Stephanie Wilson Portfolio

The Haberdashery Stephanie Wilson Integrated Design Portfolio 190445605 ARC8060 Unlearning studio Green mind, green life.

“Our underlying argument is that perhaps we have been investing more on the symptoms—over consumption of resources and economic welfare—rather than on the causes—people preferences, attitudes and behaviours.

To change current unsustainable patterns, we may also need to change the way we define the problem.”

(Partidario, et al., 2010)

i

Contents page “What humans do over the next 50 years will determine the fate of all life on the planet.”

01

(David Attenborough)

12 Arcti

c 20

18

20 26 Arcti

c 19

ii

15

Brief outline

02 - 03

Sustainability time line

04 - 05

It’s time to uncover the truth

06 - 09

Waste film

10 - 11

The fashion industry

12 - 13

Secrets of the fashion industry film

14

The scale of the problem

15

The cost of clothing

16 - 17

How do you recycle clothing?

18 - 19

Unravelling the process

20 - 21

Circular processes

22 - 25

The Haberdashery

26 - 27

The proposed site

28 - 31

The Haberdashery breakdown

32 - 33

The new construction process

34 - 35

Re-weaving the highstreet

36 - 41

The approach

42 - 43

Ground floor

44 - 45

Basement

46 - 49

First floor

50 - 51

Second floor

52 - 53

Third floor

54 - 55

Sections

56 - 61

62

References

62 - 63

64

The Appendix

64 - 89

Time is running out

66

Categorising materials

67

The journey of jeans

68

The history of textiles

69 - 73

Precedents

74 - 77

The fashion of architecture

78

Considered demolition

79

Site analysis

80 - 81

Acoustic research

82 - 85

Initial facade design

86 - 89

iii

The Haberdashery

iv

01

Brief outline

Brief outline continued... ‘Unravelling’

02

My project is titled ‘The Haberdashery’ and aims to take apart the processes of the fashion industry in order to create a more sustainable way to deal with our textile waste. Through investigating the waste and fashion industry I strive to propose an alternative retail experience that incorporates the ideals of material reuse by the consumer. In this new model the individual shopper is responsible for firstly dealing with their fashion waste before the thought of buying new products is proposed. I aim to shift the responsibility of textile waste management to the consumer in order for humanity to start realising the impact their waste is having on the planet.

In addition to the process of fashion reuse, my project also explores how the role of the architect changes if the approach to design is centred around the ideals of material reuse and textile driven architecture. The architecture that already exists within our communities should be renovated and celebrated as it is, instead of approaching abandoned buildings with the mentality of demolition and rebuild. Just like the fashion industry where we should be reusing existing garments to create new pieces, we should be saving and salvaging buildings and construction materials to create the new spaces we desire instead of depleting the earth’s ecosystems.

The unravelling of the two sectors of fashion and architecture will help build a new approach to design in both areas.

It’s time to unlearn our role as an architect and see what happens when we put material reuse and sustainability at the forefront of design.

The aim of the Unlearning studio is to rethink what architecture and architects can do. How can we change the way we view our urban environments and adapt new mindsets in order to contribute to a more sustainable future “for architecture, for people and for the future of the city”¹? ‘Mottaini’ is a Japanese phrase that means ‘too good to waste’. In a world where consumerism is the leading aspect of society and waste has become one of our largest issues, I want to re-imagine how we deal with waste, both through overuse of resource and our inability to introduce a circular economy. The question isn’t whether we are above nature, it’s whether we choose to respect it for use in the future as we have done in the past.

Barr³ expresses how governmental structures can only go so far as to changing the way we manage our resources. The final decision is down to the individual who will choose what product and brand to buy, how to use energy and how to dispose of products.

“We must learn to recognize the true value of nature—both in an economic sense and in the richness it provides to our lives in ways much more difficult to put numbers on.”

(Millennium Ecosystem assessment, 2005)

1. Chiles, P., Wainwright, E. and Harper, C. (2020) ‘Unlearning…how to practise architecture?’. ARC8060: Architectural Design. University of Newcastle. Unpublished.

2. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Overview of Reports. Available at: https://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Reports. html# (Accessed: 12 November 2020).

3. Barr, B. (2007) ‘Factors influencing Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours: A UK Case Study of Household Waste Management’.

Environment and Behaviour, 39(4). Pp. 435-473.

Only 10 years left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change.

In only 500 years Antarctica will disappear & sea levels will rise 20ft.

Unlearning how to practise architecture came about through the need for change. “Cultures and practises we know have been turned inside out”¹ and over the past 50 years human kind has accelerated development at an astronomical rate. As architects, the buildings we design and the environments we create have shaped the way we live since the very beginning. Architecture has provided shelter, opportunity for investment, expressed class status, allowed industrial centres to grow and developed our world to a point where humans are unaware of how dependant on it they are. This growth has had its consequences and in the past 50 years humans have altered ecosystems more rapidly than any other time in human history. This change is a result of the way ecosystems have been treated as a free resource. Humans have managed to alter ecosystems through their over use and degradation of resources to a point where their very structure has had to change. Two thirds of natural resources provided to us by the planet are in decline; by developing our own urban and industrial environments, we have depleted the planet’s. The planet’s multitude of ecosystems are put at risk as humans limit the variety of environments, not only through events such as deforestation, but in the way we construct cities. Each urban density is a copy of the other. Large concrete buildings surrounded by impermeable roads offer little environmental variation. Landscapes become more uniform as we put an increased number of species under threat, we are affecting “both the resilience of natural services and less tangible spiritual or cultural values” ².

03

Sustainability Time line Over time humanity has made moves and counter moves that all played a part in our knowledge and fight against climate change. As you can see from this time line, the warning signs of climate change and global warming date back as far as 1848.

Why has it taken us this long to realise the importance of the issue? Even now with the threat of the loss of thousands of habitats and millions of lives... we are still not doing enough.

Key Moves to improve sustainability and behaviours towards the environment and climate change are shown in green.

Environmental warning signs and failures are shown in orange.

04

05

This level of resource waste and sustainable choice relates back to our consumer culture. In our current climate we have crossed the line into the realm of destruction and the majority of the population aren’t doing enough to change their habits. The government can only do so much towards trying to make businesses change, we have to educate ourselves in order to build a bigger demand for sustainable production and treatment of resources. Timothy Morton (Morton, T. 2010) rightly said in his book Ecological thought; “We’ve gotten it wrong so far - that’s the truth of climate disruption and mass extinction. I don’t advocate a return to pre modern thinking.” So basically, something needs to change.

How can we continue to remove resource from ecosystems only to replace it with mountains of our waste?

06

Time is running out Humanities ecological footprint now exceeds the planet’s bio capacity by 56%¹.

This means we are using 1.56 times more resource than the world can sustain and regenerate. We are effectively slowly destroying the planet in order to sustain humanities unnecessary consumer culture. Covid-19 forced countries into a lock-down designed to save lives but as of February 2021, 122 000 people have died in the UK from this deadly virus². At the same time in 2020, 478 were killed in Australia by wild fires, over 3000 homes were destroyed by flash floods in Tanzania, 700 000 people needed flood relief in Zambia and swarms of deadly desert locusts ravaged Kenya³.

It’s estimated that from 2030, 250 000 people will die from climate change events each year. If the Covid-19 pandemic caused us to completely rethink the way we live, subsequently causing a 10% reduction in humanities demand for resources⁴, why are we struggling so much to do the same in response to climate change?

1. United Nations (2020) Emissions Gap Report 2020: Global progress report on climate action. Available at: https://www.unep.org/emissions-gap-report-2020 (Accessed: 14 February 2021).

2. Gov.uk (2021) Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the UK. Available at: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/ deaths (Accessed 25 February 2021).

3. AA (2020) Environmental disasters across the world in 2020. Available at: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/ environment/environmental-disasters-across-world-in-2020/2082912 (Accessed: 25 February 2021).

4. WWF (2020) Living Planet Report 2020. Switzerland: WWF. Available at: https://www.worldwildlife. org/press-releases/wwf-report-reveals-staggering-extent-of-human-impact-on-planet (Accessed: 25 February 2021).

07

It’s time to uncover the truth

Resources

As humans we fear a bad reputation and being confronted by a truth that’s shocking tends to evoke a response of denial or blame. Greenpeace is known for its extreme approach to spreading the truth of our colossal environmental impacts, however their ‘Detox my Fashion’ campaign highlights the poisonous true nature of our fashion choices. Brita water filters removed their 2007 campaign after backlash from disgusted consumers, but in truth with drinkable tap water, when you buy bottled water you’re effectively paying to drink 0.5 litres of oil. Iceland’s palm oil advert was banned in 2018 for being too political, however since 1990 the Orangutan population has decreased by 265 000 with millions of hectares of rainforest destroyed.

The way these organisations have moved to expose the production and often hidden costs of our consumer culture is a move towards better education, better practises and an improved sustainable psychology.

Our primary source of resource is the biosphere. Nature provides materials we need to keep up with the constant growth of the economy and population. However, as we’ve seen, we are not allowing these natural ecosystems to regenerate. By taking more out than we are giving back or allowing to grow we are not only depleting our own access to resource but also damaging the environment in the process.

Extreme

Banned

Removed

Greenpeace 2011 ‘Detox My Fashion’ campaign 1 pair of jeans costs 37 years worth of drinking water The dye puts cyanide, formaldehyde and aniline into rivers

Brita Water Filters 2007 campaign ‘Filter for good’ 0.5 litres of oil to make a 1 litre bottle 450 years to decompose

Iceland’s Palm Oil campaign 2018 “There’s a human in my forest, and I don’t know what to do?

He destroyed all of our trees, for your food and your shampoo.”

In order to preserve our ecosystems as well as our economic growth we must begin to use the technosphere. This cycle focusses on the deconstruction and reuse of materials that are already in our systems. For example, it’s easier to remove gold from old mobile phones than mine virgin ore, so why do we still rely on the ancient mining processes. The anthropocene refers to the layer of resource we have already removed from ecosystems; cities, landfills and forms of pollution are all high stores of materials that can be reused instead of making them from virgin resource. It’s a source of materials we do not exploit enough.

Refer to appendix page 66

08

09

Waste City film.

Video link: https://youtu.be/aZimSG4Blss

10

This film is called Waste City. It shows how our waste is more than just small pieces of plastic. It’s a resource that could be used to build cities and lives. It should have the same value as the raw resource we use everyday in construction.

11

Fashion Waste Video link: https://youtu.be/VHjVrAHJsCs “We show sympathy towards animal welfare, but clothing too has life the production of each garment involves countless individuals.” ¹ Our current global crisis of our overconsumption, unsustainable and disrespectful use of the planet is a huge topic that can’t be tackled as a whole. So I’m going to break it down and focus on humanities use and waste of planetary resource, in particular textiles and the fashion industry.

In the UK we consume around 1.1 million tonnes of clothing every year, yet at the same time we donate 63% and then send a further 30% straight to landfill². As of 2018, the UK was the second largest exporter of used clothing after the US³. Our wasteful nature has developed through our increasing consumer culture and the rise in fast fashion. In the UK we see donation to charity shops or clothing banks as a viable option for our unwanted clothes… our waste, however do we really understand what happens to our clothes once the bin closes and we walk away? As with the recycling industry in general, putting unwanted items classified as waste in bins labelled ‘recycling’ isn’t always as sustainable and environmentally friendly as we perceive it to be.

In 2019 the UK exported 90 000 dollars worth of used clothes to Ghana³. We imagine developing countries such as Ghana and Rwanda benefiting this export which makes the act of throwing away textiles seem like not such a bad thing. But what happens to the millions of clothes once they reach Ghana?

At Kantomanto market, 15 million items of second hand clothes arrive every week, when you compare this to the fact that Ghana only has a population of 30 million people, the act of donating our clothes starts to loose its shine⁴. Statistically 40% of all second hand clothes imported into Ghana become waste that’s either dumped into the ocean or into landfill⁴. In 2016 five east African countries attempted to ban the importation of used clothes from the USA and Europe. In response the US threatened to cancel trade agreement Agoa, a legislation that allowed Rwanda to export products to the US for free, unless they ceased lobbying for the ban⁵. The exportation of resources, including used clothing, is a very political situation. This type of donation isn’t charity, its a form of waste management for countries like the UK and the US. So why do we have so many clothes to get rid of in the first place? The answer is the term we are all too familiar with, fast fashion. Traditionally retailers produced 4 new styles to match the seasons of the year, however current trends are pushing 52 new ‘style seasons’ a year catering to quantity and ‘newness’ over quality and intention⁶. This phenomenon started in the 1990s when the New York Times described Zara’s new shop and production line as ‘fast-fashion’ moving designs from the drawing board to shop floor in as little as 2 weeks⁶. Fast forward to 2021 and the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world after oil. One cotton t-shirt uses 700 gallons of water and a pair of jeans a staggering 2000. Washing clothes releases the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles into our oceans and the pesticides used in the growth kill 350 000 farmers every year⁷. We continue to destroy habitats and forfeit arable land in developing countries to grow cotton in response to the fast fashion industry instead of respecting ecosystems or allowing farmers to grow much needed food.

The solution to what is simply a case of bad waste and resource management comes from changing the way we view used resources, or what we know as waste. We can blame large fashion corporations such as Zara and Primark for the destruction of ecosystems and degradation of resources, but we’re actually the ones that buy and fuel these businesses, they’re just responding to our demand. In the UK our only defence against textile waste is donation or landfill. We have minimal infrastructure in place that allows recycling of clothing within our own boarders. As with our general waste recycling we are sending away valuable resource, and in cases like Ghana, this resource just becomes someone else’s waste problem. We need to build an attitude of taking responsibility for not only dealing with our own fashion waste, but for making more sustainable decisions. We need to rebuild a culture of care, a culture of realising value for the products we buy. Good quality and recycled textiles should become normal. The act of repair and up cycling will become the new fast fashion and recycling our own textile waste should be an industry in itself. We have used all these skills in the past, so it’s time to slow down, think about the consequences of our choices and build a way to deal with the UK’s wasteful fashion culture.

The vast separation between each sector of the garment manufacturing process is creating a false facade that covers over the cracks of the industry. Cracks that should be addressed and restored.

12

1. Ro, C. (2020) Can fashion ever be sustainable?. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200310-sustainable-fashion-how-to-buy-clothes-good-for-the-climate (Accessed: 14 December 2020).

2. Clothes aid (2020) Facts on clothes recycling. Available at: https://clothesaid.co.uk/about-us/facts-on-clothes-recycling/ (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

3. Shahbandeh, M. 1 (2021) Leading exporters of used clothing worldwide in 2019, by country. Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/523673/used-clothing-leading-exporters-worldwide/ (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

4. Vanessa Kanbi (2020) Is Africa being used as a dumping ground for America & UK? | Ghana’s Second Hand Clothing Industry. 19 June. Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JubSmAyC6U (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

5. John, T. (2018) ‘How the US and Rwanda have fallen out over second-hand clothes.’, BBC News. 28 May. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44252655 (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

6. Maiti, R. (2020) ‘Fast Fashion: Its Detrimental Effect on the Environment’, Earth.org. 29 January. Available at: https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/ (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

7. Hoskins, T. (2014) ‘Cotton production linked to images of the dried ip Aral Sea basin’, The Guardian. 1 October. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2014/oct/01/cotton-production-linked-to-images-of-the-dried-up-aral-sea-basin (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

Refer to appendix page 69-73

13

Secrets of the fashion industry film

The scale

Video link: https://youtu.be/VHjVrAHJsCs A short video to explain the textile waste crisis. This video is key to understanding what drove my decision to base my project on textile waste and why we need to change our habits regarding our textile waste management.

14

We can only go so far when splitting up the causes of climate change and the subsequent release of greenhouse gases. Industries cross over in a way that creates a chain of events that all contribute to the overall global crisis. However, the fashion industry is generally responsible for 10% of the greenhouse gases released into our atmosphere.

Our current global crisis of our overconsumption, unsustainable and disrespectful use of the planet is a huge topic that can’t be tackled as a whole. So I’m going to break it down and focus on humanities use and waste of planetary resource, in particular textiles and the fashion industry.

In the UK we consume around 1.1 million tonnes of clothing every year, yet at the same time we donate 63% and then send a further 30% straight to landfill. As of 2018, the UK was the second largest exporter of used clothing after the US.

Do we really understand what happens to our clothes once the bin closes and we walk away? As with the recycling industry in general, putting unwanted items classified as waste in bins labelled ‘recycling’ isn’t always as sustainable and environmentally friendly as we perceive it to be.

In 2019 the UK exported 90 000 dollars worth of used clothes to Ghana. Statistically 40% of all second hand clothes imported into Ghana become waste that’s either dumped into the ocean or into landfill. This donation isn’t charity, its a form of waste management for countries like the UK and the US.

Why do we have so many clothes to get rid of in the first place? The answer is the term we are all too familiar with, fast fashion. We continue to destroy habitats & forfeit arable land in developing countries to grow cotton in response to the fast fashion industry instead of respecting ecosystems or allowing farmers to grow much needed food.

We must change the way we view used resources, or what we know as waste. Repair and up cycling will become the new fast fashion and recycling our own textile waste should be an industry in itself. It’s time to slow down, think about the consequences of our choices and build a way to deal with the UK’s wasteful fashion culture.

15

The cost of clothing.

Unravelling materials - Categorising textiles

Recycling clothes in the UK

The UK claims that they recycle around 70% of their used clothing waste every year¹, but just how much of this is actually ‘recycled’?

Recycle: To collect and treat used objects and materials that are ready to be thrown out in order to produce materials that can be used again².

The UK classify ‘donation overseas’ as a form of recycling. When you look into the fact that this process just encompasses the minimal sorting and baling of clothes that are then sold to traders in developing countries its more of a business than a recycling programme. The UK themselves don’t do the recycling, yes the clothes sold in the UK are being given a new lease of life, but this only accounts for a small portion of the clothes donated. Up until the point the bales leave the UK it is a form of waste disposal, not recycling and after that moment the government no longer care how the waste is dealt with.

The production of material fibres has changed over the past 50 years. From natural wools and 100% cotton to synthetic man made textiles that release toxins and struggle to break down. By using the same process of recycling existing fabrics as Prato in Italy, along with developing technologies, you open up a whole new category of fibres made from recycled resource. Animal and plant based fibres have the opportunity to be produced in an eco friendly and organic way, however this relies on the removal of fast fashion which fuels the toxic side of these industries.

Pure

Animal based.

Rapidly renewable, biodegradable, recyclable, and can be produced organically. As long as its not treated it is one of the most recycled fibres.

Recycled from other

Plant based.

Harvested from plants - one of the most water and pesticide heavy plants on earth. The dyeing process is highly toxic.

Mixed

Brexit stops EU exports

Brexit has affected Britain in many ways; changes to fishing rights, traveling, studying abroad and imports and exports of goods. One aspect of this that isn’t talked about it the exportation of used goods, usually by charities, to EU countries. Since January the UK’s largest exporter of second hand clothes to the EU, ECS Textiles in North Shields, has ground to a halt³. The rules surrounding imports and exports of goods has caused border delays due to new paperwork and confusion over rules. The hold up has resulted in a build up of clothing at the North Shields warehouse to the point where ECS may have to close down due to lack of space for more donations.

1. Clothes aid (2020) Facts on clothes recycling. Available at: https://clothesaid.co.uk/about-us/facts-on-clothes-recycling/ (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

2. Cambridge Dictionary (2021) Meaning of recycle in English. Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/recycle (Accessed: 4 March 2021).

3. Partington, R. (2021) ‘Second-hand clothing mountain piles up as Brexit halts exports to the EU’, The Guardian. 3 February. Available at: https:// www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/03/second-hand-clothing-mountain-piles-up-as-brexit-halts-exports-to-eu (Accessed: 2 March 2021).

4. Choi, C. (2020) ‘Calls for tougher regulations of second hand clothes’, itv News. 18 February. Available at: https://www.itv.com/news/2020-02-18/ calls-for-tougher-regulation-of-second-hand-cloths (Accessed: 4 March 2021).

Refer to appendix page 68

16

Fibre from recycled plastic.

Plastic is collected, shredded, spun into yarn and then woven into fabric. 70% less energy, 75% less CO₂ and 86% less water.

Recycled fabric

Ghana and second hand fashion

Every year the UK sends 63 418 990kg of old clothes to Ghana which has doubles since 2010. It might shock you to believe that most of the clothes you donate are sold to traders. In just 12 months from 2019 to 2020 the cost for one tonne has dropped from £200 to £100 which means that dealers may start to increase the volume of clothes they send to keep up their income⁴.

Synthetic.

Oil-based polymers - polyester, nylon, acrylic, polypropylene and spandex. 70 million barrels of oil a year are used to make polyester fibres in our clothes.

Refer to appendix page 67

Regenerated cellulose.

Made from wood and plant-based fibres and softened by chemicals.

Fibre shredding and reuse.

Unwearable material is sorted, shredded and pulled into fibres to make a new yarn. Colour sorting means the dying process is eliminated.

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1550

1000 2300 1000 2300 1000 1550

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1550

1550

2010

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Fiber out Fiber Fiber out out

Weaving (weaves the individual yarns into a piece of cloth) 800

1511015110 Industrial mechanical loom 15110

735

735

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

Machinery: Hand loom (40cm) - on a table

Machinery: Hand loom (80cm)

4800

615

Machinery: Hand loom (60cm)

Machinery: Hand loom (40cm) - on a table

735

900 615

1200

735

Machinery: Opening mac

4800

800 800

Hand loom

HKRITA (2020) G2G Recycle system. Available at: https://www.garment2garment.com/ (Accessed: 14 April 2021).

18

735

735 735

80cm cloth

735

735 735

60cm cloth

615

510

510

510

765

Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Hand loomHand (60cm) loom Hand (60cm)loom (40cm) Hand loom (40cm) - on a table Hand loom (60cm) Hand - on loom a table (40cm) - on a table

765

765

965

965

Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Hand loom (80cm) Hand loomHand (80cm) loom (80cm)

965

2100

2100

2100

Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Doubling and twisting Doubling and Doubling twisting and twisting

1700

Machinery: Hand loom (60cm)

1700

Machinery: Hand loom (80cm)

650

Machinery: Carding mach

510

2100

735

510

2010

2010

1200

1200

1300

800 800 800

15110

765

510

800

Machinery: Hand loom (40cm) - on a table

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

800

Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Doubling and twisting Doubling and Doubling twisting and twisting Spinning Spinning

1300

5

1300

6

Machinery: Spinning

Machinery: Hand loom (60cm)

735

800

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION 7

Machinery: Hand loom (80cm)

Machinery: Spinning

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

4800

8

15110

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

800

615 735 Clothes Clothes in Clothes in in

2010

2100

965

765

Machinery: Machinery: Machinery: Opening and carding Opening and Opening carding and carding

735

800

765

4800

900

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

Machinery: Hand loom (40cm) - on a table

Fiber ou

Doubling and twisting (spins the thick yarn into thin threads by doubling it and twisting)

Machinery: Spinning

Machinery: Hand loom (60cm)

Machinery: Opening and carding

800 Clothes in

615

Machinery: Hand loom (80cm)

1700

Clothes in

965

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

Machinery: Opening machine

15110

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

Machinery: Spinning

Machinery: Hand loom (40cm) - on a table

4

1800

Spinning (spins the fibres into4500 a thick yarn) 4500 4500

15110

510

765

735

1000

Machinery: Opening and carding

Mechanical Recycling

Mechanical Recycling Mechanical Mechanical Recycling Recycling

1000

Fiber out 900

1000

2000 20002000

Machinery: Carding machine

3000

8

Carding machine

2010

Machinery: Opening machine

965

3

735

1000 2300

12 00

Opening machine Clothes in

2100 1200

800

4500

3000

1

1300

2

965

1200

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2100

1

800

Machinery: Hand loom (60cm)

1500

1500

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Fiber out

The company ‘Garment to Garment’ specialise in a small scale exhibition of turning yours second hand t-shirt into a new shirt right in front of you. With trial pods (as above) in H&M shops it is a step towards opening up the garment production process. Yet the act of recycling is still taken away from you and conducted by professionals.

Machinery: Hand loom (80cm)

3000

1550

Machinery: Down-cycling: Down-cycling: Down-cycling: Opening and carding Usage end - Recycling Usage end Waste Usage - Recycling - Sort end--Mechanical Recycling Waste - Sort Waste Recycling - Mechanical - Sort - De-valuing - Mechanical Recycling Manufacture Recycling - De-valuing -- De-valuing Use Manufacture - Usage Manufacture end - Use - Landfill - Usage - Useend - Usage - Landfill end - Landfill

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

1000

12 00

20 0

Opening (shreds the clothes from full garments to scraps to fibres).

Carding (lays all the fibres out parallel ready for spinning).

1800

1200

Machinery: Spinning

4500

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Machinery: Carding machine

1200

800

1.100 at A3

1000

2010

1.100 at A3

800

Garment to garment recycling process

Machinery: Doubling and twisting

1200

(8) Knitting - Thread is knitted into a new garment

Machinery: Spinning

1300

(7) Doubling & twisting - Yarn is spun tighter into a thread

Clothes in

2

Clothing recycling machines - large scale

3000

(6) Rotor spinning - The fibres are spun into a thick yarn

7 15110

8

3

2000

1300

(5) Drawing - The fibres are aligned in the same direction

Machinery: Opening and carding

5

Hand-me-down:Hand-me-down: Hand-me-down: Usage end - Value Usage gift end - Use Usage - Value - Usage end gift-end Value - Use -gift Usage - Useend - Usage end

Down-cycling: Usage end - Recycling Waste - Sort - Mechanical Recycling - De-valuing Manufacture - Use - Usage end - Landfill

2100

(4) Carding - Shredded pieces formed into fibres

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2010

Clothes in

2400 24002400

650

4

4500 4000 40004000

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(2) Shred - Cloth opened through a shredding process

De-valuing Manufacture

Mechanical Recycling Down-cycling: Usage end - Recycling Waste - Sort - Mechanical Recycling - De-valuing Manufacture - Use - Usage end - Landfill

2010 1300

Machinery: Opening and carding

4500

PRODUCE 12 00 PRODUCED BY1 AN AUTODESK STUD

(1) Sanitation - Initial cleaning of the garment

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1000

Clothing recycling machines - small scale

(3) Clean - Material is thoroughly cleaned

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PROD

3000

2000

5500mm

The process of recycling the 1% of clothing we achieve worldwide is actually a beautiful and colourful process. The collage to the left represents the sorting process whereby clothes are sorted by colour before moving into the shredding and spinning stage. This collage is inspired by a small Italian city called Prato in Tuscany where they recycle 15% of all the clothes sent for recycling in the world. In the manufacturing district each company is responsible for a different stage of the process and at the end they come together as new fabric and yarn. Using this process the CO₂ produced is half of what is released in the process of making clothes from new materials. As well as the almost complete elimination of dyes due to the colour sorting process. Why would you hide this beautiful manufacturing cycle?

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How do you recycle clothing?

4500

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2000

615 615

40cm cloth

4800 48004800

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Unravelling the process It’s time the fashion as well as the construction industry unlearned this linear process and challenged the way they approach clothes. To open up the process and educate the population on sustainable, non toxic choices just as we do with our fairtrade farming and free range produce. My project will aim to encourage recycling of materials, provide opportunity for sustainable businesses and form an environment that not only reinvents the consumer model but the architectural stereotypes of the fashion and construction industry.

Left: Its time to begin to understand each individual thread that goes into the production of not only garments that individually clothe us, but the buildings that shelter our societies. How do the process and materials knit together and how can this become a sustainable cycle?

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Refer to appendix page 78

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Textile circular process The fashion industry is an expression of creativity and tradition, however, it’s also a performance where the making, managing and production of products are hidden behind a thick curtain created by large clothing brands. The fashion industry accounts for 10% of all global carbon emissions and almost 20% of wastewater. We buy 60% more clothes than we did 15 years ago and shockingly only 1% of clothing is recycled at the end of its life, resulting in 92 million tonnes of textile waste a year. With the consumption of fashion growing exponentially and fashion being the second most polluting industry, its time we pulled back the curtain to expose the polluting traits of garment production. With each passing season the fashion industry encourages increasing amounts of waste with no repercussions or regulations on how it is disposed of. Tonnes of raw materials are ploughed into new designs whilst rapidly diminishing natural resources.

The idea of the circular economy is a model where waste materials are kept in the production cycle in order to minimise the amount of raw materials removed from ecosystems. At the moment, the fashion industry is the furthest from being a circular system. The technology of recycling clothes is still a high energy and complex process. The main culprits however, are the consumers themselves. From patching jacket elbows and darning holes in socks, to buying £2 t-shirts and a dress to be worn for a single night out, we have taken huge steps back in our sustainable approach to clothing.

Architecture circular process The idea of the circular economy has to be applied to all sectors in order for changes to be made. The construction industry is no different. Construction, demolition and excavation is responsible for 59% of the waste produced each year in the UK. According to DEFRA¹ in 2016 England had a recovery rate of 91% of non hazardous construction waste, exceeding targets.

There is a type of system in place, there the concrete, brick and asphalt are usually down cycled for use as aggregates. I want to investigate how materials can be reused in a way that conveys their original purpose. Just like the colourful production process of recycling fabric, architecture should reflect its history. The materials are being used to build new life; can this be expressed in the facade and design of the architecture?

Current UK law states that up to 20% of a project cost can be reclaimed through VAT if the building is a complete new build, a conversion of a building previously never used as a dwelling into a new dwelling or bringing an existing dwelling that has now been lived in for 10 years back into use. This legislation by the HMRC encourages the ideals of complete demolition and rebuild as on some projects it can end up being cheaper than retaining any existing structure or materials. The supply of materials only is the standard rate of VAT² (currently 20%) so a client can claim all VAT incurred on new materials for a scheme. This however doesn’t cover material reuse; so if you were to demolish a building and then reuse the bricks is could end up costing more than if you were to scrap all the existing materials and buy new. With this kind of legislation in place it makes it even harder for people to choose the more environmentally and socially sustainable option of material reuse and conversion.

1. DEFRA (2020a) UK Statistics on Waste. Government Statistical Service. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service. gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/918270UK_Statistics_on_Waste_statistical_notice_ March_2020_accessible_FINAL_updated_size_12.pdf (Accessed 14 February 2021).

2. McDonald, A. (2020) VAT on a New Build: Can I reclaim? Available at: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/vat-on-anew-build (Accessed: 11 March 2021).

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Individual processes of the fashion industry

1

Clothes sale & use

2

Clothes recycling bin

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Individual processes of the construction industry

7

1

100% OF DONATIONS GOES TO CHARITY

THANK YOU

3

1

Building use

2

Considered deconstruction

3

Second hand materials

4

Architectural design

5

Building construction

4

4

Virgin material addition

5

Carding machine

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Loom

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Design & manufacture

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Opening (shredding) machine

C

Sorting & bailing

D

Transport abroad

E

Second hand market sale

F

Landfill

VII

Tapestry

6 4

3

5 VI

Virgin materials

B

Demolition

C

Down-cycled aggregate

D

Landfill

V VI VII IV

D

C

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Drying room

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FabBrick construction

E D

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FabBrick brick press

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VI

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The project - The Haberdashery Our clothes shops are a source of material in the same way abandoned buildings can be seen as a resource mine for new construction opportunities. My project looks at how we can change the way we approach design in both fashion and architecture. What happens when we put the planet first and strive to mine the anthropocene instead of our depleting planetary resource.

If we flip our approach to consumerism we can create a space and process that encourages reuse instead of refuse. As Timothy Morton rightly said in his book Ecological thought; “We’ve gotten it wrong so far - that’s the truth of climate disruption… I don’t advocate a return to premodern thinking.”

I want to investigate how materials can be reused in a way that leads the design process. Just like the colourful production process of recycling fabric, architecture should be inspired by what is available. Materials should be used to build new life and in both cases this should be celebrated. As Tim Ingold explains in The Textility of Making; “Architects think of a building as a complete thing, while builders think of it and know it as a sequence…The separation of design from making has resulted in a built environment that has no ‘flow’ to it.”

Left: Primark is one of the leading retailers in fast fashion.

Churning out cheap garments made in countries that unfairly treat workers and the environment. Its time to stop buying for quantity and begin understanding the quality of clothes... quality and cost of the resource as well as the skill involved.

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The proposed site.

Site Analysis

1

[1:4000 at A3]

Clothes donation

Recycling drop off

Recycling centre

Key

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

2

Newcastle University Haymarket NCP Car Park Primark Marks and Spencer McDonald’s Eldon Gardens Fenwick Eldon Square Public Square Greys quarter Monument Grainger Market The Gate Bigg Market

3 4 5

6

7

8

Green spaces Vacant units Popular pedestrian routes Pedestrian nodes Vehicle routes Charity shops Deliveries

9

11 10

12

13

14

Our obsessive consumer culture is encouraged by the infrastructure of our urban environments. The high street has become the focal point of society and in most large cities this includes an indoor shopping centre, in this instance Newcastle is no different. Eldon square shopping centre opened in 1976 with a huge footprint of 1.35 million square feet.

You can enter the building by Northumberland street and not exit until you hit Clayton street, missing Grainger market and Eldon square park. The centre is so large and full of chain brands that a person could spend a whole afternoon without appreciating smaller businesses that can’t afford the rent ‘intu’ request. The institution of shopping centres house businesses that fuel neglect and unsustainable processes that antagonise our social and environmental crisis. We have moved to an era of carbon copies, where small businesses are having to work extra hard to keep up with giants like Primark, Next and TKmax as well as huge corporations such as ‘intu’ shopping complexes. It’s time to open up the consumer process and allow people to see and take responsibility for what they are buying and who they are buying from.

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Refer to appendix page 80-81

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Site plan Key

Site exploration

Proposed main site Rear car park intu Eldon Square entrance Deliveries Visitor foot traffic

Within architecture, the first step is to nurture a need or concept, my concept is the need for a new way of dealing with waste and the site was chosen from its current classification of ‘waste’. The unit on Northumberland street has been vacant for over a year but the structure is sound and the spaces are open. Situated directly opposite the entrance to Eldon square shopping centre and directly beside the centre of fast fashion, Primark, its position offers consumers a direct alternative to the current leaders of textile waste on the high-street. Our relationship with fashion comes from our inability to connect the consequences with the cause. The media makes us feel insecure about our appearance and fuels the need to be on trend rather than sustainable. Shops tell us nothing of the process and it took campaigns by charities such a Green Peace to alert the world about the toxic treatment of workers and the environment. If we were to reverse the consumer experience and provide opportunities to recycle and reuse above that of fast fashion it would provide the public with the opportunity to experience the processes and effects of managing their own textile waste.

John Dobson St.

Foot clinic

Metrovick house

Studio

Vacant

Tailor

Beauty salon CANACA street food

NCP Car park

Cruise

Vacant Car park Hairdresser Tailor

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Pacific house

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Tesco express

Castle dry cleaners

Greggs

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Flannels

WHSmith & Post Office Fenwick

Samsung

Barclays

H.Samuel

Card factory

EE

Voderphone

O2

intu Eldon entrance

Marks & Spencer

Sainsburys

Three

Costa

KFC

American Candy

Virgin money

eat 4 less

TUI

Yorkshire bank

Starbucks

Yorkshire building society

H&M

Superdrug

JD Sports

Cotswold

McDonald’s

Outfit

Primark

Northumberland Street

Northumberland Street

30

Saville Row

Northumberland Road

City Tavern Santander

cex

Virgin Money

Dawson travel agents

Ridley Place

Courtney airsavers

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Vacant

Previous front elevation pre 2012

Existing front elevation post 2012 31

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Hairdresser

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WOK Inn

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Optometrists

Project aims

Existing axo

By unravelling the traditional experience of retail vs clothing donation, I aim to weave a new process of more sustainable and reduced-waste driven choices on the high-street. The act of purchasing clothing will be the furthest away from the public as they enter the building.

What you encounter as you enter is the sorting and shredding process which is traditionally the end point of our contact with waste textiles. You are then introduced to the weaving, and reconstruction process the further up the building you go, where you finally finish in the small retail shop.

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0

£ £

£

Basement - Sorting, brick creation and bailing

0

Ground floor - Donation, thrift counter, shredding, breakdown station

1

First floor - Weaving and tapestry exhibition

2

Second floor - Haberdashery and up-cycling

3

Third floor - Clothes shop

A

Primark

B

McDonald’s

3

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-1

-1

£

1

2

2

1

A 0

B

-1

3 Refer to appendix page 74-77

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33

The new process

1

2

3

4

Client idea - Second hand clothing company/charity

A charity with a vision to revolutionise the way we deal with textile waste in order to minimise the amount that enters landfills and maximise the quality that is sent to people in need.

Building breakdown

7

Employ architect - Holds a shared vision

The architect involved must have a strong passion for the ideals of the project and for changing the way we approach design. The design brief is constructed and areas of function are planned out. The design begins to develop.

Materiality - Sustainable consideration

The existing building is evaluated for materials that can be reused. Other materials are considered in regards to salvage and recycled. This will lead the design process.

Design & materiality research - Ongoing

Sub contractors are brought on board at this stage in order to develop a design that is lead by the materials available. This stage will be a long process that develops over time. The material choices are related directly to the areas of function within the building. As decisions are made, experts are brought on board from that field.

6

8

9

Internal construction - Materials are slowly assembled

This process will take time. As the materials are produced above the building will begin to take shape. As bricks are complete or fabric is woven, the individual spaces will grow into the space they need.

Site clear - Temporary structures removed

As the project nears completion, the temporary structures and designated recycling bins/areas will be removed to allow for finishing touches to take place.

Open to the public - The process of consumerism is reversed & exposed

Floor plate The process of retrofitting a building when the structure itself is suitable for the proposed use or project is a more sustainable way to create new spaces within aging urban environments. Taking the time to design into a space in order to avoid the need to demolish and rebuild.

Escalator removal Working with the existing features to avoid adding additional materials and unnecessary energy. Voids left by the removal of escalators should be considered in the design as opposed to being designed out.

Facade The removal and reuse of facade materials in order to reduce the need for increased use of virgin materials on site. The design of the facade will be inspired by what is already available on site as well as recycled material options.

Existing staircase Focusing on the processes within the spaces and allowing them to grow around the existing facilities is something that needs to be embraced more if we are to reduce the amount of virgin resource and greenhouse gases that the construction sector produces.

The shop is made safe and opened to the public.

Materials - Collection & creation

Some of the materials used will come from waste/used products that will be recycled. As part of the process these materials will be collected on or near the site. Second hand clothing collection and plastic bottle recycling bins will be located near the site in order to accumulate the required amount of materials for the project. The facade of the building will be carefully removed in order to preserve the resources built into it.

Facade construction - Sustainably and with care

The actual construction and renovation begins on site. This has to be carefully planned out in stages as the multiple experts, as listed above, will be required to install and supervise certain sections of the build. Once the building is water tight there is an opportunity for materials such as the fabric brick, tapestries, acoustic wall divides and woven walls to be created on site.

Before the building is open to the public the space will be used primarily as a recycling facility to create the materials needed for the retrofit of the building.

34

The machines that will be installed within the Unravelling shop on completion will be installed in their position and used to create the materials designed for each space. For example the textile shredding machine will be used to create the material needed for the production of the fabric bricks that will eventually surround and soundproof the machine itself. A temporary press and drying room will be erected on site.

In addition to this, the shredded material will go through spinning, twisting and weaving to create the fabric that will be then sent off to fireproofing and returned to be installed within the building as fabric walls and dividers.

10

5

Materiality production - Materials recycled/up cycled on site

Refer to appendix page 79

35

Knitting the highstreet Northumberland street facade.

36

37

Re-weaving the highstreet

The Haberdashery

Primark - the new resource

Being one of the countries leading retailers in fast fashion Primark is using a wealth of resource to create cheap garments that consumers consider replaceable and disposable. However, this also means they are producing a wealth of resource for the second hand clothing industry. They are effectively a resource mine for The Haberdashery. The building itself could be transformed into a source of materials for people to create their own garments. It would be a juxtaposition of the current building and resource use.

38

McDonald’s - the local eatery

The irresponsible use of resource also stretches to the food and beverage sector. If we are beginning to look at how the processes of fashion and architectural resource can be re-arranged, we must also consider the thousands of pounds of food that gets thrown away every year. A wonky food cafe could source the food discarded for its appearance and use it to create food that is healthy and accessible to all.

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Location Narrative

The Haberdashery is situated in the middle of Northumberland Street. With Primark to the left, McDonald’s to the right and the entrance to Eldon square directly opposite. The space in front of the unit is a central node for foot traffic which in turn offers maximum exposure. Visually the facade of Primark is extremely grey and cooling and the vertical louvres almost create a visual gate, blocking the viewer from the internal workings of the shop. The previous facade of The Haberdashery is uninspiring, it has changed many times over the years and the unit is in a constant cycle of being vacant.

Refer to appendix page 86-89

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Existing elevation

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Proposed elevation

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The Approach Architect Unusually the architect is responsible for designing the deconstruction of the building facade. Each section has to be removed, documented and then either stored for use in the renovation, sent off for reshaping and upcycling or sold onto a new project. By doing this as part of the project instead of using an external company, the project is able to use as much of the existing resource as possible.

Narrative

“The unravelling studios stand out so much on Northumberland Street. The large curtains draped over the entrance and up the roof create this inviting drama as you’re excited to see what’s behind them. The building itself looks like its a patchwork quilt, with all the individual triangles made from the old facade as well as recycled and treated fabric. It definitely caught the kids eyes the first time we saw it completed. I love how you can see all the activity going on inside as nothing is hidden. Its funny really, this building feels alive with real people where as Primark next door is frozen with mannequins, we never really shop there anymore. My favourite part are the tapestries hung in the windows just behind the curtain, they change every month or so which means the fabric on the front of the building is also moved. They hook it back in different places depending on how big the new tapestries are. It makes the building feel alive and new each time we come.”

Manager The main part of maintaining the facade involves overseeing the construction and rotation of display tapestries above the entrance. Each new tapestry is design and curated to represent current events or themes in society. The curtain facade itself needs to be opened in specific places to showcase the new tapestries.

User The exterior of the building is designed to invite the public in. We all have the impulse to find out what’s behind the curtain and this is what the facade represents. The public are invited to pull back the fabric and explore the true process of recycling garments in the textile industry.

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Primark

Ground floor

During the design and construction phases of this floor the architect has the larger responsibility of sourcing and up-cycling materials for the specific areas. The aim of the process is to install donation bins before work begins in order to collect the number of plastic bottles and second hand clothes required to create the fabric shoots and sound insulated ceiling.

Manager On this floor there are 3 main sections that need maintaining. First is the thrift counter, this is the process by which peoples clothes are evaluated and a price is given for higher quality items, such as vintage finds, to be resold as they are. Second is the deconstruction stations and cafe area. The public bring unwanted clothes or are provided with clothes that they are to de-construct before the shredding process. Buttons are removed or knits are unravelled. Finally, there is the clothes shredding area where fabrics are opened by machine and wither sent downstairs to be made into FabBricks or then put through a carding machine to move further up the recycling process of the building.

Narrative

“As you enter the building you are immediately covered by layers upon layers of clothing hanging from the ceiling. The site is colourful yet oppressive, it stands to remind you of the millions of garments wasted every year. As you approach the thrift counter you notice the furniture itself seems to be made from ripped up textiles, who knew you could make such solid objects from waste? The lady behind the desk sorts through your pile of clothes and offers to buy a jacket.

She proceeds to take a child’s waterproof jacket and a thermal jumper, “these are great for our donations to Serbia, do you mind?”. I buy a coffee before we sit down and begin tearing up our unusable clothes, the kids love this part. Once the buttons are removed the kids run up to the platform through the forest of hanging clothes and throw the fabrics into the shoots. I remember when they built those, they asked for donations of plastic bottles and we brought around 6... it makes me smile that we contributed to the construction of this place. Before we go upstairs my partner loves to go and see the shredding machines. They are contained in a room that also seems to be made of ripped up clothing, but it must be a lot thicker as the noise from the machines is just a pleasant hum in the background.”

Deliveries

Additional donations

Architect

User

Fabric shredding

Deconstruction cafe

Visua l

This is the first area the public will encounter as they embark on their unravelling experience. They are invited to thrift their unwanted clothes in order to revive money in return, they are encouraged to help deconstruct garments with a cup of coffee from the cafe and they are enlightened to the process of fabric deconstruction through the open shredding process displayed.

Thrift counter

Plastic bottle clothes shoots The atrium space from the ground floor to the basement holds the clothes sorting shoots. The structures are made from recycled plastic bottles to reduce plastic waste.

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Model inspiration for ceiling This model is based on the craft quilling. The rolls of fabric seen to be taking over the ground floor plan are suspended from the ceiling. The curls represent the swathes of fabric taking over.

Entrance

1.200 ground floor plan

45

Basement Architect This area had to be curated very carefully.

The space actually gained machines before the internal walls were built up around it. The architect had to ensure the team of FabBrick specialists knew the plans so they could build their own workspace. Usually something you would contract out, it will take the teamwork of both the architect and FabBrick creators to organise and construct such a unique process.

Narrative

“We only sometimes visit the basement of the Unravelling studios. It’s completely open to the public and the staff are fantastic as you explore the underground processes of the clothes recycling. Once you throw your clothes down the shoot they land in the bins downstairs which are then cleaned and sorted by material and colour. The clothing destined for reweaving is sent up to the shredding room we saw when we first came in, once shredded it drops back down into the Fabric brick pressing room below. I think its so beautiful that the room itself is made from the bricks they are making.

When they first began the process, before the room was open to the public they just had the machines in the open space, as clothes were donated they began to build up the room around them. It takes the idea of building something from scratch to a whole new level. “

Clothes bailing

Manager As well as the FabBrick creation centre, the basement holds the main sorting area for donations. The manager of this floor is in charge of ensuring the correct style, quality and season of clothing is baled in order to be sent to the appropriate people in need.

Gone are the days of high volume, low quality donations. We donate for the purpose of helping those in need, not to destroy economies and the environment.

Laundry

Visu

al

FabBrick drying room

User This area of the building is the most industrial as it’s where the bulk of the sorting, cleaning and baling processes take place. The spaces are safe for the public to explore.

Scaffold board

Storage

Second hand scaffold board is used to create a structure to hold the fabbricks.

Fab-bricks

Bricks made from recycled textiles provide the solid structure of the wall.

Bricks are exposed on the exterior.

Denim insulation

Cotton / denim insulation is made from recycled jeans that have been shredded to create rolls of 80mm cotton insulation.

Air gap The air gap provides a barrier for vibrations. The two sections of the wall are not joint so therefore vibrations cannot move through the structure.

Fab-bricks Another layer of fabric bricks acts as the internal surface and acoustic sound proofing.

Sorting stations

Thick fabric curtain The internal wall is covered with a thick curtain to provide the internal space with sound absorbing surfaces to reduce reflection.

1.200 basement plan

Refer to appendix page 80-83

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FabBrick wall construction The slow process of construction

The Haberdashery process of construction relies on the location of second hand materials in order to inform and build up the internal spaces. Its not about speed where virgin materials would be quickest to locate, its about using what is available, and in this case its about waiting for clothes to be donated in order to be able to construct the internal spaces of The Haberdashery.

Before the public are allowed into the building the machines are put in place. Clothes donation bins are located outside the site in order to collect the materials needed to construct the internal FabBrick walls. The walls are slowly built up around the machines as more resource (clothes) is donated. Once this process is complete the public are then invited into the building.

Washing a nd

shredding Wall const ru

ction arou

nd machin

es Open to th

e public

Clothes co

llection FabBrick b

rick manuf

acture FabBrick w

alls comple

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te 49

First floor Architect The main role of the architect within this space is the creation of the sound proof room for the loom replicated on the ground floor. In addition, the careful removal of the escalators and the consideration of minimal resource use and waste leaves large galleries in the space.

This 3 floor gallery is filled with a piece of art made from thick fabric. It represents how each and every process is linked and that one is not more or less important than the other.

Narrative

“In comparison to the explosion of fabric downstairs, this ceiling is almost calming with its tent like drapes. It reminds me of a woven basket or straw hat and whilst I admire the ceiling I can hear the soft scraping of the looms scattered across this floor. As you walk towards the back of the shop you see all the crafts people creating amazing tapestries which in themselves are displayed all over the room. Before this place opened I thought tapestries were old and dark, something you’d find in a castle, when actually they can actually be amazing modern works of art, especially since they’re all made completely from recycled fabrics. Towards the back of the room you can see into the chamber where they mechanically weave new material. This fabric, made from re-spun cotton, will go upstairs to become new clothes all over again. The way the building works in such a circular process is just so eye opening. I never knew it took this much effort the weave the fabric for clothes, even before its actually cut out into a design.”

Manager

Machine weaving

The manager of this space is a master weaver.

The floor offers permanent studio spaces for independent weavers as well as employing a team of full time staff. They must also curate the space through displays of tapestries and fabrics that represent current social events and themes.

User

al

u Vis

The space is open so the experienced weavers are on show for the public to watch and learn from. They are also invited to try their hand at weaving themselves. However, the space is mainly an exhibition of a new wave of modern tapestries.

Tapestry gallery

Weaving studios

Model inspiration for ceiling Draped fabric automatically gives a room a dreamy look. The movement of fabric makes a space feel alive.

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Weaving my own tapestry Using yarn made from up cycled second hand t-shirts I experimented with weaving my own tapestry.

1.200 plan

51

Second floor Architect The role of the architect within this whole project was to create a space of processes that used the space and facilities already available. The atrium space housing drapes of fabric that span all floors are holes left after the escalators were removed. Instead of covering up such a feature it is made to represent the flow of fabric throughout all processes of garment and fashion manufacture.

Manager The manager of this floor is responsible for the haberdashery as well as ensuring the skilled seamstresses, tailors and sewers are creating and up cycling clothes that can be sold in the shop above.

Narrative

“The third floor represents the stage of textile construction where the garments begin to take shape. This is the equivalent of the architectural design process where by the rows of crafts people and sewers begin to imagine what the recycled fabrics and second hand garments can become. The ceiling’s acoustic panels are more constructed this time, from the swathes of fabric below we now see angular solid forms that replicate the stitches and darts sewn into clothing. In addition to the sewing process we also enter the first retail aspect of the studios, the haberdashery. From the making of fabrics on the floor below we are now able to purchase the materials before the fully made garments themselves.”

Clothes repair Classroom

T-shirt up cycling - creating my something new from the old Video link - https://youtu.be/Gi8HZn5IRSo

User

Step 2 Manufacture The T-shirt is cut into a long piece.

Step 3 New material Fabric stretched and wound into a new thread.

Step 4 Manufacture Thread knitted into a new product.

Sewing studios

Haberdashery

Step 1 Material (waste) T-shirt: 65% polyester & 35% cotton.

Visual

The user is here to learn skills that will allow them to create their own clothing as well as fix the garments they currently own. Its about learning to appreciate your clothes and the process it take to make them.

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1.200 plan

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Third floor Architect The role of the architect within this whole project was to create a space of processes that used the space and facilities already available. The atrium space housing drapes of fabric that span all floors are holes left after the escalators were removed. Instead of covering up such a feature it is made to represent the flow of fabric throughout all processes of garment and fashion manufacture.

Narrative

“Finally we reach the final stage of the textile making process. You are now allowed to buy second hand garments, vintage pieces or garments made within the building. By creating such a long journey of entering the building to actually reaching the retail element the building aims to emphasise the importance of the process. No longer should shops hide the skilled and multi layered process of garment production, it should be visible in order to inform the consumer of the energy and resource that goes into their clothing. A feature that was inspired by the existing floor planes of the unit is the long hanging art installation that drops through the voids left by the removal of previous escalators. This 3 floor gallery is filled with a piece of art made from thick fabric. It represents how each process on every floor is linked and that one is not more or less important. They should all be visible and feed seamlessly into each other.”

Staff

Storage

The manager of this floor is responsible for the haberdashery as well as ensuring the skilled seamstresses, tailors and sewers are creating and up cycling clothes that can be sold in the shop above.

User

Changing rooms

Manager

The user is here to learn skills that will allow them to create their own clothing as well as fix the garments they currently own. Its about learning to appreciate your clothes and the process it take to make them.

Sustainable clothes shop

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al Visu

Model inspiration for ceiling The structured curves of the acoustic ceiling panels were inspired by the way all the processes with fashion production follow a thread that leads to the final sale and use of a garment.

Clothes from waste collage 1.200 plan

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The Haberdashery

The building encompasses the whole cycle of garment recycling and production whilst displaying it in a way that engages and encourages the participation of the consumer.

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Acoustic ceiling panels details PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Each floor has a style of acoustic ceiling panel that reflects the processes within. All additions are made with recycled fabric and treated to comply with fire regulations.

-1 Basement Recycled jeans insulation Cotton jeans are shredded and ripped up before being compacted into panels and suspended in a frame from the ceiling. The colour is retained.

Third floor

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Pleated panels The recycled acoustic felt is pleated in a way that mimics folded fabric as it is displayed in a clothing shop. These panels are suspended by rods across the ceiling.

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Refer to appendix page 82-85

Second floor Structured patterns These structured patterns are made from recycled acoustic felt and arranged in a way that mimics the darts and joins shown of clothing patterns.

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Fabric swathes Thick strips of fabric usually used in theatre curtains are hung from the ceiling in loops that replicate that of woven fabric.

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First floor

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Clothing shreds Shreds of fabric are ties to rods running the length of the ceiling.

They are densely packed to create a solid looking mass of colour.

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Curtain facade: The hanging curtain facade is inspired byAichinger House in Austria. The weight of the fabric is low due to the reduced fabric thickness. The drama of the facade comes from the folds created by hanging the fabric.

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References Studio Brief Chiles, P., Wainwright, E. and Harper, C. (2020) ‘Unlearning…how to practise architecture?’. ARC8060: Architectural Design. University of Newcastle. Unpublished.

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Partington, R. (2021) ‘Second-hand clothing mountain piles up as Brexit halts exports to the EU’, The Guardian.

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WWF (2020) Living Planet Report 2020. Switzerland: WWF. Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/pressreleases/wwf-report-reveals-staggering-extent-of-human-impact-on-planet (Accessed: 25 February 2021).

Hobson, B. (2016) ‘Wang Shu’s Ningbo History Museum built from the remains of demolished villages’, dezeen, 18 August. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2016/08/18/video-interview-wang-shu-amateur-architecturestudio-ningbo-history-museum-movie/ (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

Hoskins, T. (2014) ‘Cotton production linked to images of the dried ip Aral Sea basin’, The Guardian. 1 October.

Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2014/oct/01/cottonproduction-linked-to-images-of-the-dried-up-aral-sea-basin (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

I amsterdam. (2020) NDSM Wharf. Available at: https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/about-amsterdam/amsterdamneighbourhoods/ndsm (Accessed: 27 December 2020).

Ravenscroft, T. (2018) ‘Studio Weave builds viewing tower that looks like a terraced house in London’s Greenwich’, dezeen, 23 November. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/23/studio-weave-33-terracedhouse-pavilion-greenwich-peninsula-london/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).

Ingold, T. (2010) ‘The textility of making’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34, pp. 91-102.

Ro, C. (2020) Can fashion ever be sustainable?. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200310sustainable-fashion-how-to-buy-clothes-good-for-the-climate (Accessed: 14 December 2020).

John, T. (2018) ‘How the US and Rwanda have fallen out over second-hand clothes.’, BBC News. 28 May. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44252655 (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

SERI, GLOBAL 2000 and Friends of the Earth Europe (2009) Overconsumption? Our Use of the World’s Natural Resources. Janetschek: Heidenreichstein, Austria.

Jones, W. (2015) ‘A Closer Look: High-Tech Wood Facade by Shigeru Ban’, AZURE, 18 February. Available at: https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/shigeru-ban-facade-aspen-art-museum/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).

Shahbandeh, M. 1 (2021) Leading exporters of used clothing worldwide in 2019, by country. Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/523673/used-clothing-leading-exporters-worldwide/ (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

Kolozali, H. (2016) ‘Materiality and Architecture: Potential Strategy for achieving Sustainable Design’, Science Direct, 34, pp. 212-221.

Leblanc, R. (2020) The Basics of Textile Recycling. Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-basics-ofrecycling-clothing-and-other-textiles-2877780 (Accessed: 3 may 2021).

Maiti, R. (2020) ‘Fast Fashion: Its Detrimental Effect on the Environment’, Earth.org. 29 January. Available at: https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/ (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

McDonald, A. (2020) VAT on a New Build: Can I reclaim? Available at: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/vaton-a-new-build (Accessed: 11 March 2021).

Symonds, T. (2017) ‘Grenfell Tower inquiry: 9 things we now know about the cladding’, BBC News, 23 March.

Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56403431#:~:text=Panels%20made%20from%20plastic%20 and,2017%2C%20resulting%20in%2072%20deaths (Accessed: 11 April 2021).

TÉLIO (2014) Organic and Eco-Friendly Fabrics. Available at: https://www.telio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ Organic-Fabrics-Info-Booklet.compressed.pdf (Accessed 9 January 2021).

The Mills (2018) About the Mills. Available at: http://www.themills.com.hk/en/about-the-mills/vision/ (Accessed: 27 December 2020).

MVRDV (2008) House of clothing. Available at: https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/182/house-of-clothing (Accessed: 8 December 2021).

The Well Essentials (2020) What Is Fast Fashion? How Your Clothes Are Hurting The Planet. Available at: https:// www.thewellessentials.com/blog/what-is-fast-fashion-how-your-clothes-are-hurting-the-planet (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

eurinews (2018) Iceland palm oil advert. 10 November. Available at: https://citethemrightonline.com/media-art/ audiovisual-material/online-video-sharing-platforms?refSystem=HAR (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

Merlet, C. (2017) FabBRICK. Available at: https://www.faireparis.com/en/projets/faire-2017/fabbrick-1280. html#:~:text=By%20working%20together%20with%20a,become%20an%20innovative%2C%20ecological%20 material (Accessed: 11 January 2021).

United Nations (2019) Emissions Gap Report 2019: Global progress report on climate action. Available at: https:// www.unep.org/interactive/emissions-gap-report/2019/?utm_medium=website&utm_source=archdaily.com (Accessed 14 February 2021).

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Overview of Reports. Available at: https://www.millenniumassessment. org/en/Reports.html# (Accessed: 12 November 2020).

United Nations (2020) Emissions Gap Report 2020: Global progress report on climate action. Available at: https:// www.unep.org/emissions-gap-report-2020 (Accessed: 14 February 2021).

Miller, A. (2001) Energy Implications of the Transportation of Building Materials. University of Brighton UK: Department of Construction, Geography and Surveying.

Vanessa Kanbi (2020) Is Africa being used as a dumping ground for America & UK? | Ghana’s Second Hand Clothing Industry. 19 June. Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JubSmAyC6U (Accessed: 1 March 2021).

Morton, T. (2010) The Ecological Thought. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press.

Wilson, R. (2019) ‘Old into new: Recycled bricks form facade of Copenhagen housing project’, Architects Journal, 8 August. Available at: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/old-into-new-recycled-bricks-form-facadeof-copenhagen-housing-project (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

Gibson, E. (2017) ‘Dutch Design Week pavilion will feature recycled plastic shingles and borrowed materials’, dezeen, 28 September. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2017/09/28/dutch-design-week-ddw-peoplespavilion-bureau-sla-overtreders-w/ (Accessed:15 December 2020).

Gov.uk (2021) Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the UK. Available at: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths (Accessed 25 February 2021).

Greenpeace (2020) Detox my fashion. Available at: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/act/detox/ (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

Newcastle City Council (no date) Zone 1 - Blackett Street area. Available at: https://newcastle.gov.uk/our-city/ transport-improvements/city-centre-improvements/zone-1-blackett-street-area (Accessed: 9 January 2021).

Zibert, M. (2007) Brita-Oil. Available at: https://www.commarts.com/project/18671/brita-oil (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

Redress (2018) Sustainability in Fibres. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/ static/582d0d16440243165eb756db/t/5b189ba1575d1ffecb5321b7/1528339389774/RedressDesignAward_ LearnGuide_SustainabilityInFibres_EN.pdf (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

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George-Parkin, H. (2017) ‘The Most Influential Fashion Trends, Decade by Decade’, Who What Wear, 4 August.

Available at: https://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/fashion-by-the-decade (Accessed: 11 April 2021).

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Hernandez, R. (2011) Discover a new material: NewspaperWood. Available at: https://www.yatzer.com/newmaterial-NewspaperWood-Mieke-Meijer-Vij5 (Accessed: 11 January 2021).

WRAP (2017) Valuing Our Clothes: the cost of UK fashion. Available at: https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/ files/2020-10/WRAP-valuing-our-clothes-the-cost-of-uk-fashion_WRAP.pdf (Accessed: 4 March 2021).

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Appendix

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The Appendix

64 - 89

Time is running out

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Categorising materials

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The journey of jeans

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The history of textiles

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Precedents

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The fashion of architecture

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Considered demolition

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Site analysis

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Acoustic research

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Initial facade design

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Time is running out

Unravelling materials - Categorising textiles The garments that are the most easily recycled are made of pure woven or knitted fabrics such as 100% cotton or 100% wool. These types of textiles can be shredded, re-spun and re-woven with a small addition of virgin fibre to make new cloth. Knits can be unravelled and re-knitted into new garments in an up-cycling process. Polyester based textiles are mostly shredded and then granulated for processing into polyester chips, this is then melted down and used to make new polyester fabrics¹. In all these cases the materials are close to pure. By re-using resource without having to mine or harvest it from scratch we can save huge amount of CO₂, however, as you can see form the graph the ratio of extraction to re-use and recycling is far from close to being equal never mind sustainable. We are not considering the resources it takes to manufacture virgin material, there is no hierarchy that correlates to environmental or social impacts, only economical. Below is a list of materials classified by their impact on the environment and on how sustainable they are. This is what the fashion industry should be focusing on when designing new products.

According to UN Sustainable Development Goals we have until 2030 to change the outcome of climate change. The 10 years from 2020-2030 have been declared the decade of change and within this time frame we have the opportunity to lessen irreversible climate change effects and possibly save aspects of the planet that are slowly being destroyed¹. The planet has a limited bio capacity and since 1970 we have been constantly exploiting this without allowing the world to replenish and regrow. The processing and decomposition of resources is contributing drastically to the level of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere and therefore the rising temperature of climate change. Research done by the UN states that if we are able to stabilise temperature rise to 1.5ºC catastrophic and irreversible events could be avoided. In order to achieve this emissions must drop to 25 gigaton by 2030, this means a 7.6% reduction of emissions globally each year from 2020. At the moment with current commitments and goals we are on track to reach 56 Gt CO2e by 2030, double what we should be¹. If this is allowed to continue we could cause a deadly temperature rise of over 2ºC thereby completely destroying coral reefs, putting 10 million more people in danger of coastal flooding and reduce Arctic sea ice at a deadly and unrepairable level.

WWF (2020)

Class 1

Class 2

Class 3

Class 4

Recycled cotton

Organic cotton

Cotton (C, CTN)

Organic linen

BCI cotton (sustainably grown)

Linen (Li) (Chemical retting)

Linen natural retting Organic hemp Hemp Recycled polyester (mechanically) Recycled polyamid (mechanically) Recycled wool Organic wool

Lenzing modal & lyocell (beech pulp)

Hemp (Chemical retting) Ramie (RA) (natural plant crop)

Viscose (type of rayon; semi-synthetic; wood pulp; artificial silk) Rayon (beech pulp)

Tri-acetate (acetylated cellulose from beech pulp)

Modal (beech pulp) (semi synthetic)

Recycled polyester (chemically)

Polyester (PPT, PES, PE)

Polyamid (PA)

Recycled polyamid (chemically)

Acrylic (PAN)

Elastan/Spandex

Cashmere

Bamboo viscose

Alpaca wool

PLA (Polyactic acid) biodegradable natural polymer

Silk (SE)

Wool (WO)

Cupro (recycled cotton linter) Acetate

Crailar 1. United Nations (2019) Emissions Gap Report 2019: Global progress report on climate action. Available at: https://www.unep.org/interactive/emissions-gap-report/2019/?utm_medium=website&utm_source=archdaily.com (Accessed 14 February 2021).

2. WWF (2020) Living Planet Report 2020. Switzerland: WWF. Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/wwf-report-reveals-staggering-extent-of-human-impact-on-planet (Accessed: 25 February 2021).

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United Nations (2019)

1. Leblanc, R. (2020) The Basics of Textile Recycling. Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-basics-of-recycling-clothing-and-other-textiles-2877780 (Accessed: 3 may 2021).

2. WRAP (2017) Valuing Our Clothes: the cost of UK fashion. Available at: https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-10/WRAP-valuing-our-clothesthe-cost-of-uk-fashion_WRAP.pdf (Accessed: 4 March 2021).

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The journey of jeans.

From cotton growth to used clothes market the air miles involved produce around 706 835kg of CO2.

The history of textiles in architecture Textiles are a huge part of architectural history. From the very first animal skin tent man used as shelter to the complex feat of engineering that is the colosseum’s velarium, humans have relied on textiles for shelter.

However, the difference between the listed buildings we know today and their original composition could be entirely different. Textiles by nature decompose, their history taken away back to nature and all that we have left to remind us are hooks in the roof and plinths on the wall. As Rosemary Crill explores, buildings can be empty shells before the lavish additions one furnishings, carpets, wall hangings and awnings, and nowhere better shows this than in India¹. Although the need for awnings due to the climate was not as greater need in England than it was in India and Rome, the use of textiles to provide screens that reflected religion, heritage and belief are just as important. In this next section I explore the importance of textiles within architecture and how these relate to modern day interpretations and beliefs within our buildings.

“When we visit historic buildings in India today, they are usually empty shells which give no idea of how they could function as liveable spaces. The missing element is textiles, whether in the form of lavish furnishings and patterned clothing, or basic practical additions like awnings on the building’s exterior. Textiles can transform not just the appearance of a building but also its function. The awning added to the front of the building in the Red Fort in Delhi (shown above) provides shade for the building itself and the public space in front of it, and the cloth screens on either side both limit public access to these royal pavilions and also join them together into a usable suite of buildings – unlike the isolated monuments they appear as today.”

1. Crill, R. (2015) ‘Textiles and architecture in India’, V&A Blog, 7th December. Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/fabric-of-india/textiles-and-architecture-in-india (Accessed: 1 April 2021).

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The history of textiles & architecture.

Industrialisation and the Arts and Crafts movement meant products such as wallpaper and tapestries became more readily available as production was mechanised. Some saw this expansion into all status’ of society as a death to good quality design as such objects were now available everywhere. However, British textile designer William Morris saw the bigger picture of the destruction and disappearance of experienced and talented craftsmen and women⁸. From creating his firm, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co, in 1861 their embroideries were replicated on stained glass windows, wallpaper, ironmongery as well as wall hangings and screens.

Fabric structures can be traced back 44 000 years where during the Ice Age and the Siberian Steppe where shelters were constructed from sticks and animal skins defining humanities use of tent structures as one of the very first forms of architecture¹ It has been suggested that fabric structures were perhaps used before the act of clothing the body itself occurred. Fabric tents were designed to be adaptable to different climates, in nomadic cultures layers are often added to the tent as the season changes to winter; the architecture of the shelter is adapted to the climate. In addition certain areas can be opened and closed depending on the climate and preferred comfort of the occupant. As the hearth became the heart of the home fireplaces/hearths within a tent were introduced. At the highest point of a usually conical shaped tent (tipi) there is a smoke flap that allows air to escape and circulate, this was really the foundation of the chimney.

Tents are traditionally, historically and currently a nomadic style of architecture, however over time as structures became more permanent, these mobile walls of architecture usually adorned with decorative artwork gained more meaning. The artwork depicted the owners religious beliefs, heritage and events that occurred within the society which over time evolved into what we know as a tapestry. Textiles used in a spatial sense developed from tents, to tapestries, to canopies and curtains. During Ancient Rome (1000 B.C. to A.D 476) the famous Colosseum actually had a detachable fabric roof called a velarium that was hung to provide shade to spectators when the climate became too hot². Fabric structures were not only used for functional purposed, the Emperor Nero had a velarium created that was dyed an azure colour to imitate the heavens and stars³ which would have created a magical atmosphere beneath.

Over time tents took on the role of symbolising festivities such as Alexander the Greats Marriage tent; “the tent, supported by 30-foot high gilded and silvered columns, was magnificently decorated with draperies, purple and crimson rugs” ⁴. Comparable in function to the marquee tents of modern day.

Image 3: Colosseum velarium support

Image 1: Ice age tent

Image 2: Tipi

Image 4: Colosseum velarium reconstruction

During the middle ages fabrics adorned every surface within a household, from silk wallpapers to fabric bed drapes and embroidered wall hangings depicting the seasons and God. The bare stone wall architecture popular in the middle ages leant itself to tapestries and fabrics which lined the walls not only as decoration but as insulation and draft protection. Originally tapestries mirrored the nomadic style of tents as occupants took the hangings with them as they moved from house to house, however by the 17th century they began to fit particular walls and rooms with purpose. An architectural feature of the tapestry that developed from the numerous servants occupying such grand houses was that the gap between the wall and the hanging became the servants corridor so that they could travel through a room without being seen by the masters of the house⁵. The Gothic period saw fabrics within architecture regress as the focus moved to rib faults, pointed arches and flying buttresses. Tapestries became twodimensional, basic patterned wall hangings so they didn’t interfere with the perspectives designed into the architecture itself.

The Renaissance saw the re-emergence of the importance of interior design as furniture became more permanent requiring textiles in large quantities. The bed and bed hangings became one of the most expensive pieces in the house. When a new house was built, if the owner had existing hangings and tapestries the architecture itself was designed to incorporate and frame them. For example in the High Great Chamber at Hardwick Hall the Brussels tapestries take pride of place as planned before the room was complete⁶.

Image 5: Alexander the Great marries Stateira

Image 6: High Great Chamber at Hardwick Hall the Brussels tapestries

Image 11: Anni Albers

Image 9: William Morris ‘Strawberry theif’

Image 10: Bauhaus

“[Fabrics] can be lifted, folded, carried, stored away and exchanged easily; thus they bring a refreshing element of change into the now immobile house. The very fact of mobility makes them the carrier of extra aesthetic values. A red wall may become threatening in the constancy of a high pitch, while red curtains of equal colour intensity and able to cover an equal area can be of great vitality and yet not overpowering because the red area can be varied by drawing the curtain”¹⁰.

“If we recall the attributes we have given [textiles] : insulating, pliable, transportable, relatively lightweight, all of these have been and still are active, as they were outdoors, in the interiors of houses all over the world throughout the centuries. But with their relaxed duties, that is, no longer having to guard our life, they have accumulated more and more functions that belong to another realm— aesthetic functions. These, in time, have moved so much to the foreground that today “decoration” has become for many the first and sometimes only reason for using fabrics. In “decoration” we have an additive that we may well look at, if not skeptically, at least questioningly.”¹⁰.

Le Corbusier “Le Corbusier, in a different way, incorporates textiles into an architectural scheme, using them as enormous flat wall-panels, banners, that carry colour and form and serve perhaps also as soundabsorbing flats. Above all they become a focal point, as in the halls of his Indian High Court of Justice at Chandigarh.”¹⁰. Le Corbusier saw textiles as a form of architecture in the way that they can transform a space; the light, the sound, the texture, all architectural components achieved by textiles. The Pavilion des Temps Nouveaux designed for the 1937 Paris Exhibition was a canvas tent suspended with wire cable¹¹.

Image 13: Anni Albers exhibition

Image 14: Anni Albers exhibition

Image 12: Bauhaus

Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich The idea of the free plan was made popular by Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe by his use of textiles in order to create more flexible spaces. However it was his partner, Lilly Reich, that had experience in textile, furniture and architectural design. Her deep understanding of textile properties in an architectural sense allowed her to use them to manipulate space.

During the late-neoclassical period 2 styles emerged; Regency and Empire inspired by Ancient Greece and Egypt⁷. Napoleon was a large influence and preferred military elements within designs which lead to the popularisation of tent like interiors where fabrics were draped on the ceiling as well as the walls.

This complete reliance on textiles to finish a room meant decor could be changed and swapped quickly.

The martial could be used to reupholster furniture to ensure all aspects of decor matched. The draped ceilings created the feeling of being in a yurt like circus tent or an army pavilion. Different room shapes, depth, height, light and warmth could be achieved with fabric alone, thereby changing the architecture of the space altogether. Although at the time the fabric eventually became unhygienic and was prone to catching fire, modern developments in textile production can now prevent this from happening.

Modern Textiles Modernism, Functionalism and the International Style all reflected the modern building techniques and ideals of clean lines, modern industrialised materials and fabricated construction. Textiles were used as partitions to divide spaces as well as curtains to cover the large glass facades. As these aspects of design could often be experienced from outside the building they fabric itself became part of the architecture.

The ideal of the Japanese shoji screens was also made popular as a way to make an interior space flexible with movable dividers. During the Art Deco era sleek blinds gained in popularity over draped curtains for a more crisp, modern feeling.

Image 7: Roman tapestry - ‘Triumph of Bacchus’

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The establishment of the Bauhaus further merges the ideas of architecture and textiles. The weaving workshop within the teaching programme was the only one that continued throughout the whole lifespan of the Bauhaus. There were two areas that the teaching concentrated on; firstly the development of fabrics for use for interior construction, and secondly the speculative exploration of material, form, colour in tapestries and carpets⁹. The architectural style of the Bauhaus movement, large walls of glazing and crisp white surfaces meant textiles within architectural design gained importance in order to make these spaces comfortable. A graduate of the Bauhaus, Anni Albers, believed wholly in the relationship between architecture and textiles. She specifically highlights the historical link between the process of weaving the construction of architecture in her book ‘The Pliable Plane: textiles in Architecture’.

Image 8: Empire style

Image 15: Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, Café Samt und Seide

Image 16: Japanese shoji screen

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The history of textiles & architecture.

The Black Tent

The Velarium

The Black Tent is often referred to as the original tent of nomads. It is the first tent mentioned in the Bible, “I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon”¹². Each tent is specific to the family that occupies it and it is adapted to suit their needs and the climate they inhabit. The tent itself has sections; a women’s and men’s side is separated by a central hearth. The fabric itself is made from goats hair which is sheared by the men of the family.

Once sheared it is passed onto the senior women of the tribe to be cleaned, separated and spun into balls, this happens over time as and when the women have time to do so. Weaving traditionally happens in late spring in Nomad culture and is done on a wooden loom. Goats hair is the perfect material as it has tensile properties; each hair is crimped allowing for heat retention, however its black colour when heated by the sun hot air begins to rise above the cloth forcing air out of the inside space, thus causing air to circulate and cool¹³. When the climate is wet the hair absorbs water, swells and provides a thicker shelter for the occupants against storms and sand. The whole process of creating the tent isn’t ritualistic, it is a process woven into their yearly calendars.

When you imagine the Colosseum in Rome, you think of a huge stone structure housing gladiator games and thousands of spectators. However, sitting there in a structure open to the sun was not practical for the spectators or participants. The velarium was quite a common concept in Rome to shelter all sizes of amphitheatre, it is basically a large, retractable fabric sunshade that covered around 30% of the Colosseums opening. This coverage was enough as the walls were so tall they provided enough shade in themselves. The estimated 24 tonne piece of structure was constructed using wooden poles and fabric controlled by a network of ropes¹⁶. As the sun moved, sailors were employed to rotate the awning in order to provide the desired protection. This amazing piece of architecture and engineering shows just how skilled the Romans were when it came to feats of engineering. Not only did this canopy provide shade, but it should be retracted

The Yurt

The Royal Court Tent

The Yurt is a variant of the North American style tipi and was used by the nomadic people of the Asian Streppes. Constructed in various sizes and sometimes permanently fixed to wagons for ease of transportation the yurt is easily identifiable¹⁴. The physical structure of the yurt itself hasn’t changed over the years and we still use them in modern day situations. The fabric structure is traditionally felt, created by crushing wool so the fibres interlock and then adding sheep milk or fat making the textile waterproof. This method of fabric construction was used as the sheep herds of the Mongols didn’t produce wool that would be spun and woven in the way we are familiar with. The resulting fabric was warm and well insulated to protect against the volatile climate. The large fabric sheet was draped over a wooden structure and held in place by additional wooden loops placed over the top. The outer layers of felt were embroidered to represent nature or with geometric designs. The door to enter would face south and the yurts designed to house a hearth would have a flap in the centre of the roof to release smoke.

The royal court tent such as the marriage tent of Alexander the Great have developed through the use of textiles and temporary architecture for the purpose of entertainment. The structures would in some cases mimic small portable palaces, as will the case of Henry Tudor Vii’s banqueting tent for the 1520 diplomatic meeting in Calais, France. 37 meters in diameter and 40 meters high the tent was a structure made to impress¹⁷. The tent was however, more aesthetic than practical as it blew over in the strong winds. The architecture included a double skin roof painted to mimic the sky, a three floor gallery overlooking a central stage and the whole affair was lit by candle chandeliers.

The Tipi The tipi is the traditional dwelling of the Native American nomadic hunters of North America. They are extremely portable and the construction/deconstruction took only minutes to do by a man or woman.

The physical architecture of the tipi has meaning within their culture; the circle represents the circle of life, the sun, fire, moon, earth and the four directions. Native Americans believed that there was no separation between spiritual life and daily life, the circle and therefore the tipi embodied this meaning of being one with spirit and life. The skin cover of the tipi is made from Buffalo hide, around 20 skins are needed for a 18 ft tipi¹⁵. The next layer beneath the skins is made from canvas. Ropes made from raw hide as well as wooden pegs bind the wooden pole structure together, each pole is made from peeled and dried saplings. All tipis have an opening at the top to allow for smoke to escape as well as provide ventilation. The outlet layer was painted to show the spirit, culture and values of the family living within.

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1. ‘The history of fabric structures’ (2020) IHBC; Conservation Wiki. Available at: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/The_history_of_fabric_structures#:~:text=The%20origins%20of%20fabric%20structures%20can%20be%20traced%20back%20over,animal%20skins%20draped%20between%20sticks. (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

2. Strickland, M. (2010) Roman Building Materials, Construction Methods, and Architecture: The Identity of an Empire. Available at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1909&context=all_theses (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

3. Gabucci, A. (2000) The Colosseum. Available at: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/romanurbs/colosseum.html (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

4. Wright, A. (2007) How is Alexander’s royal tent portrayed by the ancient sources? Available at: https://www.academia.edu/36369503/How_is_Alexanders_royal_tent_portrayed_by_the_ancient_sources (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

5. Touch of Tapestry (2020) History of Tapestries from Medieval to Modern Times. Available at: https://touchoftapestry.com/History-of-Tapestries-7.html#:~:text=Wall%20tapestries%20are%20woven%20wall,later%20to%20depict%20historical%20events. (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

6. Tomlinson, R. (2019) Hardwick Hall. Available at: https://www.rob-tomlinson.com/places/hardwick-hall (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

7. New York Public Library (2021) Empire and Regency Styles. Available at: https://www.nypl.org/node/5649 (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

8. The William Morris Society (2021) William Morris. Available at: https://williammorrissociety.org/about-william-morris/ (Accessed: 6 April 2021).

9. History (2018) Bauhaus. Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/art-history/bauhaus (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

10. Albers, Anni. (1957) The Pliable Plane; Textiles in Architecture. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1566855?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

11. Udovicki-Selb, D. (1997) ‘Le Corbusier and the Paris Exhibition of 1937: The Temps Nouveaux Pavilion’, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 56(1), 42-63. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/991215?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

12. Song of Solomon 1:5, Holy Bible. English Standard Version.

13. Iran Nomad Tours (2020) The Nomad’s Black Tent: A Traditional, Transportable Dwelling. Available at: https://nomad.tours/nomads/14237/the-nomads-black-tent-a-traditional-transportable-dwelling/#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20the%20nomads,livestock%2C%20or%20making%20a%20 living. (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

14. Cartwright, M. (2019) ‘Yurt’, World History Encyclopaedia. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/Yurt/#:~:text=A%20yurt%20(ger%20in%20Mongolian,1206%2D1227%20CE). (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

15. Hearth Works (2021) History of Traditional Tipis. Available at: https://hearthworks.co.uk/history-of-traditional-tipis#:~:text=History%20of%20the%20Tipi,was%20easily%20disassembled%20and%20erected. (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

16. Visit Colosseum Rome (2020) Velarium Colosseum Roof: The Truth about Roman Awning Architecture. Available at: https://visit-colosseum-rome.com/velarium/ (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

17. Barket, J. (2017) Portable Palaces: Royal Tents and Timber Lodgings. Available at: https://blog.hrp.org.uk/curators/portable-palaces-royal-tents-timber-lodgings/ (Accessed: 8 April 2021).

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Precedents

Precedents

Lendager Group’s Resource Rows project

Ningbo History Museum, Zhejiang province, China

Hotel Lobby and Nishi Grand Stair Interior, March Studio, Australia

Consisting of 92 homes on the outskirts of Copenhagen this housing block is constructed from 3m² panel segments from old brick walls (with original mortar). All wood for terraces and decking is reclaimed, floors are cut off’s and waste from a flooring company, roof top greenhouses are built of recycled windows, and the bridge is an unused roof truss. “It is this re-engagement as designer with the sourcing and control of materials that Lendager sees as the future of construction – and of architecture.”

The museum is constructed from debris collected by architect Wang Shu from Amateur Architecture Studio from traditional Chinese towns that were demolished to make room for new developments. The walls and facade are constructed from recycled bricks and tiles, some dating back thousands of years. “But everywhere there are materials, beautiful materials. So I wanted to build this museum for the people who were originally living here so they can keep some memories.”

Thousands of lengths of re-purposed timber stack up to construct the stairs and decorate the lobby. Furthermore the lounge area is constructed from re-purposed concrete stacked up to create furniture and partitions. However, the whole scheme is not re-purposed, it has a mixture of custom glue-lam timber and pre cast concrete beams within the construction. Sometimes its more about the look rather than the resource and climate impact.

Aspen Art Museum / Shigeru Ban

Jones, W. (2015) ‘A Closer Look: High-Tech Wood Facade by Shigeru Ban’, AZURE, 18 February. Available at: https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/shigeru-ban-facade-aspen-art-museum/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).

33 / Studio Weave

Wilson, R. (2019) ‘Old into new: Recycled bricks form facade of Copenhagen housing project’, Architects Journal, 8 August. Available at: https:// www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/old-into-new-recycled-bricks-form-facade-of-copenhagen-housing-project (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

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Hobson, B. (2016) ‘Wang Shu’s Ningbo History Museum built from the remains of demolished villages’, dezeen, 18 August. Available at: https://www. dezeen.com/2016/08/18/video-interview-wang-shu-amateur-architecture-studio-ningbo-history-museum-movie/ (Accessed: 15 December 2020).

Ravenscroft, T. (2018) ‘Studio Weave builds viewing tower that looks like a terraced house in London’s Greenwich’, dezeen, 23 November. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/23/studio-weave-33-terraced-house-pavilion-greenwich-peninsula-london/ (Accessed: 7 December 2021).

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Material precedents

Textiles as architecture.

The way a building is put together down to the very last detail reflects the ideals behind it’s construction. Below are examples of material finishes that no only come from a sustainable or recyclable source, but provide high quality, colourful finishes to a project.

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Recycled plastic terrazzo and marble effects.

FabBRICK: Building materials made from old clothes

Post industrial plastic waste is granulated into small chips and cast into resin to create a colourful terrazzo inspired solid sheet. Alternatively, large pieces of recycled plastic can be selected by colour and incorporated into a white base (made from recycled food packaging) to create a marble effect. The materials are durable and customisable and appropriate for inside decor or exterior use.

Used clothes are bound with a natural binder then compressed into the size required. The bricks can then be used to partition spaces or create furniture. This technology is in its early stages of development after developing from a research paper experiment by Clarisse Merlet, an architecture student at ENSA Paris Malaquais.

Block, I. (2020) ‘Ace & Tate uses colourful terrazzo made from local plastic waste throughout Antwerp store’, dezeen, 11 March. Available at: https:// www.dezeen.com/2020/03/11/antwerp-ace-tate-plasticiet/?li_source=LI&li_medium=bottom_block_1 (Accessed:15 December 2020).

Merlet, C. (2017) FabBRICK. Available at: https://www.faireparis.com/en/projets/faire-2017/fabbrick-1280.html#:~:text=By%20working%20together%20with%20a,become%20an%20innovative%2C%20ecological%20material (Accessed: 11 January 2021).

Recycled plastic cladding

Newspaper wood

One of the first 100% recycled cladding material in the world is this geometric facade made from recycled plastic.

The grey tiles are shredded PVC building products (frames, gutters, downpipes). The colourful scales are made from household waste sorted by colour and then formed. Dutch studios Bureau SLA and Overtreders W developed this process to showcase the need and capacity for a circular economy that includes the building industry.

Instead of recycling paper, Mieke Meiher at the Design Academy Eindhoven, is up cycling it to re create wood.

“NewspaperWood is not a replacement to wood as a material, it is merely a new way to use paper and shape it to create new textures, forms, furniture and other products.”

Layers of newspaper are stacked and bonded together, when cut they form a pattern similar to wood grain.

Gibson, E. (2017) ‘Dutch Design Week pavilion will feature recycled plastic shingles and borrowed materials’, dezeen, 28 September. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2017/09/28/dutch-design-week-ddw-peoples-pavilion-bureau-sla-overtreders-w/ (Accessed:15 December 2020).

Hernandez, R. (2011) Discover a new material: NewspaperWood. Available at: https://www.yatzer.com/new-material-NewspaperWood-Mieke-Meijer-Vij5 (Accessed: 11 January 2021).

mvrdv - House of Clothing Milan Fashion week 2008 We can easily imagine buildings made from bottles, tires and pallets so why can’t we imagine the same for a material that is in so much abundance that landfills are piling up all over the globe. Why can’t we make structures out of second hand textiles and fabrics? mvrdv architecture practice based in the Netherlands experimented with this idea at the 2008 Milan Fashion show with a pavilion made from baled second hand clothes. The bales create standardised modules of material that is ubiquitous. A material we readily throw away could be the next stage in construction materials.

MVRDV (2008) House of clothing. Available at: https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/182/house-of-clothing (Accessed: 8 December 2021).

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The fashion of architecture Here, the term dressing begins to express the parallel connections between the way a human uses clothing as a form of ‘dressing’ and the way architects ‘dress’ a building with cladding. In architecture, the word cladding is defined as “a covering…that is fixed to the outside of a building to protect against bad weather or to make it look more attractive”¹ and the key point here, is the notion of protection and attractiveness. The process of cladding a building has developed and changed over time becoming more aesthetic or more practical depending on the era, building, function and designer, in the same way that the concept of clothing has fluctuated between providing protection for the human body and expressing status and personality. In both instances, their importance is crucial in both the social and physical aspects of a community. Fashion has allowed great change to occur in society from the abandonment of the corset, to the radical nature of the Punk scene². The changing designs have given society an avenue to rebel and express the need for change leading to new societal rules and cultural norms being created.

Architecture can be viewed in the same way, albeit in a slower sense.

Fashion developed from the need to protect human bodies as well as the desire to express status and wealth. Going back to prehistoric times where clothing was created from animal hides laced together, the style, adornment and level of protection mirrored your status, magic, tribe or prestige. At the same time, the architecture was made from raw and natural materials in shapes that imitated the sun and the moon. Large socially and culturally important structures were constructed to last, examples such as Stone Henge and Silbury Hill are still around today whereas the less important thatch and mud structures as well as animal skin tents that formed homes are now lost to time³.

It’s important that you get the balance right between protection of the building or body and the need for societal expression and status. Corsets on women were considered a sign of beauty however had no practical purpose in regards to protection, here the balance was skewed and women were uncomfortable. In architecture there can be dire consequences if you fail to find the balance. The Grenfell tower disaster is an example where the aesthetics and thermal performance of a building was intended to be improved but research and quality materials were not achieved⁴. The type of cladding, Aluminium Composite Material (ACM), is made from polyethylene sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminium and consistently failed fire tests and should not have been used on a building over 18m, which Grenfell was.

The question is, why do we clad buildings in the first place? Surely when they were designed they were fit for purpose. Just like how fashion in textiles changes and develops, architectural construction methods and preference also evolves. During the industrial revolution, larger and taller buildings were required which lead to the construction of skeleton frame structural systems where the cladding was no longer part of the main structure. This ‘curtain wall’ could be independent of the structure itself. In this type of construction the building is designed to be ‘dressed’ with a cladding material from the start in order to provide the desired look and protection. The term weatherboard and rainscreen cladding are common terms in UK construction as sheets of composite materials are attached to the facade in order to shield the building⁵. However, more recently due to the scientific development of construction materials and the ever growing need for more space, old buildings are being upgraded with the introduction or replacement of cladding in order for the old structure to meet new building regulations. Although, when done incorrectly this can result in situations like Grenfell, most of the time it allows us to create spaces that meet current needs without having to demolish and rebuild. This process of improving the structures we already have allows for less material wasted through demolition as well as a reduction in CO2 emissions through better insulated buildings and fewer buildings constructed from scratch.

We change the style and materiality of the clothes we wear to mirror the occasion and season. More recently, with the rise of fast fashion clothing has become more about staying on trend and having the newest clothes over quality and meaning. Does this happen the same way with architecture? When it comes to re-cladding a building, is it possible to loose the identity of the structure once re-dressed? Over time the relationship of the occupants to the building has decreased rapidly, where we once decorated the exterior of our tents with embroidered patterns depicting our heritage and tapestries showing our beliefs and specific special event in our history we now reach for the most on trend alternatives. In some instances our architecture has become a showcase of new technologies and repetitive facades, the fabric in which we live has lost meaning, facades are put up to meet regulations and no many is left to create a culture rich story through the dressing. This is why heritage architecture is said to have so much character, so much culture and history that we should preserve. Can we use the process of fashion and textiles to create meaning beyond function within architecture, to create structural poetics but redressing a building and at the same time keep in mind the environmental impacts and use of recycled architecture and textiles.

1. ‘Cladding’ (2021) Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/cladding (Accessed: 10 April 2021).

2. George-Parkin, H. (2017) ‘The Most Influential Fashion Trends, Decade by Decade’, Who What Wear, 4 August. Available at: https://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/fashion-by-the-decade (Accessed: 11 April 2021).

3. English Heritage (no date) Prehistory: Architecture. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/prehistory/architecture/ (Accessed: 11 April 2021).

4. Symonds, T. (2017) ‘Grenfell Tower inquiry: 9 things we now know about the cladding’, BBC News, 23 March. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56403431#:~:text=Panels%20made%20from%20plastic%20and,2017%2C%20resulting%20in%2072%20deaths (Accessed: 11 April 2021).

5. Bushbury Cladding Ltd (2019) The History of Cladding. Available at: https://www.bushburycladding.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-cladding/ (Accessed: 11 April 2021).

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Considered deconstruction The deconstruction of a building should be seen as a way to remove valuable resource to use in buildings of the future. All the materials present, if removed with consideration and care can be reused in some way either in the replacement building on the site or sold onto other projects.

1. Brick & blocks

2. Tiles

3. Wooden beams

4. Windows & doors

5. Steels

6. Floor & wall coverings

7. Insulation

8. Plasterboard

9. Drainage

10. Textiles

11. Aggregates

12. Plumbing

7

2 3

6 4 9

1

8 12

5

10

11

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Resource locations

Historical and surface mapping

[1:55000 at A3]

[1:2500 at A3]

Key

Key 1 Ward Bros’ Steel Ltd. 2 Quay Timber 3 NE Reclamation Supplies Ltd 4 Prudhoe timber 5 Northern industrial salvage 6 O’Brien Architectural Salvage 7 Tynemouth architectural salvage

Facade of local historic interest Vacant units Listed buildings Locally listed buildings Historic kerb line

Floor surface material Yorkstone Tarmac & brick Tarmac & PC slabs Granite cobbles Concrete blocks Caithness & granite

7

2

4 1

3

6

5

80

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Acoustics

Acoustics Decibel chart (dB)

A sound wave is a wave of compression and rarefaction, by which sound in propagated in an elastic medium such as air¹. Sound waves travel at 343m/s through air but travel a lot faster through liquids and solids² and your ear detects these vibrations as they reach your eardrum and cause it to vibrate also. Different sounds have different intensities and this is measured in the unit decibel 9dB). Noise can be damaging to our eardrums and the decibel of certain sounds lets us know the damage it can cause. Any sound over the threshold of 85dB can cause permanent hearing loss if exposure occurs over a certain amount of time³.

For example at 85dB the maximum recommended exposure time is 8 house, but at 100db this drops to 15 minutes and then down to 1 minute at 110dB. This means that exposure over the time limit will likely cause permanent hearing loss.

Textile acoustic research and sound absorption materials mostly centre around materials that are placed closed to walls or draped¹. My chosen site is an unused retail space in which all the floors are open and the structure is supported by six columns running down the centre. To create zones and rooms I aim to use fabric and textiles only in the process of redesigning the space, therefore hung textiles and their acoustic performance is extremely important in regards to the comfort and function of each space.

Tapestries are an example of where a thick fabric can be hung against a wall (within a home) or freely in a large atrium (throughout a church) however, their purpose is for decoration rather than their acoustic properties, regardless of whether they make the space more acoustically pleasing. Theatres are a space that specifically uses hung textiles for their sound absorption qualities. However, they are usually designed with human conversations as the main noise within a space and therefore are usually categorised as class C².

There is also use of industrial soundproof curtains designed to keep ambient noise below 85dB within an industrial environment³. These heavy duty curtains resemble flexible panels and are usually made from quilted fibreglass. The Unravelling project is based on the ideals of recycled materials and reusing waste, however in order to create the open consumer experience I will have to investigate the compromise between new soundproofing fabric interiors ‘vs’ recycled solid walls. To be able to have the machinery involved in the textile recycling process open to the public their safety in regards to the acoustics of the space needs to be considered and evaluated.

In order to understand how different materials affect sound there are two terms one needs to understand; sound absorption and sound proofing⁴. Sound absorption is the term used when sound waves are dampened and echo is reduced within a space and can be used within the process of sound proofing.

Soundproofing however, is acoustic isolation which is the preventions of the sound waves passing into or out of a room. Hard surfaces reflect sound creating echoes, thereby increasing the amount of sound within a space. Soft surfaces such as thick textiles absorb sound, therefore decreasing the echo. A hard surface such as thick concrete will help to sound proof a room, whereas soft surfaces aid in sound absorption.

Sound absorption is the measure of the amount of energy removed from the sound wave as the wave passes though a given thickness of material⁵. Every material can be given an absorption coefficient or class that tells you how absorbent it is in regards to sound at a set frequency⁶. For example if the absorption coefficient is 0.30 then 70% of the sound is being reflected. In order to categorise the acoustic properties of fabrics they have to complete the sound absorption test EN ISO 354 which then grades the product from A-E based on the materials absorbency⁷. The higher the absorption coefficient, the higher the classification with A being the best.

Absorption

Reflection

Transmission

As you can see from the previous decibel chart the yarn spinner and weaving machine can operate at noise levels damaging to a humans hearing. In order to allow the public to view these processes they must be contained in a soundproofing environment. In regards to the decibel levels I have charted, the sewing machine is the only one that I was able to find in an isolated state. The yarn spinner, weaving and textile machines are all within a factory environment where an individual is exposed to more than one machine¹.

Therefore I am unaware of what a single machine would create. In regards to this I will assume the levels I have charted are the levels I have to cater for. Due to decibels (dB) using a logarithmic scale if one machine measures 60dB, two machines will measure 93dB as plus 3dB represents a doubling of noise².

Diffusion

Sound absorption is the ratio of absorbed energy to incident energy and is represented by α. If α=1 then the acoustic energy can be absorbed entirely ⁸.

Sound absorption table

α - the sound absorption coefficient Ea - the absorbed energy Ei - the incident energy ET - the transmitted energy

1. ‘Sound wave’ (2021) Available at: https://languages.oup.com/ (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

2. BBC Bitesize (2021) What are sound waves? Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zw982hv/articles/z8mmb82 (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

3. Miracle Ear (2018) Understanding Decibel Charts. Available at: https://www.miracle-ear.com/blog-news/what-is-loud-decibel-chart#:~:text=The%20lowest%20hearing%20decibel%20level,the%20human%20ear%20can%20hear.&text=Whisper%3A%20 30%20dB,Movie%20theater%3A%2080%2D100%20dB (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

4. Acoustiblok (2020) 30 Types of soundproofing materials explained. Available at: https://www.acoustiblok.co.uk/soundproofing-materials/ (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

5. Shrivastava, A, (2018) ‘Sound Absorption’, Introduction to Plastics; Engineering. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/ engineering/sound-absorption/pdf (Accessed: 23 April 2021).

6. Better Soundproofing (2020) Best Sound Absorbing (Acoustic) Fabric for Noise Reduction. Available at: https://bettersoundproofing. com/best-sound-absorbing-acoustic-fabric/ (Accessed: 23 April 2021).

7. Acoustic comfort by Screen Solutions (no date) Sound absorption values and classes. Available at: https://www.acousticcomfort. co.uk/uploads/Sound%20absorption%20classes.pdf (Accessed 1 May 2021).

8. Peng, L. (2017) ‘Advanced High strength natural fibre composites in construction’, Science direct. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/sound-absorption-coefficient (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

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1. Alonso, A. and Martellotta, F. (2016) ‘Room acoustic modelling of textile materials hung freely in space: from the reverberation chamber to ancient churches’, Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 9:5, 469-486. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/1 0.1080/19401493.2015.1087594?needAccess=true (Accessed: 15 April 2021).

2. Direct Fabrics (2018) Understanding Acoustic Curtains - Sound Absorption & Sound Proofing Insulation. Available at: https://www. direct-fabrics.co.uk/blog/understanding-acoustic-curtains-absorption-sound-proofing-curtains/ (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

3. Steel Guard (2021) Industrial Soundproof Curtains; Noise Control Curtains. Available at: https://www.steelguardsafety.com/products/ safety/sound-shield-curtains/ (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

1. Suhardi, B. (2019) ‘Noise level analysis to reduce noise exposure at PT. IT.’, Cogentengineering. 6:1. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311916.2019.1666629 (Accessed: 2 May 2021).

2. Pulsar (2019) What are decibels, the decibel scale and noise measurement units? Available at: https://pulsarinstruments.com/en/post/ understanding-decibels-decibel-scale-and-noise-measurement-units (Accessed: 3 May 2021).

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Acoustic soundproofing/absorbing materials

Fire proof fabric

Cotton jeans

Internal use

Textiles that are non woven, loosely woven and knitted fabrics are porous are the best choice when considering fabrics for noise absorption. However, the challenge comes with making the materials look appealing. For the best sound absorption the textile is better unwoven and thick to allow for more air pockets. An example of recycled textiles used for sound absorption in the form of unwoven fibre is cotton insulation made from second hand jeans.

For internal use fabrics can receive a fire treatment that protects them from flames to ensure they do not spread fire in an emergency. The recycled fabric is a perfect base as long as natural materials such as cotton or wool are used.

Jeans are cut down into small scraps after which buttons, zippers and rivets are removed. The remaining scrap material is shredded into cotton fibres and bundled into bales. These bales can then be made into a variety of products. Wall insulation is made by coating the fibres in a non toxic boric solution and then spun at a high speed to create loose fibre forms. This solution makes the product mould, mildew and fungi resistant as well as providing a class a fire rating. The insulation can be made / bought at a number of thickness’s; the thicker the product, the higher the R value. The same fibres can also be pressed to create ultra sonic acoustic panels to eliminate unwanted ambient noise and echo. The fibres can also be left loose and used for a more eco-friendly alternative to packaging styrofoam or backing beads. It can be used to ship all kinds of products due to its thermal properties; pharmaceuticals, food, electrical, etc.

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Recycled cotton insulation works the same as fibreglass, mineral wool and rock wool insulation where the actual material isn’t what actually provides the insulate properties but the air trapped between the fibres.

Although similar in properties recycled cotton insulation is an eco-friendly alternative to fibreglass 85% of its material would have ended up in a landfill as opposed to re-use as insulation. The manufacturing process for recycled cotton insulation consumes less energy than fibreglass production and also produces no waste.

Recycled cotton insulation also has 30% higher sound absorption that fibreglass. Installation of recycled denim insulation is also much safer as it will not irritate your skin or lungs¹. Although its more expensive than fibreglass insulation its overall reduced impact on the environment and improved installation process can outweigh the downsides. Recycled denim insulation can have an NRC rating of 0.95 - 1.15NRC which is very good², however this comes with a thickness³ of 20-130mm.

Historical and surface mapping

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The solution is non toxic and conforms to:

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BS 5852: 1990 for natural and synthetics (methods of test for assessment of the ignitability of upholstered seating) BS 5867: part 2: 1980 for natural and synthetics (which sets standards for the ignition levels of fabrics and fabric combinations including curtains and drapes).

The coating lasts the lifetime of the fabric itself, however reapplication of the solution is advised if the material gets wet.

External use For external use the fabric must be treated differently die to the constant exposure to light and water.

The earliest use of external use fabrics were made from animal skins or vegetation, however with current regulations we must design materials to meet set standards. Modern fabrics are formed using a PVC coated polyester or PTFE coated glass. Both materials are hard to recycle once they reach the end of life. However, by using PVC coated polyester the initial polyester material can be woven from recycled materials as long as they are pure polyester.

Stage 1

Jeans that are destined for landfill are cleaned

Once coated a polymer lacquer (PVDF) can be applied to enhance clean-ability and protection from changing climates. The fabric itself can last 15-20 years.

Stage 2

Jeans are shredded whilst buttons and zippers are removed for reuse.

Stage 3

The shredded material is mixed with natural, eco friendly glue.

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Top coat

Coating Fabric Coating Top coat

1. Belinda Carr (2020) Converting jeans into denim insulation. 8 May. Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW7bbrJMWI8 (Accessed: 24 April 2021).

2. Acoustical Surfaces Inc. (2021) UltraTouch Denim Insulation. Available at: https://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/wall_insulation/ ultratouch.htm (Accessed: 24 April 2021).

3. Inno therm (2018) Acoustic Insulation. Available at: http://inno-therm.com/product-information/acoustic-insulation/ (Accessed: 1 May 2021).

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Fabric structures (2020) Designing Buildings Wiki. Available at: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fabric_structures (Accessed: 19 March 2021).

Stage 4

The brick is then pressed in order to create the required brick shape.

Stage 5

The brick is removed from the mould and dried until solid.

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The facade - initial design and materiality concepts Dressing the facade Initial collage sketches of ways to use the surrounding salvage yards to create a new facade for the building out of waste construction materials.

Woven roof terrace cover Woven roof terrace cover Woven from fire safe and weather proof fabric to provide shelter for an organic roof garden / cafe / bar.

Reclaimed timber Treated for fire safety and arranged parallel to create a facade [possibility of glass behind to allow timber to be seen from inside.

Re-purposed glass Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design.

Timber batons run over the windows.

Woven from fire safe and weather proof fabric to provide shelter for an organic roof garden / cafe / bar.

Tiles are arranged into a mosaic pattern to represent the beauty of waste materials in their reuse.

Re-purposed glass Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design.

Reclaimed timber Full height window frames made from reclaimed timber. Finish is left natural to express wear and reuse.

Reclaimed timber

The sign is integrated into the facade and back lit.

Arranged in a zigzag pattern in front of a glass facade to allow light through into the interior space.

Recycled fabric Fabric re-spun from recycled clothing and treated for fire safety.

Reclaimed timber

Reclaimed brick

No glass backing but back lit for night time facade exhibition.

Re-purposed glass Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design.

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Woven roof terrace cover

Woven from fire safe and weather proof fabric to provide shelter for an organic roof garden / cafe / bar.

Woven from fire safe and weather proof fabric to provide shelter for an organic roof garden / cafe / bar.

Reclaimed tiles

Text engraved

Arranged in a herringbone pattern to represent the pattern of woven fabric.

Woven roof terrace cover

Recycled fabric Fabric re-spun from recycled clothing and treated for fire safety.

Re-purposed glass Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design.

Recycled fabric Fabric re-spun from recycled clothing and treated for fire safety.

Existing facade Facade retained.

Re-purposed glass Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design.

Reclaimed timber Treated for fire safety and arranged parallel to create a facade.

Text engraved

Tapestries Woven tapestries that can be changed to reflect current events and depict important and relevant messages such as climate change.

The sign is integrated into the facade and back lit.

Existing glass Reclaimed tiles Tiles are arranged into a mosaic pattern to represent the beauty of waste materials in their reuse.

Windows retained [if woven facade does not meet external regulations for weather and fire].

Re-purposed glass Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design. They are reshaped to fit the new design.

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Facade design one The inspiration for the facade comes from the ideals of the unravelling project. The spaces within are all about re-use of materials that other people may classify as waste. The patchwork facade is made of all the different construction materials that are found in abundance at reclamation yards. The new facade retains as many of the previous facades materials as it can, any excess not used will be removed with care and used in other projects. The section down the centre is designed to mirror the classic knit pattern as the yarn unravels

Re-purposed stonework Stone cladding from the previous facade is reshaped and up cycled in the new facade patchwork.

Re-purposed grey glazing Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design. The grey glazing is used on the top floor as this houses the shop section of the project. The process is the most important aspect so in a reversal of normal circumstances the retail section is hidden.

Reclaimed terracotta tiles Reclaimed tiles from a local salvage yard are formed into triangles and added to the patchwork facade.

Re-purposed facade Powder coated aluminium column cladding with a matt finish is re-worked to create triangle facade pieces.

Reclaimed timber Timber from a local reclamation yard is formed into a triangle of batons to form one of the patchwork pieces.

Reclaimed timber Timber from a local reclamation yard is formed into a triangle and added to the patchwork facade.

Re-purposed glazing Reused from the previous facade and integrated into the new design. The glazing from the previous facade arranges together creates a large clear window through which anyone passing by can see straight into the processes of textile recycling within.

Reclaimed timber/scaffold board Timber from a local reclamation yard is formed into the knitted pattern that runs down the height of the building. The text is engraved.

Tapestry from recycled fabric A tapestry made on site is displayed in the window and stretches the whole height of the building. This is changed as new tapestries and exhibitions are created.

Reclaimed glazing Glazing to be sourced from local demolition projects.

Re-purposed glass doors The glass doors from the previous facade are re-purposed.

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