Plektonik: Structural Textiles

The project »Plektonik - Structural Textiles« is a loop-based material system that can achieve complex geometries on the architectural scale. The structural textiles are made from continuous and formable hybrid yarns composed of plant-based twigs and fibers, made with industrial means.
The porosity of the upscaled textile techniques enables us to imagine the structure of solid materials on the micro-scale. »Plektonik« is a transdisciplinary project between architects, textile designers, microbiologists, and material scientists. The starting point for the design was the large-scale Active Curtain Project exhibited at the Humboldt Lab.
The filaments of willow and rattan that were used are stable and store elastic energy. Coupled with the loop-based warp knitting technique, these properties are embedded in the resulting fabric itself. The contained willow twigs have finite lengths, but by using the Kemafil® technology we developed continuous composite structures that we call »active« yarns. The combination of different softer materials and the programming of the yarns expands from geometrical to more complex behaviors and applications. After the creation of the hybrid yarns, continuous textiles were produced through a warp knitting technique made by a machine. This process makes architectural scales attainable but also defines the looping radius in conjunction with the material itself.
Accompanying the physical prototypes, digital twins were created, that in the frame of the Stretching Materialities exhibition were also accessible through virtual reality.
We envision that the obtained structural textiles can be used as a fibrous scaffold for additive manufacturing processes, for instance with concrete or earth, in the same way that plant filaments are traditionally used. The different porosity and densities that can be achieved with the knitting technique allow us to program the structure’s light permeability, views, and acoustics.
The research of the Structural Textiles is conducted in collaboration with the Saxonian Textile Research Institute (STFI).