Transformative Textiles

Transformative Textiles Jenny Underwood, Emma Lynas, Luise Adams, Claire De Baux RMIT University Abstract Innovation in material fibres and textile technologies is both informing and transforming approaches to textile design education, research and practice. New textiles challenge us to new ways of thinking about the connectivity of surface and form; the structural and ornamental; the responsive and intuitive. This is allowing for textile designers to engage in current design debates like never before. This paper will discuss the opportunities for ‘wicked solutions’ to emerge as demonstrated in a range of transdisciplinary projects between textile design, architecture and industrial design at RMIT University. Keywords: Textile Design, transdisciplinary Introduction Innovations occurring with fibre-based materials and textile technologies are an important focus for designers today. Technological breakthroughs are transforming textile fibres and textile techniques traditionally associated with hand crafts such as weave, knit, crochet and embroidery. This is allowing designers to look towards textiles for the opportunity to creatively explore the relationship surface, structure and form. By using new textile materials, can a form be simultaneously structural and ornamental, as well as about surface and volume? Understanding these textile materials and how they can contribute to the connection of the surface and the form presents unique opportunities but also significantly increases the complexity of the design process. “Advanced tools and materials are making the designer’s task ever more complex. As a consequence, we are starting to see some changes in design practice” (Braddock Clarke & O’Mahony, 2005, p.136). How designers engage with these complexities can perhaps be found by examining the notion of ‘wicked’ problems. As these types of problems are trans-disciplinary in nature, interdisciplinary approaches are needed. Therefore meaningful links must be made between not only the parallel worlds of design; of fashion design, industrial design, architecture and textile design, but also between design and science. As these breakthroughs are textile based, textile designers are in a unique position to assist in instigating these exchanges. How such interactions can occur, is demonstrated through two studio projects Soft Machina and Fibre_Space run in 2008 at RMIT University. These projects show the potential for using collaboration as a springboard to elicit a deeper understanding of complex design problems that ultimately reflect real world scenarios. In doing so this paper highlights the opportunities educators, design practitioners and researchers have in meeting these challenges. New textiles Textiles can be described as “surfaces and volumes made out of yarns, fibres or filaments” (TellierLoumagne, 2005 needs p.18). Today textiles and fabrics take on a range of properties, specifications and performance characteristics that are challenging what a textile is and can do. Textile techniques, once associated with being hand crafted are becoming transformed into high-tech automated processes using sophisticated and complex technology and machinery. For textile designers this presents exciting opportunities to assist in developing new applications and products. Fundamental to material innovations are the advances in fibres. The engineering of fibres has accelerated over the past decade. The twentieth century saw the transformation of fibres from natural fibres (such as cotton and wool) to the early synthetics (nylon and polyester), to blending of fibres, development of advanced next generation fibres such as glass, arimids (Kevlar) and carbon. Combined with this is the emergence of hybrid fibres, textile composites and textile membranes resulting in high strength, low weight materials that potentially perform better than conventional materials (Horrocks & Anand 2000, p.24-39). For example, the use of carbon composites can produce a material that combines qualities of strength¸ odour absorption, fatigue resistance, vibration absorption and electrical conductivity” (Braddock Clarke & O’Mahony, 2005 p.62). Its applications, once exclusive to the aerospace field, include sports equipment and furniture, and are being considered for architecture, such as the thought provoking project ‘the Carbon Tower’ by Testa and Weiser (Garcia, 2006) (Hodge, 2006). This conceptual project draws on techniques traditionally associated with fashion; the tower is literally woven on site. So the form-work is no longer just the support for the structure, but is actually creating the structure. It is because of the unique qualities that carbon fibre offers, that projects of this nature can be considered. In addition, there is a renewed interest in natural and recycled fibres, to pursue more sustainable product outcomes and consider how material selection impacts on the products’ longevity and potential retirement options. There is an array of newer natural fibres to choose from with good environmental credentials. Bamboo is one such fibre due to its’ rapid growth, renewability, and ability to adapt and grow in to a variety of climates. But from bamboo to bamboo fibre, it must undergo significant processes. At present there are two methods of converting bamboo to fibre, one costs less but uses chemicals, and the other is converted through mechanical means but is more costly (Delano, as cited in Hoffman, 2007 p.166). Underlying all of this is the need for designers to better understand, beyond a superficial level, the potential opportunities and consequences of these materials. The success of a project relies upon a combination of factors: an aesthetic sympathy with the design intention, and the practical ability to select the appropriate means and methods by which to develop and execute the desired outcome. New advances in textile materials demand a more expansive knowledge base that blends the scientific and engineering know-how, with a poetic and aesthetic sensibility. How these materials can be used for new applications and new forms ultimately demands an interdisciplinary approach. It also raises questions as to whether a designer’s knowledge base is adequate, and challenges educators to consider how to teach design within this context. Textile design education has traditionally relied on a process of ‘learning by doing’. Students learn their craft by engaging with materials by hand. Emphasis has been on the design of artefact, be that a commercially marketed end-use product or a ‘craft object’. The translation of the design croquis (a textile design term to describe a design that implies a repeat but is not to final production specification) to automated machinery and manufacturing processes was something the designer learnt on the job, relying on the knowledge of the technician. There were clear disciplinary boundaries. The Textile Designer Textile designers have long occupied the somewhat ill defined space between ‘design’ and ‘craft’ due to the nature and scale of the materials with which they work. The predominant concept of craft in the modern era evolved from the 19th century attempt to reclassify the liberal arts by writers and theorists including Pugin, Jones, Ruskin and Morris (Shiner, as cited in Alfoldy, 2007 p. 33-35). A discourse was developed around notions of ‘good’ design, honesty in execution and practice, and retaining the intrinsic integrity of materials. The debate continued well into the 20th century, with the further separation of the decorative from the functional, as espoused in the theories of the Bauhaus followers. This sense of ‘hierarchy anxiety’ remains evident in the continuing ideological distinctions being made between design-based and craft-based disciplines, the continued emphasis on separating the genius creative designer (artist), and the practical executor (craftsman) of the artefact. However, in our contemporary understanding, such stratification is becoming meaningless, as designers are required to approach problems beyond the traditional boundaries of their discipline area. “Much of the future progress for textiles will depend on techniques, knowledge and methods well beyond the traditional craft origin and scope of textile design and construction.” (Gale & Kaur, 2002 p.172). Designers must understand the consequences of the choices that they lock into at the design stage for their product (Lewis, 2001 p.13). The textile designer’s knowledge must encompass structural and performance issues, which include such things as manufacturing and retirement options, along with the aesthetic and decorative aspects of their product. These are varied and complex skill requirements. The gap between design and science, and craft and technology needs to be considered and narrowed, but not to the detriment of creativity and speculation. It is these unpredictable moments that are vital to the design process and are the key drivers of innovation. Collaboration and wicked problems “Wicked problems” was a term, coined and explored by Rittel & Webber (1973). As social planners, set within a period of social upheaval, they posited that traditional scientific models for problem solving were no longer sufficient to describe and manage the multi-faceted challenges that were confronting them. These methods were appropriate for “tame” problems rather than “wicked” problems. Wicked problems are complex in nature and can have multiple, and often conflicting, issues situated within and around them. Discovering where “in the complex causal networks the trouble lies”, “identifying the actions that might effectively narrow the gap between what is and what ought to be” are some of the issues considered to be part of wicked problem definition. (Rittel & Webber, 1973, p.159). Indeed design challenges are often wicked in nature. Richard Buchanan (Buchanan, 1992), in “Wicked Problems In Design Thinking”, suggests that the designer’s role is often to work with ‘indeterminate’ problems, ones that have no obvious linear or ‘determinate’ conditions (p.16-17). He sets this argument in the context of a changed world of design thinking. From the 19th century onwards, “refined methods and new subjects” (Buchanan, 1992, p.5) became stratified into the distinct art & science disciplines that we now know today. He argues that this has led to specialisations that have resulted in an increase in knowledge but also a “fragmentation” and “loss of connection between design disciplines” (Buchanan, 1992, p.6). The notion of interactivity and collaboration is central to the idea of managing wicked problems. Re-connecting different design disciplines is essential to achieve this end. Textile innovation requires diverse skills, team work and a non linear design approach. If a fabric is the form, and the form the fabric, where does one role end and the other begin? “From the traditional to the intangible, from the technical to the tectonic, the exchanges taking place between materials and design are forging a uniquely multi-disciplinary arena” (Beylerian, Dent & Quin, 2007, p.46). When textile innovations are considered in the context of wicked problems the need to collaborate is even greater. Collaboration among design disciplines, as well as between science and design is vital to reflect the real world situations. Transcending disciplinary boundaries Textile design students at RMIT specialise in either print, knit or weave. Upon graduation, they have the knowledge to develop fabrics for practical and decorative purposes. They have an understanding of the textile industry, design history and related technology, combined with practical computer skills and the ability to research markets and interpret trend predictions. As a collective, textile designers are well equipped to deal with issues related to ‘design’ within the textile industry. The textile industry is more than just design; it incorporates the sciences, sustainability, engineering, technology and marketing. Graduates are not isolated in industry and therefore need to be prepared for a collaborative work place. According to Gale and Kaur (2002) “Multidisciplinary, teamwork and interdisciplinary knowledge are key requirements in the task of creating new textile products and related markets” (p.177). Recently RMIT architecture and textile design have worked together to solve problems in a multidisciplinary fashion. “Multi-disciplinary can be described as a team of people, each with their distinct disciplines working together on a research or applied project or a course of study requiring mastery of more than one discipline” (Erlhoff & Marshall, 2007, p.135). Engaging with related disciplines makes the design process transparent, allowing individuals to approach design problems from alternate viewpoints (Shapiro & Dempsey, 2008, p. 158; Haynes, 2002, p. 143). Interdisciplinary can be defined as “inquiries, which critically draw upon two or more disciplines and which lead to an integration of disciplinary insights” (Haynes, 2002, p.17). The ultimate goal is for students to consider issues or topics in a range of ways (Haynes, 2002). To ensure they are capable of doing this, educators need to move outside of the textile design domain and involve people who view the world differently. Gale and Kaur (2002), suggest, “science is an important creative resource in the development of textiles” (p.172). Textile technology and textile design constantly intersect, the demand for new innovative materials and textile related products is driven by the quest for an improved quality of life (Gale & Kaur, 2002). The inclusion of science students in multi-disciplinary work requires serious planning and scrutiny on behalf of the project planning team. (Haynes, 2002). In order to provide the opportunity for the integration of multidisciplinary insights perhaps it isn’t necessary to actively involve science students, but to consult scientists with the expertise and knowledge to pose and answer questions. Design students by their very nature are creative and curious. Inviting a scientist to take part in a multi design disciplinary project would provide some facts and help to identify the possibilities amongst the ‘science fiction’. The working methods employed by scientists to solve problems are not dissimilar to those used by designers. Highlighting the similarities could help to alleviate any sense of anxiety about crossing the line into textile technology (Crabbe, 2008, p. 12 -13). Wicked problems require transdisciplinary approaches. Individuals cannot solve wicked problems, nor can teams of people within one discipline, or related disciplines (Erlhoff and Marshall, 2007). The inclusion of ‘outsiders’ in undergraduate textile design education is necessary to explore answers in a transdisciplinary manner. Erlhoff & Marshall (2007) reinforce this idea, stating that “collaborative teams … with a range of expertise” (p. 447) are essential when dealing with wicked problems. Wicked problems require trans-disciplinary approaches. Case study – Industrial design / Textile design In November of 2007 GM Holden approached RMIT program directors from textile design and industrial design as they felt there was a need for design students to have a better understanding of related disciplines before entering the workforce. A project was created to encourage students to consider the relationship between surface (typically a concern for textile designers) and form (the domain of the industrial designer) whilst considering the issues believed to be of key importance in the year 2026. Students worked together in small groups to forecast, problem solve, learn from one another, share skills and ideas. The project was conceptual in nature; each discipline had its own assessable outcomes. From a learning and teaching perspective the objectives were for students to learn from one another, to share their skills and consider different approaches to solving design problems. The project was the first of its kind for the majority of teaching staff and participating students. The project ran over a period of 7 weeks. Textile design and industrial design students met each Monday for 5 hours. The lecturing staff consisted of contract and sessional staff drawn from the textile and industrial design disciplines. During classes industry professionals were invited to share their experience and expertise. Discussion and debate was encouraged which often lead to further questions rather than answers. Collaboration between textile design and industrial design students highlighted the similarities and differences in their design processes. The nature of the textile industry requires designers to generate concepts quickly, particularly when developing ideas for fashion and trend related markets. When textile design students were ready to move into the ‘making’ stage, industrial design students were still in the ‘research’ phase. It was interesting to note how adaptable textile design students were when asked to consider textiles and form. The freedom of the project was welcomed by some students, but overwhelming for others. Students were taken out of their comfort zone in order to make new discoveries. Thompson Klein (1990) describes the transdisciplinary approach as “breaking through disciplinary barriers and disobeying the rules of disciplinary etiquette” (p.66). The experience for students was often messy and confusing but ultimately produced some exciting design solutions welcomed by industry partners. A new understanding of interdisciplinary teaching and learning has grown out of this project and assisted in planning for 2009. For example, staff reflected on the lack of expertise in the area of textile technology. Students were actively researching new materials and technology, but were unclear if their ideas were viable. To provide real answers to student questions, staff invited textile experts to field questions and give students an indication of where their ideas sat in the realm of science and technology. Ongoing responsiveness to questions that arise from the interdisciplinary process means that improvements to the teaching and learning process will ensure students have a greater understanding of their own design process, of each others’ and of those external to design. And by consequence, interdisciplinary thinking can become a part of their skill set when approaching design challenges. “Interdisciplinary collaboration is a twenty-first century inevitability” (Weld & Trainer, 2007, p.157). Case study 2: Textile design and Architecture: Fibre_Space The multi disciplinary project ‘Fibre Space’ involved undergraduate textile design and architecture students along with PhD candidates of aerospace engineering to work in small mixed discipline teams. The brief asked each discipline to look to the other and share their skill base and unique expertise in developing an architectural concept. In doing so students had to consider the innovations occurring with textile fibres and technology and in particular the potential of textile composites. This collaboration offered unique opportunities, as textile designers deal mostly with ‘surface’ and architects with ‘form’; so each offered the other a very different perspective. Combined with this was the significant difference in scale at which both disciplines operate. Each discipline area had its own project brief and assessment criteria. Specifically textile designers had to create fabrics suitable for the architects to develop into a form. Architects and textile designers had to work closely together to consider the relationship of new textile based materials to form. PhD aerospace engineering students acted as consultants, providing technical assistance on the feasibility of the ideas being developed and give input as to how to address the structural issues associated with these new materials. In addition a number of ‘outsiders’ - industry experts - were brought in to provide specific knowledge of textile composites, new materials and resins, as well as manufacturing processes. The initial pressure was on textile design students to disseminate the textile techniques, materials and technologies. The architecture students then had to take this information on board to consider the form, and provide feedback to the textile design students. Together students explored how hand crafted methods might be transformed through high-tech machinery. Concepts such as textile composites, membranes, skins or tensile structures were investigated for clues on how they could develop their concepts further. In particular the relationship between surface, structure and form needed to be considered. Integral to this was the consideration of how the fabrics created by the textile design student could be scaled up for a building. Repetition alone, through the development of a repeat system and arrangements of motifs, stitches or structures was not the sole solution. Textile design students had to consider their designs for structural possibilities as well as the ornamental. In a very real sense the pattern needed to create density and form. For the print based specialist students this was particularly challenging. They needed to consider how a hierarchy of structure could be created through pattern. The project value for design students lay in the discovery of the commonalities in their design processes, as well as in sharing their own specific discipline knowledge. As they began to realise their ideas, the PhD students and industry experts were able to give feedback as to the viability of their concepts and to keep the project ‘real’. The aim for students was to gain an understanding of general concepts, as well as have an opportunity to show their design ideas and ask questions that would assist in informing their designs. In this context, answers to one problem often lead to more questions and potentially a high degree of uncertainty, which meant students needed to be flexible and open-minded. It also highlighted that the foundation of disciplinary specific knowledge needed be established before entering such a collaborative project. Those involved needed to have a deep knowledge of their discipline and have confidence in their skills and knowledge base to collaborate with people outside their discipline. The exchange of ideas within the studio reflects the value of the creative process and the value of ‘play’ in the design process. But the studio also highlighted that for play to be meaningful it must be grounded in real world parameters. In this instance it was the need to understand the materials and of manufacturing processes, but also the need to look beyond what already exists. As Buchanan (1992) states, the constant challenge for design disciplines is to ‘conceive and plan what does not yet exist’ (p.18). The challenge is to provide an environment that allows for the technical knowledge and creative play to work in support of each other and to enrich the collaborative experience. To facilitate this there needs to be greater flexibility, to build in the time to play to allow for the unplanned discovery, and also to place this within a strong support framework to encourage the exchange of ideas. This was achieved by bringing in experts and consultants to assist by contributing ideas at key milestones within the project’s development, without stifling the creative process. Conclusion Designers are required to work beyond the traditional boundaries of their discipline area, to collaborate with other practitioners in order to provide myriad solutions to complex problems. Advances in textile materials and technology are making it possible for designers to use textile techniques, and concepts, once more closely associated with fashion, and to begin to apply them to new applications. For designers, textiles are offering enormous potential. As textiles handle and behave in very different ways, a knowledge base is required to understand their potential uses. This opens up new opportunities for textile designers, to explore the relationship of surface, structure and form through collaborations with other key players in the design, technology and science fields. These elements need to be considered not as separate entities, but as one. 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