minds, memories and dreams. However, during the global pandemic of the year 2020, home- our main residence during tedious lockdowns -was no longer a place to shelter daydreaming, and it did not protect the dreamer. Following the tradition of experimental architecture, this design proposal seeks to address and recreate the lost qualities that shelter the integration of its inhabitants’ thoughts, memories, and dreams. The methodology employed in the proposal is to design ‘in reverse,’ starting from studying an unconventional material (spider silk) to finalize the design process through drawing experiments in the creation of architecture. The designerly methods employed in this proposal attempted to move the locus of exploration from abstraction to prototyping discovery which embodied a portable living architectural unit that aims to shelter our spiritual and corporeal existence. Although the possibility of employing spider silk as a building material in the future may be another step towards living in a more ecological concerned era, this is not an ultimate answer or proposition to solve the question of sustainable architecture.
Keywords: home, dream, memory, nomad, experimental architecture, in reverse design, materiality, spider silk, weaving, drawing, ecology, sustainability, deployable structure, portable structure, modular design
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iv Table
• Acknowledgments • Abstract • Introduction Background Problem statement Design challenge • Methodology Experimental architecture In reverse design Thinking through drawing • In Reverse Design Materiality Prototyping discovery Provisional site proposal • Conclusion • List of figures • Bibliography • Drawings i iii 2 8 14 38 41 45 48
of contents
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2 The Dream-weaving Home INTRODUCTION
Background
The central focus of the graduate projects within the context of the Academic Design OfficeThe Wicked Home- is to re-imagine and re-form the values that comprise home as an expression of inhabiting our environment. The “wickedness” or irreducible complexity of materializing homeliness challenges graduates to explore the central notion of home and invites them to an explorative design trajectory.
When I think of home, I think of a peaceful and protected space. A meaningful space that, besides meeting everyday life’s needs, connects our lives to memories and dreams. In fact, home can remind us of our past experiences and memories, and this is the beginning of forming a sense of belonging and identity.
In the opinion of the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, a home is a place for imagination to connect man’s thoughts, memories and dreams. An inner place that detached man from the outside world, but at the same time, it is in dialectic with it. As he argues, the “chief benefit of the house [is that] the house shelters daydreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows ones to dream in peace. … House is one of the greatest powers of integration for thoughts, memories and dreams of mankind.”1 The Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa also pays attention to concepts such as memory and dream. He considers the timeless task of architecture is in addition to providing physical comfort and facilitating different activities, it must also house our minds, memories, desires and dreams.2
Problem statement
During the global pandemic of the year 2020, home was no longer perceived to be a place for sheltering dreams, memories, and thoughts of its inhabitants. Home turned out to be a limited square meter that merely provided physical shelter, and all distinct activities occurred within the same place just to house our fragile bodies. There was no room for imagination, and its measurable properties imprisoned dreams and conceptions.
A recent study shows that the devastation of the COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant disruption on people’s mental health.3 Mental health wellbeing as one of the 21 century’s issue needs to be addressed from different perspectives. From an architectural point of view, it is tangible that some qualities are missing in our contemporary dwellings to facilitate this wellbeing. In order to house our minds and sustain dreams and memories, rethinking the creation of a shelter to comfort ‘daydreaming’i, is essential.
i Thought and experience do not merely approve of human values. The values that belong to daydreaming mark humanity in its depths, and it derives direct pleasure from its own being. When we experience daydreaming, we are recollecting or reliving the memories of our former dwelling-places, which reconstitute themselves in a new daydream.1
1 Bachelard, G., & Jolas, M. (1994). In The poetics of space: the classic look at how we experience intimate places (p. 6). essay, Beacon Press.
2 Robinson, S., & Pallasmaa, J. (2015). In Mind in architecture: neuroscience, embodiment, and the future of design (p. 52). essay, The MIT Press.
3 Abbott, A. (2021, February 3). COVID’s mental-health toll: how scientists are tracking a surge in depression. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00175-z.
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We have been nomads for 99 per cent of our known existence’s period on earth; however, nowadays, the idea that nomads could actually take their home with themselves has been diminished by the concept of land ownership property. According to United Nation’s statistics, 79.5 million people in 2019- almost double the number of people in crisis registered a decade ago- have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of war, violence, human rights violations and other emergencies.1 On the other hand, the impact of climate change on global displacement is, of course, a reason for great concern. In 2019, climate-related disasters caused 24.9 million displacements in 140 countries, and without ambitious climate actions, the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance could reach over 200 million each year by 2050. 2
From what I mentioned earlier, home to me is a place where you feel you belonged, independent of your geographical location. In this situation, if we could take our house with us, then we are kind of breaking the traditions of land ownership, which is likely to happen with climate change. Therefore, rethinking the portability of architecture is essential, maybe not for the next ten years, but beyond that, we have to think through these propositions’ possibilities for our own benefit in the longer run.
The gift of imagination
Being obliged to live a sedentary lifestyle to its extremes made our homes, “our sweet homes”, unbearable to live in. Stagnancy is in contrast with mankind’s nomadic nature. Despite this situation where people are being forced to stay in lockdowns with movement restrictions (In this case, to slow down the spread of a disease), there have never been limits to our imagination. The most distinct capability that has been granted to human beings is the gift of imagination that empowers us to travel in time and space freely.3
“What is the function of dreaming? Why do we have the ability to dream? When do we resort to dreaming? At times when we are unhappy with our circumstances. And how extraordinary is it that no dictatorship in the world can control it? No system of inquisition can control one’s fantasies. They can throw you in jail but you still have the ability to live your sentence outside the prison without anyone holding you there. Through the imagination, you can pass over the insurmountable walls without leaving any trace of yourself.”3
_Abbas Kiarostami, Film director
1 United Nations. (n.d.). UN refugee chief laments nearly 80 million people forcibly displaced | | UN News. United Nations. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066492.
2 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (n.d.). ‘Climate change is the defining crisis of our time and it particularly impacts the displaced’. UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2020/11/5fbf73384/climate-change-defining-crisis-time-particularly-impacts-displaced.html.
3 Marvelly, P. (2020, April 4). Abbas Kiarostami: 24 Frames - The Culturium -. The Culturium. https://www.theculturium.com/abbas-kiarostami-24-frames/.
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What does it mean to feel at home?
One of the most extraordinary capabilities of the human’s mind is to suspend reality and inhabit an alternative universe at the same time of distress and disaster. Being able to take things that you hold dear in the world with you and reactivate them - even if they are simply memories, a wish or a dream – empowers you to go anywhere and weather out any difficulties.
“I wish! A man could take his homeland with him like a violet Wherever he wants
In the light of rain
In the clear sun”
_Mohammadreza Shafii Kadkani, Poet
A Korean artist Du Ho Suh has captured the sense of longing for memory and nostalgia with his one-to-one scale replica of his childhood home rendered entirely in fabric. Du ho believes “his fabric series (a perfect home) was not about recreating the physical space. It was more about transporting the memory of the space.”1
When I think of my childhood home, I vividly remember the softness of the warp and weft of a beautifully crafted Persian carpet under my fingertips. The Persian nomad motifs carpeted the floor and defined the interior space we inhabited. It takes me just a few more seconds to imagine my self being surrounded by those woven threads of the most beautiful craft of my homeland.
1 YouTube. (2016). The Evocative Fabric Stylings of Do Ho Suh | Brilliant Ideas Ep. 38. YouTube. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=jbL4jsC0itw&list=PLMKXHTPuUaE4RgaCqWv9tRWFI6X2g7dp7&index=9&t=569s.
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Figure1 Do Ho Suh’s art installation home within a home
Figure2 “A Gate in the Way” from Knot Series (Yazd, 2011)
Design challenge
In light of what I mentioned earlier, the design challenge is to develop a portable living architectural unit that shelters our spiritual and corporeal existence. This proposal is about weaving sentiment, sagacity and proposition together and how individuals witness the world evolving and how they position themselves in this evolution.
The nomadic spirit of this mobile architecture necessitates breaking the conventional design approach, which starts from site analysis to the final architectural output. This proposal promotes an ‘in reverse’ design approach, which starts from a deep understanding of a material and then begins to imagine, project and test architectural forms with respect to the characteristic of the material. Hence, the materiality of this mobile architecture needs to be addressed. A modular design should be integrated within the parameters of this architectural unit to be adaptable enough in order to accommodate both private and public. Therefore it can potentially become a temporary site of conversation to accommodate diverse narratives of a larger community.
The fundamental apparatus for realizing the project is briefed in below diagram:
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Figure3 The diagram of the proposal synopsis
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8 The Dream-weaving Home
METHODOLOGY
Following the tradition of experimental architecture, this design proposal seeks to address and recreate the lost qualities that shelter the integration of its inhabitants’ thoughts, memories, and dreams. The methodology employed in the proposal is to design ‘in reverse’ through drawing experiments in the creation of architecture.
Experimental architecture
“The task of the experimental architect is to take us to places and spaces we haven’t been before” 1 Experimental architecture is a visionary branch of architectural discipline and a way of research practice. It intends to challenge architectural conventions and develop alternative architectural paradigms by redefining the field’s tools, materials, and limits. Peter Cook, in 1970, introduced the term into discourse with the publication of his book Experimental Architecture. Experimental Architecture consolidates conceptual and practical frameworks by developing a set of approaches capable of addressing complex and contextualized questions to enable the transition from an industrial towards an ecological era. It creates experimental platforms within the transdisciplinary nature of experimental architecture to find an alternative form of dealing with ecological issues.2
“…Ecology isn’t just about global warming, recycling, and solar power-and also not just to do with everyday relationships between humans and nonhumans. It has to do with love, loss, despair, and compassion. It has to do with depression and psychosis. It has to do with capitalism and with what might exist after capitalism. It has to do with amazement, open-mindedness, and wonder. It has to do with doubt, confusion, and skepticism. It has to do with concepts of space and time. It has to do with delight, beauty, ugliness, disgust, irony, and pain. It has to do with consciousness and awareness. It has to do with ideology and critique. It has to do with reading and writing. It has to do with race, class, and gender. It has to do with sexuality. It has to do with ideas of self and the weird paradoxes of subjectivity. It has to do with society. It has to do with coexistence.” 3
In reverse design
The nomadic spirit of the proposal necessitates breaking the conventional design approach, which starts from site analysis to the final architectural output. This proposal promotes an ‘in reverse’ design approach, which starts from studying different materials to find out the suitable material(s) based on the project’s necessities and then begins to imagine, project and test architectural forms with respect to the characteristic of the chosen material(s).
Thinking through drawing
Drawing, for me, is a ‘way of thinking’ through different materials and methods. The act of drawing, whether through utilizing pen and pencil or thread and fiber, leads me to places that I would not arrive by any other means. Through each line that I draw, I feel, learn and construct what I see with my eyes either closed or wide open.
1 Woods, L. (2010, August 12). THE EXPERIMENTAL. LEBBEUS WOODS. https://lebbeuswoods.wordpress. com/2010/08/12/the-experimental/.
2 Armstrong, R. (2020). In Experimental architecture: designing the unknown (pp. 39–54). essay, Routledge.
3 Morton, T. (2012). In The ecological thought (p. 2). essay, Harvard University Press.
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10 The Dream-weaving Home
Figure4 The spider, Pencil drawing on paper, 25x105 cm.
Figure5 In search of Windowscapes drawings, Ink on paper, Each 15x21 cm.
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Figure6 In search of Windowscapes drawings, Ink on paper, Each 15x21 cm.
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IN REVERSE DESIGN
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Materiality
The materiality of a portable architecture that shelters our physiological and psychological needs is one of the first and foremost challenges that needs to be addressed. The proposed material should be both lightweight to be easily carried and durable to last for a long period in terms of its physical characteristics. Speaking of its psychic characteristics, it should serve the need of a devotional and spiritual act to encode and preserve its inhabitant’s memories and dreams.
Golden Orb Spider Silk
The lightest weight and strongest material in nature is spider silk which is stronger by mass than steel and more durable and flexible than Kevlar.1
History
The dream of harnessing spider silk for weaving is an ancient dream that was first explored in the 19th century by a French missionary. Father Paul Camboué was interested in finding a way to take business away from the Chinese who were weaving with silkworm silk. He began to collect and experiment with the silk golden orb spider in Madagascar, and he engaged local Malagasy weavers who were enrolled at the Eco professional. Set about to weave a grand weaving that could be displayed at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. This was one of these sorts of colonial World’s Fairs. Hangings for beds were made entirely woven from spider silk that was harvested in Madagascar. However, today the whereabouts of those hangings are unknown. The idea of creating an industry that could compete with Chinese silkworms’ silk proved to be unrealistic. Since spiders are cannibals, it is almost impossible to domesticate them in order to gather enough spider silk to make a textile. 2
1 Matchar, E. (2017, July 26). New Artificial Spider Silk: Stronger Than Steel and 98 Percent Water. Smithsonian. com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/new-artificial-spider-silk-stronger-steel-and-98-percentwater-180964176/.
(n.d.). https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/3280/a-golden-spider-silk-textile.
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Golden Spider-Silk Textile. The Art Institute of Chicago.
Figure7 The golden orb spider
Figure8 Bed hangings woven from spider silk
Figure9 Paul Camboué
However, in 2003 Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley revived the spider-silk dream. They gathered a group of 80 people to work on the project, and it took them five years to collect enough golden orb spider silk to weave one panel of 11 foot by 4-foot spider silk textile. This cloth is ornamented with the elaborate textured patterns of a Lamba Akotifahana, a 19th-century luxury textile of Madagascar’s Merina people. 1
Silk harvesting process
The female golden orb-weaver spiders are collected in and around Ananarivo, Madagascar. Each female spider can weave giant webs in about two meters. The spiders are collected in a building called “Spibery.” Each spider is set into a small cone, and its legs are wrapped to protect the spider from injury. The silk is extracted by stimulating the spinnerets on the spider’s abdomen; the silk sticks to the finger and is pulled. After milking the spiders, they are returned to the wild. Spiders are separated into groups of 24 individuals to produce a 24-strand thread. Multiple strands are spun by a small machine to make a thread. This 24-strand thread is wound into cones. From the cones, the thread is “thrown” (twisted and doubled) into multiples of 24 depending on the thickness required and transferred to bobbins. Both exhibited textiles use 96 strands. The prepared thread is then mounted on the loom for weaving. 2
1 A Golden Spider-Silk Textile. The Art Institute of Chicago. (n.d.). https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/3280/a-golden-spider-silk-textile.
2 Victoria and Albert Museum. (2019). How was it made? Golden spider silk. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Fv1qq6ypiTk&list=PLMKXHTPuUaE4RgaCqWv9tRWFI6X2g7dp7&index=13&t=321s.
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Figure10 Spider Silk being woven
Figure11 How was it made? Golden spider silk (video stills)
Weaving technique
Two different techniques were used to create the cape and shawl on display:
Spider silk shawl is made using traditional weaving techniques and motifs from the highlands of Madagascar. It is brocaded with geometric shapes representing stylized birds and flowers. Each brocading weft (the brocade is the thicker pattern that is seen on the textile) has ten of 96-strand thread; therefore, each pass of the shuttle creating the raised motifs comprises 960 spider silk strand.1
The embroidered and appliqued cape has a plain taffeta ground weave. Once the panels are woven, the prepared design is drawn and transferred onto the silk. The panels are placed on embroidery frames giving a taut surface on which to work. The cape features a range of embroidery and applique techniques. The completed panels are cut to shape, and woven spider silk lining is attached to the underside. The lining of the cape uses 48 stand thread. The panels are then stitched together to create this extraordinary spider silk cape.1
1 Victoria and Albert Museum. (2019). How was it made? Golden spider silk. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Fv1qq6ypiTk&list=PLMKXHTPuUaE4RgaCqWv9tRWFI6X2g7dp7&index=13&t=321s.
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Figure13 Golden Spider Silk hand-woven brocaded textile
Figure14 Yellow woven spider silk cape
Figure12 How was it made? Golden spider silk (video stills)
Artificial spider silk
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have created a new material that mimics spider silk’s strength, stretchiness and energy-absorbing capacity. The artificial spider silk is created from hydrogel, which is 98 percent water and two percent silica and cellulose. By pulling out silica and cellulose from hydrogel after approximately 30 seconds, the water evaporates, and only the strong and stretchy thread is left behind. The fibers are not only extremely strong but also have the advantage of being produced at room temperature without chemical solvents, unlike other synthetic fibers such as nylon, which require extremely high temperatures for spinning. 1
The artificial spider silk is completely biodegradable, and its potential uses in tissue engineering (such as artificial tendons and surgical thread) and military arenas (such as bulletproof vest) have been tested in recent years. Another possibility is modifying these fibers into completely different material by replacing the cellulose with various polymers.1
If artificial spider silk can be produced at scale, since it is composed of common and accessible materials (water, silica and cellulose), it has the potential to be affordable. However, replicating the process of spider’s spinnerets in order to produce artificial spider silk is extremely difficult; engineers at Cambridge’s Centre for Natural Material Innovation are using a robotic device to pull and spin fibers more quickly and at a larger scale than before.1
Why artificial spider silk?
Textile is the second dirtiest industry on the planet after oil since it is an industry that provides a product that every human being on the planet consumes; therefore, the scale is massive. Generally, fibers are manufactured from two sources. Natural, plant-based textile fibers such as a cotton plant. On the other hand, there are petroleum-based polymers, such as polyesters and nylons and acrylic, which come from barrel oil. Based on the current best guess, it takes hundreds of years to degrade these polymers. The major problem of the current natural basis fibers is that it is almost impossible to completely support every consumers on this planet solely with those processes.2
In transitioning from our current hydrocarbon-consuming society to an ecological era, we must reevaluate and reconsider our consumption of materials’ choices not only for humanity’s sake but also for the sake of other living creatures to reestablish some balance between ourselves and the planet we inhabit.
1 Matchar, E. (2017, July 26). New Artificial Spider Silk: Stronger Than Steel and 98 Percent Water. Smithsonian. com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/new-artificial-spider-silk-stronger-steel-and-98-percentwater-180964176/.
2 YouTube. (2019). Bolt Threads uses spider silk to make apparel. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=UEIKT7SAaTc&list=PLMKXHTPuUaE4RgaCqWv9tRWFI6X2g7dp7&index=63.
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Spiber
Spider silk is stronger by weight basis than high-tension steel, and by toughness basis, it is 7 times more durable and flexible than Kevlar; moreover, it is entirely biodegradable. However, producing spider silk on a large scale is extremely difficult due to the cannibalistic nature of spiders they feed on each other. Spiber Inc., a Japanese biotechnology company, introduced new artificial spider silk, which can be mass-produced by the end of 2021. Spiber’s solution for producing synthetic spider silk was to recreate the material’s molecules by synthesizing the protein (fibroin) that imparts dragline silk with its compelling characteristics, namely its strength and stretchability. The development of these innovative protein materials is called Brewed Protein™.1
Brewed Protein™
“Brewed Protein™ refers to protein materials produced from plant-derived biomass using Spiber’s proprietary fermentation process.”2 The process begins with analyzing the genetic information responsible for protein production in nature. After designing a strand of DNA that provides desirable properties, the recombinant DNA is incorporated into a microorganism. The microorganism is given sugars and minerals to grow and produce the designed protein. When the fermentation process is completed, the desired protein is separated from the microorganisms, and it is dried into a pellet or powder, which is called Brewed Protein™. Brewed Protein™ can then be processed into variable materials. In order to produce threads, the protein powder is dissolved into a solution called a dope and then it is extruded from a nozzle, and eventually, it is hardened into a fibre.3 These artificial spider-silk fibers are called Qmonos, based on Kumonosu, the Japanese word for spiderweb.4
1 About Us. Spiber Inc. (n.d.). https://www.spiber.inc/en/about/.
2 Brewed Protein™. Spiber Inc. (n.d.). https://www.spiber.inc/en/brewedprotein/.
3 Hahn , J. (2019, October 24). Spiber creates first commercially available jacket from emulated spider silk with The North Face Japan. Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/24/spiber-moon-parka-spider-silkthe-northface-japan/.
4 Brownell, B. E. (2017). In Transmaterial next: a catalog of materials that redefine our future (p. 247). essay, Princeton Architectural Press.
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Figure15 The synthetic proteins are extruded from the nozzle and spun into a yarn.
Figure16 Spiber’s production including yarn, fiber fluff, plastic films and brewed protein.
Brewed Protein materials can be processed into elegant filament fibers with features such as cashmere-like softness or thermal and moisture-wicking properties of wool. They can also be processed into resins similar to tortoiseshell or animal horn. Owing to the adaptability of Brewed Protein™, ranging from medical applications to lightweight composite materials, they can be adapted to address specific applications’ needs in different fields and industries.1
Production process of Brewed ProteinTM Materials
1. Designing and synthesizing the genes that code for the desired amino acid sequence for the Brewed Protein™ polymer.
2. Introducing these genes into microorganisms that are engineered to produce the proteins in a highly productive manner.
3. Fermenting microorganisms on a large scale and tanks using sugars to produce proteins.
4. Separating proteins from microorganisms and drying them into powder.
5. Processing protein powder into variable forms, namely fibers, films and resin.2
1 Brewed Protein™. Spiber Inc. (n.d.). https://www.spiber.inc/en/brewedprotein/. 2 piber. KISCO. (n.d.). https://www.kisco-net.com/spiber/.
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Figure18 Production process of Brewed ProteinTM Materials
Figure17 The yarn is then woven into a textile by Goldwin
Environmental benefits
Brewed Protein materials are designed to be independent of petrochemicals as primary feedstock and to not create or degrade into environmentally persistent microplastics. Therefore they have significantly less impact on marine ecosystems compared to traditional plastic materials.
Furthermore, Brewed Protein production’s unique microbial fermentation technology shows considerable potential for avoiding ethical and environmental concerns, including high greenhouse gas emissions often associated with commonly-used animal fibers. Due to its unique microbial fermentation technology, the production of Brewed Protein avoids environmental and ethical concerns, including high greenhouse gas emissions which are often associated with commonly-used animal fibers.1
Moon parka
“Every giant leap starts with small steps.” In late 2015, Spiber announced a collaboration with The North Face’s Japanese distributor Goldwin to produce a jacket made from synthetic spider silk for extreme environments, such as the South Pole. Moon Parka Claimed to be the first piece of clothing made from synthetic proteins. Spiber has spun proteins into multifilament yarn, and then Qmonos has woven into textile by Goldwin and forms the jacket’s shell. This outer layer is dyed as the same colour as the natural golden orb spider’s silk and remains biodegradable.2
the natural spider silk has a property called ‘supercontraction’, where water is absorbed, the molecular composition of the silk will shrink by up to half of its original size in few seconds. However, Spiber and Goldwin were able to optimize the protein textile to keep its shape when wet while making it feasible to mass production at a lower price.3 A breathable waterproof laminate is added to prevent moisture permeation from snow and to provide wind-breaking performance.4
1 Brewed Protein™. Spiber Inc. (n.d.). https://www.spiber.inc/en/brewedprotein/.
2 Brownell, B. E. (2017). In Transmaterial next: a catalog of materials that redefine our future (p. 247). essay, Princeton Architectural Press.
3Hahn , J. (2019, October 24). Spiber creates first commercially available jacket from emulated spider silk with The North Face Japan. Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/24/spiber-moon-parka-spider-silkthe-northface-japan/.
4 THE NORTH FACE Sp. Spiber Inc. (n.d.). https://www.spiber.inc/en/tnfsp/mp/.
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Figure19 The Moon Parka jacket
Figure20 The moon parka jacket (video still)
A mass-production plant for Spiber’s Brewed Protein™ materials will be constructed in Spiber’s in Thailand, which is set to be completed in 2021. The plant is expected to be the world’s largest structural protein fermentation facility that can produce several hundred tonnes per year. 1
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1 Spiber commences construction of Brewed Protein™ mass production plant in Thailand. Spiber Inc. (n.d.). https://www.spiber.inc/en/news/detail/id=265.
Figure21 Spiber’s inauguration ceremony on March 29 2021 its production facility in Thailand.
Prototyping discovery
The primary aim of the ‘in reverse’ design approach is to imagine project and test architectural forms according to the characteristic of the spider silk thread without imposing the form to the material. To fulfill this goal, once again, I started to think through drawing. In this case, I applied and used a material that was not initially designed for drawing. I started to draw and think through fiber and thread and questioned how line- the basic unit of drawing -can be bent and twisted into different shapes to replicate a fabric pattern?
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Figure22 In search of weaving crafted piece, thread on foam board, 50x70 cm.
The logic behind the crafted piece, which is known as string art, reminded me of the mathematical concept of parabolic curves. Once again, I thought through drawing, and I questioned how parabolic curves might transform into three dimensions.
By studying the history of weaving and the textile industry, it can be realized that weaving is in a close relationship between mathematics and materiality. A loom or a weaving machine is actually a computer that produces a continuous thread of decision making. In 1804, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, a French inventor of the Jacquard loom, revolutionized how patterned cloth could be woven. The Jacquard Loom is the first machine that used interchangeable punch cards to instruct a machine to function automatically, similar to today’s computer programs. Jacquards invention revolutionized human-machine interaction in its use of binary code to instruct the loom like a machine to carry out weaving as an automated process. Furthermore, it inspired the design of early computers such as the Analytical Engine. When Charles Babbage, the British mathematician, introduced his idea for the Analytical Engine, Ava Lovelace observed the relationship between the Jacquard loom and the analytical engine.1
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns, just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
_Ada Lovelace, Mathematician
1 Programming patterns: the story of the Jacquard loom. Science and Industry Museum. (2019, June). https:// www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/jacquard-loom.
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Figure23 Design process diagrams.
Figure24 Jacquard-woven picture “A la memoire de J.M. Jacquard”
Initially,I envisioned to facilitate a nomadic lifestyle through a portable and deployable structure; hence, I tested the possibility of folding a collision of two hyperbolic parabolics.
In the initial model, tape and thread were used to create the connections, but the result was not desirable as the connections were too fragile and hard to control.
In the later trial, elastic rubber bands in the connection points enhanced the overall control of folding the model.
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Figure25 Hyperbolic parabolics, Physical model.
Figure26 Folding process phase1, Physical model.
Figure27 Folding process phase2, Physical model.
In the latest model, heat-shrinkable tubing was used to replicate a hinge connection between the crossed elements in the top and bottom of the structure.
Unlike weaving loom, which is used as a tool or instrument to craft something else, this frame integrates the instrument with the woven fabric, and the loom-like structure is now partly the artifact itself.
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Figure28 Foldable model with warps, Physical model.
Figure30 Weaving process, Physical model, Scale 1:20.
Figure31 Weaving materials.
Figure29 Folding process phase3, Physical model, Scale 1:20.
The loom-like structure can grow and expand modularly to house both private and public space. Thus, it can become a temporary site of conversation to accommodate the diverse narratives of the larger community.
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Figure32 The structure’s modular expansion, Scale 1:20
Figure33 The Silkhouse ,Digital drawing, Scale 1:50
The Silkhouse
Weaving with spider silk
Employing such an extraordinary material to embody a portable living structure is in a close relationship to time. Since it took approximately five years to weave the 4m2 spider silk shawl, it can be anticipated that it will take 40 years to weave the entire textile surface (32 m2) of the silk house.
Therefore if you craft your silk house bit by bit, frame by frame, eventually your home could grow with you and potentially becomes an investment in a hand-me-down textile structure that beholds the lives of its inhabitants in it.
The repetitious movements in weaving or spinning – where you can turn your brain off, and your body becomes hardware for a dedicated performance- are considered devotional and spiritual acts. The ancestral narrative that has been encoded for decades in the creation of this shelter promises to comfort daydreaming and embody the memories and dreams of its weavers.
A historical example of creating an architecture during a lifetime is the “ideal palace” by French postman Ferdinand Cheval, who collected rocks every day on his journey for 33 years to assemble piece by piece a palace.
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Figure 34 Postman Cheval’s Ideal Palace
Weaving with artificial spider silk
Although spider silk has the most desirable properties such as lightness, strength, durability, flexibility and biodegradability, it has some limitations. Firstly, it is very challenging to weave with such a delicate and diaphanous material, and secondly, spiders are almost impossible to domesticate due to their cannibalistic nature. Moreover, the natural spider silk has a property called ‘Supercontraction,’ where water is absorbed, the molecular composition of the silk will shrink by up to half of its original size in few seconds. However, Spiber and Goldwin were able to optimize the Brewed Protein™ textile to keep its shape when wet with its compelling characteristics, namely its strength, stretchability and biodegradability. Additionally, Spiber’s Brewed Protein™ plant is making it feasible to mass produce this material at a lower price.
The more people get involved in the spider silk economy and value system, the larger the community becomes. Therefore the Silkhouse should have the ability to grow with the community as well. So now the Silkpalace can potentially become a temporary site of conversation where each knot holds a unique identity and character and narrates its own life story just like its weaver.
The German philosopher Walter Benjamin argues that knowledge formation comprises repetition and innovation. Repetition of tradition and what is known through local stories and innovating new ideas, and obtaining new knowledge by travelling. This artifact desires to capture this dynamic knowledge formation.1
30 The Dream-weaving Home
1 Benjamin, W., Klee, P., Dolbear, S., Leslie, E., & Truskolaski, S. (2016). The storyteller: tales out of loneliness. Verso.
Figure35 Spider silk properties’ table
*Brownell, B. E. (2017)
The Silkpalace
Figure36 The Silkpalace ,Digital drawing, Scale, 1:50
