Inflection: Assembling Interdisciplinary Material

SCOTT&GASTON

©2017TheAuthors.PublishedbyLoughboroughUniversity.ThisisanopenaccessarticleundertheCCBY-NClicense(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Inflection:AssemblingInterdisciplinaryMaterialKnowledgeusingKnittedFabricConstruction

DrJaneScott1&DrElizabethGaston2

1. TheUniversityofLeeds2. TheUniversityofLeeds

PAPERNUMBER[TDRG128]

ThisitemwassubmittedtotheproceedingsoftheLoughboroughUniversityTextileDesignResearchGroupINTERSECTIONSConference2017byJaneScottandElizabethGaston.Citation:Scott,J.&Gaston,E.(2017)Inflection:AssemblingInterdisciplinaryMaterialKnowledgeusingKnittedFabricConstruction.InProceedingsofIntersections:CollaborationsinTextileDesignResearchConference,13September2017,LoughboroughUniversityLondon,U.K.Availablefromwww.lboro.ac.uk/textile-research/intersections.AdditionalInformation:Publisher:LoughboroughUniversity(©TheAuthors)Rights:ThisworkismadeavailableaccordingtotheconditionsoftheCreativeCommonsAttribution4.0International(CCBY-NC4.0)licence.Fulldetailsofthislicenceareavailableat:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/PLEASECITETHEPUBLISHEDVERSION.

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Abstract: Inflection is the outcome of interdisciplinary research working across knit design and historic archives held at The Royal Armouries, Leeds. The aim of the research was to develop new knitting techniques using CNC knit technologies through analysis of the functional and performative properties of historic Chinese arms and armour. The methodology applied the concept of the artefact as a means to communicate thinking across disciplines between knit design researchers and historians. Using specific pieces from the collection, research investigated the lacing structures of lamellar armour and the assembled composition of composite bows as methods to achieve complex form in knit at an architectural scale. Key findings evaluate the use of artefacts and prototypes as tools for interdisciplinary collaborative research. In addition the research presents a new material system for knit where the rigid and the flexible are recurved within a knitted assembly creating new large scale geometries. Keywords:Knitassembly,architecturalinteriorinstallation;theartefactasacollaborativeresearchtool,archives,materialperformance.IntroductionInFebruary2017asheer,undulatingtextileformwasunveiledintheHallofSteel,thecentralvoidofTheRoyalArmouries,Leeds.Suspendedinthemainstairwell,thearchitecturalinteriorinstallationInflectioncomprisedstructuredknit fabric tensionedbyaseriesofclear, lasercutPerspex inserts (figure1).Theinstallationappearedaspartrigidarmour,andpartdrapedtextile,theresultofacollaborationbetweenknitdesignresearchersatTheUniversityofLeeds,andthecuratorofTheOrientalCollection.TheinitialaimofthisresearchwastodesignandbuildasitespecificknitinstallationtoreflecttheChineseArmourcollectiononexhibitionatTheRoyalArmouries,Leeds.CNCKnittechnologyprovidesthemeanstoproducehighlycomplexknittedfabrics,howeverresearchisrequiredtodeterminehowknittedfabriccanbemanipulatedforuseatanarchitecturalscale.Knittedfabricexhibitsexcellentextensibility,butithasminimalstructuralrigidityandthereforepresentsdifficultiesgeneratingandretaining3Dformatalargescale.Inordertoaddressthischallenge,thesecondfundamentalaimwastoanalysethefunctionalandperformativepropertieshistorictextilearmourtodevelopanewmaterialsystemforknitinaspatialcontext.ThecentralcollaborationwithinthisresearchwasbetweenthecuratoroftheOrientalCollection,NatashaBennettandknitdesignresearchersJaneScottandElizabethGaston.Workingacrossthedisciplinesoftextiledesignandhistoricarchivesprovidedauniquesourceofinspiration;thiswasparticularlyevidentwhenthefunctionalityofspecificartefactswasdiscussedacrossdisciplines.Akeyobjectivefortheteamwastoidentifysuitablehistorictextilearmour,andtoanalysethematerialsandconstructionprocessesthat lead to performance characteristics of these artefacts. The methodology used for the researchexplorestheuseoftheartefactasameansofcommunicatingthinkingacrossdisciplinesbetweentextiledesignandhistorians.Twospecifichistoricartefactswerecriticaltodesigndevelopment;lamellararmourandcompositebows.Inadditiontothis,textilesamplesandprototypeswerepresentedasartefactstodiscussdesignintentions.Thispaperhighlightstwokeyfindingsfromtheresearch;firstly,thedesignandimplementationofanewknitassemblysystem.Inthisresearchourinterestfocusedonhowtodevelopnewmaterialpropertiesforknittingusinganassemblyofknitandnon-textilecomponents.Thismaterialsystemisinformedbytheassembledmaterialcomponentsusedinlamellararmourandcompositebows.Itissignificantthattheresearchoutcome, Inflection, combines themechanicalpropertiesofextensibleknitted fabricandflexiblelasercutPerspex.Thisappliestheconceptsderivedfrombothhistoricartefactsinordertoproduceanassembledmaterialsystemforknittingwhichcangenerateandretainnewlargescalegeometries.

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Thesecondkeyfindingrelatestothesuccessfulimplementationoftheresearchmethodologyfromtheperspectiveofcollaborativeresearchintextiledesign.Duringtheresearchprocesstheartefactwascriticalinordertocommunicatetextiledesignideas.Specificallytheartefactwasusedtoexplainandanalysethefunctionalandperformativepropertiesofvariedmaterialsystems.Thismethodwassuccessfulfromtheperspectiveofboththearchives, introducingspecifichistoricartefacts,butalsofromadesignpointofview, as the conceptevolvedand ideas couldbedemonstratedas functioningprototypes. This paperevaluatestheuseoftheartefactacrossthisdesignprocesswithreferencetoliteraturefromestablisheddesignresearchandstrategiesfromco-designmethodologies.

Figure1.Inflection,TheHallofSteel,TheRoyalArmouries,Leeds.

Source:ScottandGaston(2017)

Methods:theartefactasatoolforcollaborativetextiledesignresearch.Theartefactisrecognisedasakeytoolusedbydesignerstodevelopknowledgeandunderstandingduringtheresearchprocess. Inthisresearchtheartefact isrepresentedbyboththehistoricobjectsfromthemuseumcollection,andthetextilesamplesandprototypescreatedduringtheresearch.However it issignificantthattheuseoftheartefactfordesignresearchextendsbeyondanalysisoftheobjectitself.Cross(2001)outlinesthreeactivities,appliedtothisresearch,wheretheartefactisfundamentaltothedesignresearchprocess:theprocessofdesigning(1),reflectingontheknowledgeembodiedwithinanartefactitself(2),theknowledgethatresultsfrommaking,andreflectingontheprocessofmakingtheartefact(3)(Cross,2001).ThecollaborationwasinitiatedbetweentextiledesignresearchersJaneScottandElizabethGaston,andNatashaBennett,curatoroftheOrientalCollectionatTheRoyalArmouries.Theresearchbeganwithanintroductiontothecollectionandatourofthemuseumstores.Thiswasfollowedbyadiscussionaroundtheconceptofasitespecificinstallationandatourofthesite.Itwasimmediatelyapparentthatthemajor

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challengeoftheprojectwouldbetoproduceamaterialsystemusingknittingthatwouldretain3DformatascalesuitableforthelocationwithintheHallofSteel.Analysisoftheresearchprocessidentifieshowthedesignworkevolvedthroughacyclicprocess,andhowcloselyCross’sthreedesignactivitiesmapontotheprocessundertakenforthisresearch(figure2).

Figure2:ProgrammeofResearch,developedfromCross(2001)Source:ScottandGaston2017

Inan initialmeetinganalysisof a seriesofhistoricartefactsprovided the initialdesign inspiration.Bydevelopinganunderstandingofthecomplexanduniquematerialsystemsthatformthebasisofthesepieces,asharedlanguageofmaterialsandmaterialitybegantoevolve(2).Fromtheperspectiveofknitdesignresearch,itwasimportanttoassesshowthismaterialknowledgecouldbeappliedtoknittedfabricdesign. At this meeting concept boards were presented indicating the scale and impact of a textileinstallation using examples of previous work (2). Afterwards the creative process of interpreting theinformation,andthepracticaltasksofmaterialssourcing,samplingandprogrammingwasundertaken(1).ForeverysubsequentmeetingprototypesandfabricsampleswerepresentedtoNatashaBennettinordertobettercommunicatedesignintentions(2,3).Onechallengewhenworkingacrossdisciplineswashowtodevelopacommonlanguagethatcouldbeusedtoanalysebothhistoricartefactsandtextilesamples.Itquicklybecameapparentthatperformanceandmaterialityweresharedtermsofreferenceandthehyper-specificationofmaterialswasidentifiedascriticalforarmour,arms,structuredtextiledesignandknitprogramming.Thisterminologyprovidedafoundationforthedesignanddevelopmentoftheknitinstallation.

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ThedevelopmentofamaterialsysteminspiredbytheOrientalCollectionWithin theOrientalCollectionatTheRoyalArmouries thereare significantpiecesof lamellararmour.Chineselamellararmouroftenpresentsasconstructedtextilearmourcomposedofleatherplateslacedtogether with thick leather thongs and assembled into armour plating using a complex pattern ofinterlacing(figure3).

Figure3.LamellarArmourwithinterlacedplates.Source:RoyalArmouries

Figure4aandb.Compositebowunstrung(a)andstrung(b)

Source:RoyalArmouries

Whatwasimmediatelyapparentwashowtheinteractionoftwotextilematerialsusingalacingprocessgenerated a three-dimensional formwith exceptional strength and toughness suitable for armour. Inparticulartheformofbothindividualplates,andtheoverallgeometryofthearmourwascreatedbythepositioningofthelacingwithinthestructure. Whilstitisevidenthowlamellararmourcouldbeusedtoinspiretextiledesignitwascriticaltoadaptthisprocesstoknit.Inaknittedstructurethemechanicalstrengthandflexibilityandaregeneratedusingaloopconstructionprocesstoformacontinuousmaterialratherthananassembledmaterial.Thereforethecontrastbetweentheconstructionprocessescanbeidentifiedasthedifferencebetweenmechanicalproperties achieved from the assembled construction (lamellar armour), and mechanical propertiesintegratedintostructureofthematerials(knit).AsecondseriesofartefactswhichinformedthedesignresearchwerethecollectionofChinesecompositebows(figure4aandb).Thesebowsareconstructedfromacombinationsofhorn,woodandsinew.Textileintheformofsinewistensionedbythebellyofthebow,whichismadefromhornandwoodwhicharerecurved so that they bend in opposing directionswhen relaxed or tensioned. The horn is critical toprovideflexibilitytothebellyofthebowasitis‘springyundercompression’(Selby,2000).Incontrastthesinewisusedtoformthebacktothebowbecauseitresistsstretching,finallythecoreisconstructedfromwood.Thiscombinationofmaterialsgivesthebowitsspeedandforce.

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Recurveddescribestheprocessoftensioningthebow.Initsrelaxedstatethebowcurvesinonedirection.When strung the bow is recurved in the alternative direction (Richardson and Bennett, 2015). Thismaterial system provides a carefully engineered assembly with the material properties of eachcomponentengineeredtoprovidetherequiredtensionandcompressiononcethebowisrecurved,andstrungreadyforuse.Throughanalysisoflamellararmour(LA)andcompositebows(CB)threeconstructionprinciplesemergedwhichinformedthedesignofthematerialsystemfordevelopment:1.Constructioncomposedofaseriesofindividualshapedpieces(LA).2.Compositematerialsystemengineeredtogenerateatensionedform(CB).3.Localisedshapesofindividualpiecesinformtheoverallshapeandform(LA).TheKnittedAssemblyInordertoproducealargescaleknitinstallationbasedonthreeconstructionprinciplesoutlinedabovethedevelopmentofacompositematerial systemwas required.Theuseofknit fabricwithina spatialcontextisdemonstratedinresearchbyanumberofdesignersinvestigatingthematerialpropertiesandthepotentialofknitatabuildingscale.Recentresearchhighlightsboththescopeofknitasaninstallationmaterial, but also the fundamental difficulty of using amaterialwithminimal rigiditywithin a spatialcontext.Inordertoformknitfabricintoanappropriatematerialforthiscontextitisutilisedincombinationwithsomekindofstructuralframeworktosupportthetextilematerial.Thisallowstheknittedfabrictobecomepartofagreaterassemblycomposedofarigidframeworkandflexibleknitsurface.Thesupportcouldbeusedtoenhancethedrapeandmovementofaknitfabric;illustratedintheroomsizedinstallationSlowFurl(RamsgaardThomsenandBech,2012).Alternativelytheframeworkcantensionafabricattheedge.ExamplesofthisincludethetextilehybridsdesignedbyarchitectSeanAlhquist(2013).Theseinstallationsuse deformable composite frames to generate controlled tension between the fabric and the frameproducingcomplex3Dform.Incontrasttothereciprocalrelationshipgeneratedbyaflexibleframework,myThreadPavilion(Sabin,2013)iscomposedofasteelcablenetandaluminumringsformingtheexteriorofaknittedpavilion.Here lengthsof tubularknitare tensionedwithin the framework toproduce thepavilion’sform.Analternativesolutionwasdevelopedby JaneScott in thedesignofTheSpecies (Scott,2013). In thisiteration of the knitted assembly the non-textilematerial is a series of lasercut wood veneer panelsinsertedintoshapedpanelsoftubularknitfabric.Undertensionthisallowseachknit/veneersegmenttoproduceanindependentform,andconsequentlyanoverall3Dformisgenerated(figure5).Thesignificantdifferenceinthisapproachisthatthenon-textilecomponentsactindividually,tensioningoneareaoftheassemblyratherthancreatingtensionbyframingtheworkattheedges.TheknitassemblysystemusedinSpeciesinformedtheconstructionprocessforthedesignofInflection(figure8,9,10).

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Figure5.Species,S3Closeshowsindividuallasercutinserts.

Source:Scott(2014)

MaterialsWhilst the composition of both lamellar armour and the composite bows exploit the exceptionalpropertiesofnaturalmaterials, restrictionsplacedon theprojectdemanded that the installationwascomposedof syntheticmaterials.Topreventcontamination it isnecessary to freezenaturalmaterialsbeforetheyareexhibited,andduetoprojectdeadlinesthiswasnotfeasible.Insteadsyntheticmaterialswereselectedwiththerequiredpropertiesforconstruction.Theknittedfabricwascomposedfromnylonmonofilamentandlurex,andtheinsertswerecomposedof2mmclearPerspex.DesignDevelopmentA series of experimental prototypes were produced at an early stage to demonstrate the assemblyconcept,andthesewerepresentedalongsidesketchesindicatingthefinalappearanceoftheinstallation(figure6).DiscussingeachstageofthedesignprocesswithNatashaBennettprovidedanexcellenttooltoreflectontheprocessofmakingtheartefact,andtoreflectontheartefactitself.Feedbackatthisstagerefinedourthinkingaroundtheconceptofcurvingandrecurving(fromcompositebows)asamethodtogenerateforminaknit/Perspexassembly.Theinstallationwasdesignedasfivehorizontalpanelscomposedoftwodifferentstructures;sectionsoftubular fabric, and sections of a highly structured links/links fabric. After knitting individual lasercutPerspex insertswere positionedby hand into the tubular fabric, bending into position and forming acurvedsurfacetoeachsection.Thehighlystructuredlinks/linksfabricechoedtheshapeofthelamellararmourandrepeatingpatternsofartefactsondisplayintheHallofSteel.Onassemblythefiveindividualpanelswereattachedtogether,overlappingatthetopandbottom.Thisalteredtheindividualgeometriesof thecurving surfaces, recurving each insertagainst theadjacentonesandgeneratingapronouncedcurveacrosstheoverallinstallationpiece.ThefabricwasprogrammedusingtheShimaSeikiApex1systemandCNCknittedontheShimaSeikiNSSG5gg.ThePerspexinsertswerecutfromindividualsheetsusingazerowastecuttingsequence,sothatallofthematerial within an individual Perspex sheet could be used within the assembly. This produce fourdifferentlyshapedinsertsfromeachsheet(figure7).Eachpanelproducedadifferent,yetcomplimentary,

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formwheninsertedintothetubularfabric.Herethedesignofthecuttingsequencewasinspiredbythelacingstructureusedinthelamellararmour.

Figure6.Inflection:originalsketches.

Source:Scott(2017)

Figure7.CuttingsequenceofanindividualPerspexsheet(left),andthefourresultinginserts.Source:Scott(2017)

AnalysisAnalysisofassemblysystemThedesignofInflectionwasinformedbyalloftheconstructionprinciplesidentifiedthroughanalysisofthe historic artefacts (LA and CB). The combination of knit and lasercut Perspex created a series ofindividualshapedpieces(LA).Eachinsertproducedadifferent3Dformdependingonitsshape,andonitspositionwithintheinstallation.Althougheachtubularsectionproducedauniquetensionedform(LA),the five sections overlapped each other at the top and bottom, recurving the overall piece in a newdirection.Recurving isakeyterm inreferencetocompositebowsbecause itdescribes theprocessofchangingthedirectionofcurveundertension. Inflectionproducedarecurvedformusingacompositematerialsystem,engineeredtogenerateatensionedformon installationbecauseof theknit/Perspexconstruction(CB).

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Figure8.InflectionechoesrepeatingformswithinHallofSteel.


Figure9.Inflection,detailofindividuallasercutinsertsinfabric.


Analysisoftheartefactasatoolfordesignresearch.Ateachstageoftheresearchprojecttheartefactwascriticaltodevelopingcollaborativethinking.Thisartefact was either located within the museum collection (composite bow and lamellar armour) ordeveloped during the design process (textile samples), however the use of a physical entity to focusdiscussionswasakeytoolwithinthecollaborativeresearchprocess.Inthisresearchtheuseoftextilesamplingandprototypingextendsbeyondtheobjectitselfandinsteadbecomesaprocessofmaking,andexplainingtheideasimplicitwithinaprototype,identifiedincodesignmethodologies as “making, telling andenacting” (Sanders and Stappers, 2014:7).Usingprototypes toarticulatethinkingandmaterialisethedesignconceptprovidedavaluabletoolandactedasameansofcommunicationacrossthedisciplinesoftextiledesignandhistoricarchives.Inthisexperiencethetextileartefactwasacentralconcernofbothareasofwork,andfromadesignperspectiveitwasparticularlyinterestingtoconsidertheperspectiveofthecuratorwhoconfrontedeachknitprototypeasshewouldan historic artefact, analysing thematerials and construction process incorporatedwithin the fabrics.Fromthedesignperspectivewewereparticularlyinterestedinhowthehistoricartefactsproducedandretainedtheir3Dforms,lookingforopportunitiestodevelopthisinknitting.Intermsofmaterials,thehistoricartefactswerecomposedof100%naturalmaterials,preciselyspecifiedto provide the functionality demanded by the arms and armours. Due tomuseum regulations itwasnecessarytointerpretthedesignofInflectioninsyntheticmaterials.Howeverthemechanicalproperties

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of flexibility, tensionandcompression remainedcritical to the selectionofbothconstituentmaterials(monofilament, lurex and2mmPerspex) and the constructionprocesses, (knit assembly composedofknittedfabricandlasercutinserts).

Figure10.Individualtensionedsectionsproducetheoverallform.Source:ScottandGaston(2017)

Table2assessestheimportanceoftheartefactinthiscollaborationbetweendesignersandhistorians.Here each artefact has been mapped against the activities; making, telling and enacting. Whilst thehistoricartefactsprovideexcellenttoolsforcollaborativeanalysisandinterpretation(tellingandenacting)the textile samples and production of Inflection further enhance the role of the artefact through theprocessofmaking(making,tellingandenacting).Themakingstageiscriticaltothecreativeprocess,itisat this stage that the concept for Inflectionwas developed from analysis of the historic objects. ThissupportsthedesignresearchprocessoutlinedbyCross(2001)whoidentifiestheuniqueknowledgethatresults frommaking and reflecting on making an artefact. Enacting is also a critical process for thiscollaborativeresearch.Forthisresearchtheenactingstageevaluatesthebehavioralpropertiesofeachcompositesystem.Inthelamellararmourthecompositesystemcomprisesindividualleatherplateswhichareformedinitiallybypatternsofinterlacingandsubsequentlybytheiruseasarmouronthebody.Incontrastthecompositebowintegratesmaterialsintothestructureofthebowandthebehavingfunctionisthespeedandpowergeneratedbyrecurvingthebowforuse.Inflectionpresentsacombinationofthesetechniques;knittedsectionsare individuallyassembled intounique3D forms,howeveranalternativeprofile isgeneratedwhen the installation is constructed by overlapping the sections. Enacting therefore becomes aparticularlyusefultermforanalysisofthesetransformableandbehavingmaterialsystems.

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Table2.Tablemapping‘making,tellingandenacting’againstartefactsforcollaborativeresearchprocess.

Artefact making telling enacting

Lamellararmour Shapesofindividualpiecesdeterminetheoverallshapeandform.

Constructioncomposedofaseriesofindividualshapedpieceslacedtogether.

Compositebows

Compositematerialsystemengineeredtogenerateatensionedform.

Recurvedwhenstrung.

Textilessamples 1:Materialssourcing.2:Fabrictesting.

Analysisofmaterialbehaviourandassemblyprocess.

TubularsectionsassembledwithPerspexinsertstogenerate3dcurvedprofile.

Inflection 1:CNCknitting.2:ZerowastelasercutPerspex.

AnalysisofInflectioninrelationtohistoricartefacts.

1:Individualtubularsectionsassembled.2:Eachassembledlengthoverlappedtopandbottomtorecurveoverallform.

ConclusionsThefirstkeyfindingfromthisresearchisdemonstratedinthedevelopmentofanewmaterialsystemforknitatanarchitecturalscale.Oneparticularlyambitiousaspecttothisresearchwasthedeterminationtoproducea6mx4minstallationfromknittedmonofilament.Clearlythematerialpropertiesofboththeconstituentyarnandtheknitprocessitselfarenotconventionallyassociatedwitheitherbuildingscaleproduction,ortheabilitytoretainathreedimensionalformatsuchalargescale.WhilstprecedentsforlargescaleknittedarchitecturalinstallationshavebeensetbyAlhquist,RamsgaardThomsenandSabin,analysisoflamellararmourandcompositebowsprovidedtwomaterialsystemsthatgenerated inspiration for the design of the assembly. The use of an assembly system, inspired by acombinationofthemechanicalpropertiesofthehistoricartefacts,(integratingthePerspexinsertsintothesectionsoftubularknit,tensioningeachsectionindividually)providedameanstogeneratealarger3DexpansethatproducednewgeometriesoninstallationinTheHallofSteel.Theapproachdevelopedinthis research isdifferent topreviousassembliesbecauseeachPerspex insert is individuallypositionedwithin the fabric, generating unique 3d profiles. On assembly these geometries are recurved as theinstallationisitselftensioned.Thistechniquehasbeendevelopedthroughanalysisofthelacingstructuresinlamellararmourandtheconceptofrecurving,thetechniqueusedtotensioncompositebowsreadyforuse.Theoutcome,Inflectionspanned6macrossTheHallofSteel,suspendedontensionwiresandproducinganovelcurvedprofilereminiscentofthelamellararmourwhichinspireditsconstruction.Theinstallationwasverywell receivedand remainedonexhibition for threemonths,however thesignificanceof theresearchextendedbeyondtheartefactitself.Rathertheimportanceoftheresearchisinthedevelopmentof a common language of materials and performance which evolved through collaboration betweentextiledesignersandthecuratoroftheOrientalcollection.Theuseoftheartefacttoinformthislanguagewas critical; particularly through the evaluation of the material properties of textile samples andprototypes,inrelationtothehistoricartefactsselectedfromtheOrientalCollection.

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Thesecondkeyfindingrelatestothesuccessfulimplementationoftheresearchmethodologyfromtheperspective of collaborative research in textile design. Whilst the critical analysis of prototypes andsamplesarefundamentaltotextiledesignresearch,wewereparticularlypleasedthatthismethodologycould translate so readily across disciplines. The artefact became a central part of the collaborativeprocess,andanopportunitytoshareknowledgefromboththeperspectiveofthemuseumcollections,andourspecificinterestinknittedfabricdesign.Itwasimportantthatallcontributorswereabletobringnew artefacts for discussion, and that the research processwas not limited to a specificmaterial ortechnique.ItisacknowledgedthatthiscouldhavepresentedaproblemwhentheaimwastoconstructtheoutcomeusingCNCknittechnologies.Inthisresearchtheconceptofenactingisdevelopedasameanstoexplorematerialbehavior,andthisoffers insight intohowthemethodologycanbeappliedtonewclassesofactiveandbehavingtextiles. In conclusion this paper demonstrates the importance of collaborations between textile design andmuseumcollections,workingacrossdisciplineswithcuratorsandhistorianshasenabledthedevelopmentof advancedmaterial understanding based on historic construction principles. In addition this paperhighlights the potential for knowledge transfer from a historic context to contemporary technologiesthroughanalysisoftheartefactusingthesharedlanguageofmaterialsandmateriality.

AcknowledgementsTheauthorswouldliketoextendthankstoTheRoyalArmouries,Leeds.InparticularwewouldliketothankNatashaBennett,theCuratoroftheOrientalCollectionsforworkingsocloselywithusinordertodeveloptheconceptforInflection.InadditionwewouldliketothankHelenLangwickandGilesStoreytheirexpertiseandencouragementduringtheplanningandinstallationofthework.This research has been funded by Arts Council England as part of The Yorkshire Year of The Textileprogramme. The authors would like to thank Professor Ann Sumner and the Cultural Institute at TheUniversityofLeedsforalltheprojectsupport.

References

Ahlquist,S.andMenges,A.2013.FrameworksforComputationalDesignofTextileMicro-architecturesand Material Behavior in Forming Complex Force-active Structures. In: Proceedings of ACADIA2013,AdaptiveArchitecture,21-27October2013,Waterloo.Canada:RiversideArchitecturalPress,pp.281-293.Cross,N.(2001)Designerlywaysofknowing:designdisciplineversusdesignscience.DesignIssues,17(3)pp.49–55.RamsgaardThomsen,M.andBech,K.2012.SuggestingtheUnstable:ATextileArchitecture,Textile.10(3),pp.276-289.Richardson,T,andBennett,N(2015)IndianArmsandArmour,RoyalArmouriesSabin, J. 2013. myThread Pavilion, Generative Fabrication in Knitting Processes. In: Proceedings ofACADIA2013, Adaptive Architecture, 21-27 October 2013, Waterloo. Canada: Riverside ArchitecturalPress,pp.347-355.

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Sanders,EBN,andStappers,PJ.(2014)Probes,toolkitsandprototypes:threeapproachetomakingincodesigning,Codesign:InternationalJournalofCoCreationinDesignandtheArts,10:1,5-14.Scott, J (2013) Hierarchy in Knitted Forms: Environmentally Responsive Textiles for Architecture, In:Proceedings of ACADIA2013, Adaptive Architecture, 21-27October 2013,Waterloo. Canada: RiversideArchitecturalPress,pp.347-355.Selby,S(2000)ChineseArchery,HongKongPress.

JaneScottj.c.scott@leeds.ac.ukDrJaneScottisaknittedtextiledesignspecialistwhoseresearchfocusesonprogrammablematerialsystems,environmentallyresponsivetextiles,andbiomimicry.Herwiderinterestsinterrogatethetransformationalroleoftextilesassitespecificarchitectures.HerworkhasbeenexhibitedinternationallyandshewasrecentlyawardedtheAutodeskACADIA2016EmergingResearchAward(projectscategory)forherworkProgrammableKnitting. ElizabethGastone.a.gaston@leeds.ac.ukDrElizabethGastonisatextiledesigner,makerandresearcher.AninternationaltextiledesigncareerhasledtohercurrentroleastheprogrammemanagerofBATextileDesignattheUniversityofLeeds,whereshespecialisesinresearchandteachingofknittedandstitchedtextiles.

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Inflection: Assembling Interdisciplinary Material