Expanding Skin

3 units

In the 1957 text The Pliable Plane: Textiles in Architecture, Anni Albers wrote, if we think of clothing as a secondary skin we might enlarge on this thought and realize that the enclosure of walls in a way is a third covering, that our habitation is another 'habit'. In this text, Albers proposed the concept of skin as an inhabitable layer, first as a covering for the body and then as an expanded layer of enclosure. This course will explore Albers' concept of a second skin by developing new strategies for constructing complex surfaces at the scale of the human body, particularly in the context of digital fabrication and computational design. Emphasis will be placed on assemblies that yield innovative visual or tactile effects while also engaging specific material performance. How can we design with a focus on performative pattern that can enclose the body and its structural and geometric complexities? How can we conceive of patterns that are not disrupted by these complexities but rather enhanced by them? The course will consist of lectures, readings and seminar discussions, tutorials, iterative material investigations, 3D digital modeling, and digital fabrication. Student projects will focus on the design of inhabitable, layered constructions while engaging constructive techniques from both the fashion and architectural disciplines. Rhino (with Grasshopper), Maya or Z Brush will be utilized for the initial digital investigations. Students will experiment with materials and develop innovative construction methods that engage digital fabrication tools such as the 3D printer, laser cutter, and CNC mill for the production of a second skin in the form of a garment for the human body.