Architextiles refers to a broad range of projects and approaches that combine

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s, and

materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

. Architextiles explore textile-based approaches and inspirations for creating structures, spaces, surfaces, and textures. Architextiles contribute to the creation of adaptable, interactive, and process-oriented spaces.

Awning An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of Acrylic fiber, acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tight ...

is the most basic type of architectural textile. In Roman times, a

velarium A ("curtain") was a type of awning used in Ancient Rome, Roman times. It stretched over the whole of the , the seating area in Amphitheatre, amphitheaters, to protect spectators from the sun. Retractable awnings were relatively common through ...

was used as an awning to cover the entire

cavea The ''cavea'' (Latin language, Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Theatre of ancient Greece, Greek and Roman theatre (structure), Roman theatres and Roman amphitheatre, amphitheatres. In Roman theatres, the ''cavea'' is tradition ...

, the seating area within

amphitheaters An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

, serving as a protection for the spectators against the sun. Hylozoic Ground, on the other hand, is a modern and complex architextile example. Hylozoic Ground is an

interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...

architecture model presented in the 18th Biennale of Sydney. Olympiastadion is another example of modern architecture presented in an unusual way.

Etymology

Architextiles is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

word of textiles and architecture. 'Technology' and 'Textiles' both are derivation of a Latin language word that means 'construct' or 'weave'.Textiles is also among derivative words of the Ancestor of the Indo-European language word "tek" which is the root to architecture.

Architecture and textiles

Architectural textiles

Architextiles is the

that is inspired by characteristics, elements, and manufacturing techniques of textiles. It is a field that spans multiple disciplines. It is a combination of textile and architectural manufacturing techniques.

Laser cutting Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutt ...

, ultrasonic welding,

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains as ...

setting, pultrusion, electrospinning, and other advanced

textile manufacturing Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

techniques are all included in architextiles. Architextiles integrate various fields like architecture, textile design, engineering, physics and materials science.

Textile inspirations

Architextiles exploits the sculptural potential of textile-based structures. Textiles motivate architects with their numerous features, enabling them to express ideas via design and create environmentally conscious buildings. Textiles also influence architecture in the following ways:

Characteristics

Textiles are adaptable, lightweight, and useful for a variety of structures, both temporary and permanent. Tensile surfaces composed of structural fabrics, such as canopies, roofs, and other types of shelter, are included in architectural textiles. If necessary, the subjected materials are given special purpose finishes, such as

waterproofing Waterproofing is the process of making an object, person or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resists the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet env ...

, to make them suitable for outdoor use.

Coated fabrics

There is considerable use of coated materials in certain architectures, Pneumatic structures are made of teflon or PVC-coated synthetic materials. Coated

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, coated

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...

and coated

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

are the most common materials used in lightweight structural textiles. Lightweight fabric constructions accounted for 13.2 square yards of total usage in 2006, according to Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) Chemically inert,

Polytetrafluoroethylene Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, and has numerous applications because it is chemically inert. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemours, a corporate spin-of ...

fibreglass coating is capable of withstanding temperatures as low as -100 °F (-73 °C) and as high as +450 °F (232 °C).

Interactive textiles

Textiles that can sense stimuli are known as interactive textiles. They have the capability to adapt or react to the environment. Felecia Davis has designed interactive textiles such as parametric tents that are able to change size and shape in response to changes in light and the number of people underneath.

3D structures

Soundproof 3D woven walls with a ribbed structure that are suitable for soundproofing and interior designing. Aleksandra Gaca designed the furnishing of the concept car Renault Symbioz with a 3D fabric named 'boko'.

= Origami-inspired textiles

= Textiles inspired by

origami ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a ...

impart novel properties to architecture. Architects try out origami and three-dimensional fabric structures when designing structures.

History

Examples of architextiles have been found dating back a long way. Over centuries,

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ic tribes in the Middle East, Africa, the Orient, and the Americas have developed textile structures.

Historical structures

Historical architextiles include

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...

s and

tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

s, the great awnings of

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

in Rome, the tents of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

, and the Ziggurat Aquar Quf near

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Present

Properties

Architextiles have a number of advantages; primarily, they are cost effective and can be used to construct temporary or transportable structures. The programming can be modified at any time.

Examples of architextiles

Muscle NSA

NSA Muscle, is a pressurized (Inflatable body) structure which is an interactive model. It is equipped with sensors and computing systems, the MUSCLE is programmed to respond to human visitors.

Carbon tower

The carbon tower is a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

Hylozoic Ground

Hylozoic Ground is an exemplar of live architecture, interactive model of architecture which is a kind of architextiles.

Textile growth monument

Textile growth monument ‘textielgroeimonument’ is a 3D 'woven' structure in the city

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

Pneumatrix

Pneumatrix, RCA Department of Architecture,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, a theatre which is deployable and flexible.

References

{{Reflist Textiles Architecture Buildings and structures by type