Knitted architecture and wind: Designing loosely fitted architectural textiles for interaction with wind

Utilising the textile’s ability to adapt to external forces such as the wind could lead to the creation of new design expressions and functional features within architecture. Prompted by architectural potentials of textiles deliberately designed to move and flex, this thesis aims to explore and demonstrate how such knitted textiles could contribute to enriched aesthetic expression and improved performance of\ua0architectural elements placed in windy environments. A key part of the research is the interaction of textile and wind, viewing it as a source of energy or force that could be used, diffused, or directed - to enrich and create a more comfortable urban environment. As such, this work is positioned at the intersection of three knowledge areas: architectural design, knitted textile design, and wind engineering. A research by design approach is used to conduct quantitative and qualitative investigations with design prototypes as main vehicles of inquiry. Specifically, a hybrid method of design-based research is applied, involving artistic making and qualitative evaluations of the design prototypes as well as scientific methods featuring quantitative textile performance measurements. Both physical and digital prototypes are utilised to probe the geometric expressions of knitted textiles and investigate the performative features of different knitted textile designs in relation to their wind reduction capacity. The main finding from the quantitative part of the study, encompassing wind tunnel experiments, is that loosely fitted knitted structures efficiently reduce wind velocities and high-energy eddies. Along with this, the qualitative investigations, involving a series of diversely designed knitted architectural prototypes, show that knitted textiles can be applied to design three-dimensional architectural structures that are aesthetically diverse and have a dynamic, ever-changing expression. Finally, the developed framework for designing loosely fitted textiles for interaction with wind seeks to provide architects with guidance concerning important aspects of such design, including the workflows, tools, and evaluation methods

Textile architecture informed by wind

Textiles in architecture is a field of great potential, which are worth to explore further. This thesis aims to show that the flexibility of the textile material could be better included in the architectural design, allowing it to adapt to forces, such as the wind, and viewing motion as a positive design feature. The main methods for this were a literature study and design investigations, using physical as well as digital prototypes, with extra focus on the material flexibility and knitted textiles. The field textile architecture informed by wind is defined through three main components: the textile material, the lightweight structure, and the wind. Textiles are, here, seen as a material with structural and aesthetical flexibility and diversity that can adapt to as well as carry applied loads. Lightweight structures are concepts for material efficiency and structural elegance. And, wind informed architecture is the concept of including the phenomena of wind in the architectural design, as a free source of energy or force that could be used, absorbed, or directed to create beauty and to form a more comfortable environment. The core of the thesis lies in the overlap of these three components. Results from this thesis indicate, firstly, that the field of textile architecture informed by wind is relatively uncharted territory. Knowledge and inspiration can, however, be found outside the field of architecture, such as performing arts, art installations, sailing, and fashion. Secondly, opportunities for supporting the, often complicated, design process of textile architecture are demonstrated through the use of a combination of digital models and physical prototypes, in the presented examples

Exploring expressive and functional capacities of knitted textiles exposed to wind influence

This study explores the design possibilities with knitted architectural textiles subjected to wind. The purpose is to investigate how such textiles could be applied to alter the usual static expression of exterior architectural and urban elements, such as\ua0facades\ua0and windbreaks. The design investigations were made on a manual knitting machine and on a CNC (computer numerically controlled)\ua0flat knitting machine. Four knitting techniques -\ua0tuck stitch, hanging stitches, false lace, and drop stitch - were explored based on their ability to create a three-dimensional effect on the surface level as well as on an architectural scale. Physical textile samples produced using those four techniques were subjected to controlled action of airflow. Digital experiments were also conducted, to probe the possibilities of digitally simulating textile behaviours in wind. The results indicate that especially the drop stitch technique exhibits interesting potentials. The variations in the drop stitch pattern generate both an aesthetic effect of volumetric expression of the textile architectural surface and seem beneficial in terms of wind speed reduction. Thus, these types of knitted textiles could be applied to design architecture that are efficient in terms of improving the aesthetic user experience and comfort in windy urban areas

Architecture from textiles in motion

Wind is one important concern when it comes to its impact on textile structures within architecture. One method to limit wind-caused displacements is to heavily pre-stress the structures. We discuss an alternative approach, in which wind is seen as a positive design parameter for architectural textiles. We explore how one could work with the shape and internal structure of the textile to design architectural structures which become kinetic volumes when airflow is applied. The implications of such a design approach are formulated based on a two-day workshop at the conference Advances in Architectural Geometry (AAG) 2018. The explorations embraced digital and physical simulations of textile behaviors arising from the presence of wind. Smart textiles, whose structures can be changed using heat, were employed to explore how the geometrical expressions of textiles under wind load can be affected through local internal textile property changes. The ambition was to investigate the possibility of dynamically altering the 3-dimensionality of the textiles by reshaping them in real-time using airflow. The main conclusion from the workshop is that the dialogue between the digital and physical simulations seems to play an important role in supporting and enhancing the process of designing the geometrical expressions of textiles subjected to dynamic influence. A combination of the digital and the physical design tools enables the creation of a unique workflow to generate architectural design typologies that would have been difficult to develop if such complementary design tools have not been employed

Textile Informed Structures - How to Braid a Roof, Translating the logic of textile structure into the scale of architecture

There is a great variety of textiles materials, both in terms of the behaviour of the fibres they comprise and the assembly methods used to construct them. Hence, the definition of textile is expanded nowadays from including only conventional fabrics to encompassing surfaces with structures that follows the logic of textiles.[1] One can then refer to textile as a repetition of bindings, or joints, forming a non-hierarchical surface. Analogies between classical textile assembly methods of interlacing threads (triaxial weave and bobbin lace) and architectural structural systems are explored in this research. Similar to the work of Snelson the internal structural logic is identified by the joints used, and these typologies are mapped onto structures.[2] The resulting modules aim to be used for the assembly of structures in the scale of architecture. Like the assembly logic of the textiles, these structures have the potential to grow in all directions depending on spatial requirements while still retaining some kinetic properties. Subsequently, the result proposes two concepts: firstly a tensegrity weave structural system- combining triaxial woven textiles and tensegrity; secondly a reciprocal lace system where a basic pattern of bobbin lace is mapped onto reciprocal structures. The final concepts propose intriguing load bearing systems that illustrate the possibility to design and construct temporary structures able to seamlessly span irregular spaces

Conference Workshop 9: Textile architecture (in)formed by wind - Design processes and tools

Textiles as design materials in architecture are considered formless. In tensile architecture, textiles are designed to follow a predesigned shape, with coated woven fabrics stretched until the resulting shape is virtually stiff; this to avoid deformation by wind. But what happens if we allow movement in the textile? What if wind becomes a design variable to decide upon the expression of textile architectural form? As a building material, textiles are starting to gain more interest in architecture. The possibility of creating seemingly endless variations of textiles with different behaviour and functionalities is very appealing from a design perspective. It is an easily transported and lightweight material and can be made from a range of different yarns, including reused textile fibres and wood, which gives it a great potential to be a sustainable choice for architecture.This research workshop at the AAG - Advances in Architectural Geometry 2018 Conference explored the design processes and tools related to textile architecture formed by wind. On one hand, we focused on how the internal structure of textiles affects their behaviour and geometric expression when in movement. On the other, we experimented with diverse tools useful for designing such textile architecture in movement, ranging from digital simulations of aesthetic expressions and behaviours, through structural property assessment, up to physical models set in motion by moving air.The workshop used a combination of computational tools, embracing C++ code, Processing code, and the\ua0physics simulation engine Flexhopper within a visual programming environment Grasshopper, to investigate fabric geometry and behaviours at scales from the knitting and weaving of individual yarns to large-scale fabric structures. At the small scale, we were focusing on topology and graph theory. At the large scale, the interaction of fabric and wind was of prime interest. The emphasis was on geometry, physics and artistic expression of textile in motion. Participants were given a simple source code which could be modified, even by those with little experience of programming. Throughout the workshop, the participants received a basic introduction in different textile morphologies, from the structure and geometries of the treads in the woven and knitted textile to the shapes and application in a building scale. They also had the possibility to explore different behaviours of a special smart textile material whose structure could be altered using heat. The relationship between the two scales of textile design was explored both physically and digitally. How does the geometry of the threads affect the overall shape? Participants worked with both computer models as well as physical models, to gain an understanding for the geometry of the textile material, learn about different ways and means of simulating textile behaviour in movement, and get a comparison of the challenges brought in by each type of simulation. A large number of small-scale and large-scale models were produced during the workshop and showcased during the conference exhibition.Workshop participants (alphabetical order)David Andreen (Lund University, Sweden), Matt Ault (Manchester School of Architecture, UK), Mathias Bernhard (ETH Zurich, Switzerland),\ua0Greg Constantinos, Nikoletta Karastathi (University College London, London, UK), Joanna Lesna (Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark), Oldouz Moslemian (Aalto University, Finland),\ua0Hiroyuki Tachikawa (Keio University, Tokyo, Japan)

The use of virtual work for the formfinding of fabric, shell and gridshell structures

The use of the virtual work theorem enables one to derive the equations\ua0of static equilibrium of fabric, shell and gridshell structures from\ua0the compatibility equations linking the rate of deformation of a surface\ua0to variations in its velocity. If the structure is treated as a continuum\ua0there is no need to consider its micro-structure provided that the grid\ua0is fine compared to the overall geometry. Thus we can include fabrics,\ua0ribbed shells, corrugated shells and gridshells with a fine grid, such as\ua0the Mannheim Multihalle. The equilibrium equations are almost identical\ua0to those obtained by assuming that a shell is thin and of uniform thickness,\ua0but are more general in their application. Our formulation introduces\ua0the concept of geodesic bending moments which are relevant to\ua0gridshell structures with continuous laths.The virtual work theorem is more general than the energy theorems,\ua0which it in- cludes as a special case. Hence it can be applied to surfaces\ua0which admit some form of potential, including minimal surfaces\ua0and hanging fabrics. We can then use the calculus of variations for the\ua0minimization of a surface integral to define the form of a structure.Many existing formfinding techniques can be rewritten in this way, but\ua0we concen- trate on surfaces which minimize the surface integral of the\ua0mean curvature subject to a constraint on the enclosed volume, producing\ua0a surface of constant Gaussian curvature. This naturally leads to\ua0the more general study of conjugate stress and curvature directions, and\ua0hence to quadrilateral mesh gridshells with flat cladding panels and no\ua0bending moments in the structural members under own weight