Knitting the Gap: Textiles meets Architecture meets Textiles

ArcInTex Network

Knitting the Gap
Conferences | Networking | Seminars | Workshops

Hosted by Nottingham Trent University (NTU) on behalf of the ArcInTex Network, Knitting the Gap will focus on the connections between textile, architecture and interaction design.

Through a series of workshops and seminars spread across three days, we will explore newly-emerging ways of living in an age of technological innovations, through the design of adaptive and responsive environments in relation to the human body, buildings and their interiors.

  • From: Wednesday 5 December 2018, 9.30 am
  • To: Friday 7 December 2018, 5 pm
  • Location: Rooms 008, 010,110, Arkwright building, Nottingham Trent University, Shakespeare Street, NG1 4BU
  • Booking deadline: Tuesday 4 December 2018, 4.00 pm

Past event

Event details

The ArcInTex Network aims to strengthen the foundations of design for more sustainable forms of living by connecting architecture, interaction design and textiles in a training network for early stage researchers.

Contributors

Reserve your place

To reserve your place at this event taking place from Wednesday 5 – Friday 7 December 2018, please visit the booking page on the ArcInTex website.

Programme: Day One, Wednesday 5 December 2018

9.30 amRegistration and refreshmentsArkwright 008
10 am – 1 pmParallel workshops (break at 11.30 am)Arkwright 010, 110 and 111
1 pm – 2 pmLunchArkwright 008
2 pm – 5 pmParallel workshops (break at 3.30 pm)Arkwright 010, 110 and 111

Parallel workshops

Workshop oneS M L XL: Modular and TransformableMarisela MendozArkwright 111
Working with modular elements, this workshop explores the concept of scissor-like structures to create transformable spatial configurations at different scales.  During the first day a series of small scale exercises will be developed to explore and enhance the understanding of scissor-like structures’ kinetic properties. A jump in scale in during the second day will give the opportunity to work with larger modular elements to develop a 1:1 scale prototype.

Resources provided: MDF bars; nuts, bolts, screws; paper, cutters and cutting boards; pliers

Materials to bring: camera, laptop and cable to upload images. Other materials are optional.
Workshop twoE-Textile Interiors: Fuzzy challengesRachael Wickenden and Kerry Truman

Arkwright 110

The process will start at the ‘fuzzy front end’ (Sanders and Stappers, 2014) setting the challenge - designing E-textiles for public or transport interiors. Experimental making supported by the NTU Makers’ Club and Kitronik (electronic project specialists) will offer the opportunity to engage with physical and digital materials. The workshop will conclude with group reflection on the artefacts developed including a discussion of sustainability based on NTU research.

Resources provided: Conductive and traditional textile materials, electronics, physical and digital making tools

Materials to bring: Laptop, textiles, sewing/ knitting kit. Other materials are optional.
Workshop threeQuilting Space: Seams and tensionMartha Glazzard and Tina DownesArkwright 010

This workshop looks beyond perpendicular architecture, using tension, gravity and textile properties to make conceptual spaces.  Using knitted tubes as external membranes, we will experiment with ways of connecting or opening the structure. The workshop will culminate in larger scale tubular designs to be photographed as architectural forms or spaces.

Resources provided: Knitted tubes of various scales and tensions; hard and soft structural elements; textile tools and support with textile methods.

Materials to bring: Camera/camera phone; laptop and cable to upload images if desired.

Programme: Day Two, Thursday 6 December 2018

10 am – 1 pmWorkshops continue ( break at 11.30 am)Arkwright 010, 110 and 111
1 pm – 2 pmLunchArkwright 008
2 pm – 5 pmSetting up workshop expo (break at 3.30 pm)Newton Forum Level 0
5 pm – 5.30 pmReception for evening public lectureNewton Forum Level 0
5.30 pm – 6.30 pm

Public lecture:

KnitCrete: Stay-in-place knitted formwork for complex concrete structures
Mariana Popescu

Reserve your place for the public lecture.

Newton Lecture Theatre 5

Programme: Day Three, Friday 7 December 2018

9.30 am – 10 amRegistration and coffeeThe Atrium
Bonington Building

10 am – 11.30 am

S1The ‘Off the Cuff’ Pavilion
Paolo Beccarelli		Bonington Lecture Theatre
S2Kinetic Structures
Marisela Mendoza
S3Designing E-textiles for interior spaces
Rachael Wickenden
S4Textiles and Inflatables in Architecture
Tom Hughes

11.30 am – 12 pm

Break
12 pm – 1 pmS5Photovoltaics meet textiles: Bridging practical to aesthetic
Dorothy Hardy		Bonington Lecture Theatre
S6Extending Antipodean Textility
Frances Joseph
S7Developing Electronic Sensor Yarns
Theodore Hughes-Riley
1 pm – 2 pmLunch
2 pm – 3 pmS8Materials, Mechanisms and Membranes
Jan-Frederick Flor		Bonington Lecture Theatre
S9NTU Maker Club
Kerry Truman and Julian Robinson
S10Smart Textile Systems
Lynn Tandler
3 pm – 3.30 pmBreak
3.30 pm – 4.30 pmSymposium conclusionBonington Lecture Theatre

Accommodation

Nottingham Trent University's city centre location means many of the UK’s biggest and most well-known hotel chains are within walking distance of the University, providing plenty of accommodation choices to suit all requirements and budgets.

Our partners at Nottingham Conference Centre offer guidance on a selection of hotels to choose from.

Mobility access

Please be aware that there are no access lifts at the entrance to the Arkwright building from Shakespeare Street. Delegates with mobility access requirements are advised to enter the venue from the Newton building on Goldsmith Street. Please see the attached map of the City Campus for reference.

Enquiries

For all enquiries please contact the event organisers Tina Downes, Principal Lecturer in Textile Design or Marisela Mendoza, Course Leader for MArch Architecture, Nottingham Trent University.

Image courtesy of Martha Glazzard

Location details

Room/Building:

Rooms 008, 010,110, Arkwright building, Nottingham Trent University

Address:

Shakespeare Street
NG1 4BU

Parking:

There is no parking available at the University itself, but there are many car parking facilities within a couple of minutes' walk. The nearest car park is Talbot Street Car Park. If using this car park, please exit onto Chaucer Street.

Travel Info:

To plan your journey to the NTU City Campus, please visit the Get Directions Page on the NTU website.

Past event

Still need help?

+44 (0)115 941 8418