Whilst I was studying for an MA at Central St Martins in Textile Futures, an industry sponsored competition was set by the global design agency of Philips Electronics based in Holland. Philips Design has a strong focus on health, energy and the future of our habitat. The research design project questioned the emerging role of smart and responsive textiles for the home and asked the question 'Can a smart textile also be sustainable?'
I was becoming increasingly inspired by the ideas of Biomimicry and took
a pine cone as a starting point for inspiration and observed how the
seeds expand and contract. The textile is
designed to open and close in response to heat.
When the interior becomes too hot, the petals open up to vent the
rising hot air.
The interior of the petals are foiled, and will reflect away the sun’s
heat when unfurled, thus cooling the interior.
The textile is modular and slots together to grow or shrink in size as
required. I was inspired by butterfly wings for the
patterns and shapes on these pieces.
The pieces are all hand cut from felt and screenprinted. I also experimented with heat reactive inks and foiling.
I was awarded 2nd Prize by PHILIPS Design and was invited to Eindhoven to show the work.
The pieces are all hand cut from felt and screenprinted. I also experimented with heat reactive inks and foiling.
I was awarded 2nd Prize by PHILIPS Design and was invited to Eindhoven to show the work.