Furore is a porous, synthetic-fur fabric inspired by expanded-metal technology. Designers Yvonne Laurysen and Erik Mantel developed the product for LAMA Concept using a special cutting technique. Furore is soft, light, and very flexible and is available in long- and short-hair formats as well as in various colors. The Interior collection includes plaids, bedspreads, and cushions, while the Fashion collection includes scarves, hats, and hair bands. [Contact:
LAMA Concept, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.]
Labels: 12, fabric, recombinant
Fiber Wall
Designer John Hoiby characterizes green composites as fully biodegradable and consisting of plant fiber and plant-based resin. Developed as a collaborative thesis between the Department of Architecture and Department of Textile and Apparel at Cornell University, Fiber Wall was designed to combine properties such as high structural stiffness, light transmittance, and the appearance of natural fiber. In its final form, Fiber Wall functions as a self-bearing, translucent space divider.
Fiber wall consists of three shapes of double-curved panels. The variation in shapes is kept to a minimum because the hot-pressing manufacturing process requires a different aluminum mold for every unique shape. The composite panels are made from sisal fiber, linen textile, and soy-protein resin and have a combinatorial logic that allows for growth in multiple directions. Circular cutouts create multiple possibilities in transparency and light filtering. [Contact:
John Hoiby, Waldermarshage 6, Oslo, Norway 0175.]
Labels: 09, fabric, intelligent, renewable
Typical shelving systems retain the same configuration when fully utilized or when empty. Developed by Lateral Architecture, Soft Shelf adapts and changes with its contents and can be expanded or compressed to fit a variety of spaces. The basic shelf unit is composed of two strips of industrial gradefelt, segmented vertically and stitched at intervals to create pockets. Units connect to each other by Velcro, and shelf segments can be added as desired. Segments have aluminum eyelets at the top and are hung from a stainless-steel rod like a curtain. Soft Shelf can be hung against a wall or from the ceiling to act as a screen. [Contact:
Lateral Architecture, Toronto, ON.]
Labels: 10, fabric, felt, multidimensional
Andrea Valentini’s Bump material is a sculptural textile made from various fabrics bound to closed cellular foam. The foam is extremely lightweight and durable, imparting sophisticated Bump-clad bags and furnishings with a notable resilience. Bump is also flame retardant and resistant to ultraviolet light, making it even more durable. [Contact:
Andrea Valentini, Inc., Pawtucket, RI.]
Labels: 12, fabric, multidimensional, textile
The BioHarness system uses patented smart-fabric technology in a diagnostic tool that measures heart rate and respiratory performance. Because the harness is textile based, it provides increased performance and comfort over traditional equipment. The device is small enough that it does not encumber or change the behavior of the monitored subject, and it can either log a week's worth of activity or provide real-time analysis over its built-in radio link.
The BioHarness software offers an array of real-time and trend-analysis tools. These options allow a coach or medical professional to monitor a subject's performance remotely between sessions. The software tools wirelessly connect to the harness and provide real time graphical display, wireless transmission to 100 m, and detailed records for comparisons and further analysis. [Contact:
Zephyr Technology, Auckland, NZ.]
Labels: 11, analysis, fabric, interfacial
Dow Corning's Active Protection System is a "smart" textile that remains soft and flexible until it is struck by high-impact force, in which case the material instantly stiffens to help protect against injury. When the collision has passed, the material immediately becomes flexible again.
The active ingredient in the fabric is a dilatant silicone coating, which is a shear thickening fluid (STF). The viscosity of this coating increases with the rate of shear, therefore defining it as a smart material as it responds to changes within its environment.
The Active Protection System is breathable and flexible for outstanding comfort and freedom of movement, and it can be stitched directly into garments, eliminating the need to insert and remove components. It is less bulky than hard armor, allowing for many creative and fashionable design possibilities. The washable fabric can be layered to provide customized levels of protection for specific areas, and it integrates easily into existing manufacturing processes.
Independent testing shows that the Active Protection System exceeds certain European Standards' impact protection requirements for sports apparel by as much as 40 percent. The fabric’s superior effectiveness is due to its ability to both absorb and distribute impact force, providing protection that is activated earlier and lasts more than twice as long as rigid protective systems. [Contact:
Dow Corning, Midland, MI.]
Labels: 12, fabric, material, transformational
Luccon represents a new breed of light transmitting concrete. Unlike other versions that use acrylic rods or optical fibers, Luccon is comprised by translucent fabric cast layer by layer into fine-grained concrete in prefabricated molds. The result is a collection of fluid, organic lines captured within a sturdy panel.
Since the proportion of synthetic fibers to concrete is relatively low, and because the fibers have a small diameter, Luccon has the same strength and durability as conventional concrete. The virtually lossless light conduction allows light, shadows, and colors to project through the concrete with negligible degradation. [via Luccon; suggested by Karen Miller, Columbus]
Labels: 03, concrete, fabric, fiber, lighting, recombinant
Voiceprints is an experiment in the translation of audio information to visual imagery. Artist Pierre Proske records a person's voice into a microphone, analyzes the audio file for frequency content, loops the sample, and then generates a variety of textile patterns arranged according to the individual's vocal frequency imprint.
The basic acoustic unit in human speech is called a phoneme. The visual equivalent is called a "viseme," a basic speech unit in the visual domain. Interested in the audio to visual translation, Proske developed software that describes sound using basic visual units to represent recorded frequencies.
Proske reminds us that the use of computing in textile design is nothing new. Woven textiles actually form part of computing history, through Joseph Marie Jacquard's automated patterned textile weaving machine in 1804 which led to the use of punch cards in computing devices. [via Pierre Proske; suggested by Clayton Whitman, Seattle.]
Labels: 12, audio, fabric, interfacial, translation
Furore is a porous, synthetic-fur fabric inspired by expanded-metal technology. Designers Yvonne Laurysen and Erik Mantel developed the product for LAMA Concept using a special cutting technique. Furore is soft, light, and very flexible and is available in long- and short-hair formats as well as in various colors. The Interior collection includes plaids, bedspreads, and cushions, while the Fashion collection includes scarves, hats, and hair bands. [Contact: LAMA Concept, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.]
