Aaron Fein

FINALIST

‘Polaris’

Combining Boullée’s design spirit with the curatorial inclinations of MONA’s Pharos wing, my proposal for the 2018 Tapestry Design Prize for Architects utilises the medium of light to transport viewers into an abstract and unconstructable architectural environment.

As an architect working exclusively in textiles, I have, over a number of years, developed and applied digital/machine embroidery techniques to dynamic spatial effect. Through the precise directional stitching of high sheen threads, I subtly manipulate stitch angles to reflect light at different intensities, so that the play of light over surface continuously changes relative to a viewer’s motion.

The geometric structure of my proposed design is a mosaic of tessellated triangles, each rendered in one of six colors, and hatched at one of three different angles (0°, 45°, or 135°). While the colors highlight and organize a graphic pattern of vertical bands that reinforce the flatness of the picture plane; the light-reflective hatching creates the illusion of an isometric topology that subtly transforms as one moves in relation to the piece. Subsequently it is up to the viewer, who is placed squarely at the nexus between these two conflicting modes, to try to reconcile the tension between the work’s two and three-dimensionality.

If fibers that reflect, rather than absorb light, could be woven at oblique angles, I am confident that the effects of my design could be translated into the medium of tapestry. If so, and the committee selects my work, I envision a mutually beneficial collaboration that would advance both the vocabulary of architecture tapestry as well as my own work using fiber to communicate architectural experience.

note: The 2:1 proportion of the design is intended to measure 7m wide by 3.5m high (dimensions are variable and could be redesigned to accommodate different proportions or overall dimensions).