Textile thinking for new ways of living

What has fungi got to do with architecture? Or what if we could digitally change the colours or patterns of our clothes, instead of buying new ones? The ArcInTexETN project, funded by the EU, has reached its halfway stage and the PhD students are in the midst of processing their research questions.

ArcInTexETN is a project funded by the EU and it aims to strengthen the foundations of design for more sustainable forms of living by connecting architecture, interaction, design and textiles. By the end of 2016 the ArcInTexETN will be midway through the project. Representatives from the European Commission visited Borås in November for a midterm meeting and they are content with the progress. Research results are starting to evolve.

“In this project, we can perceive the future,” says Mervi Himanen, Expert Evaluator from the EU who has a solid academic background in both textiles and architecture as well as engineering and computer science. There are 15 young PhD students from all over the world enrolled in the ArcInTexETN project. Their backgrounds are from the fields of architecture, textiles, fashion or interaction design.

The research is cross disciplinary since the PhD students collaborate in three research groups – the scale of the building, the scale of the interior and the scale of the body — and each group consists of persons with different backgrounds. This means that they are working both on their individual theses as well as collaborating within their research groups. The ArcInTexETN is also cross disciplinary in the sense that it is a European Training Network, which means that it is a network with great mobility — the PhD students travel around the world in order to both educate themselves and to contribute to others with their knowledge.

“We are pioneers in our field of research since we are developing a new model of nomadic PhD training,” says Lars Hallnäs, Project Coordinator and Professor at the Swedish School of Textiles, and he continues: “We form a highly trained avant-garde in artistic research.”

“I believe that the future of fashion is dynamic and adaptive, both in the way it is made, as well as in the way clothing acts on the human body.” says Troy Nachtigal.