Monumental Knit @ Form/Design Center

Monumental Knit
06 Apr 2024 – 25 Aug 2024

In what way can we use textile techniques to develop new methods for a post-fossil and circular architecture? In their exploratory work, Research Studio for Knit and Architecture (RSKA) turns design hierarchies upside down by using textiles to tackle the built environment in a new and different way.

Through artistic research, Research Studio for Knit and Architecture examines how the textile industry’s 3D knitting technology, which is currently used to produce cheaper garments in a shorter time, can be used for completely different purposes. The core question revolves around the possibility of creating form that both fulfills the spiritual and physical needs of our bodies and at the same time find new viable techniques for a post-fossil and circular future.

By bending, draping and shifting, the studio investigates how objects, garments and spaces can come to life and at the same time remain intact. In their investigative work, the interplay between light and heavy structures develops, where form, transparency and tactility emerge in a rarely seen way.

“The digitally controlled knitting allows us to create large-scale materials with qualities that are both resource efficient and unique in the built environment”  says Edvin Bylander (RSKA).

3D knitting is a technique for creating digitally designed and produced materials – much like 3D printing for textiles. The technology is developed to produce entire garments without post-processing – but is used in the exhibition on a completely different scale. With knitted materials in a single thread system, it is possible to pick up and use the same yarn several times. In construction, there is the possibility of using textile fibers that are not suitable for close-fitting garments, such as domestic wool, recycled textile fibers or regenerated fibers from raw wood. The material’s low weight and the possibility of local production also mean reduced transport. Knitted materials can be mended without losing aesthetic or functional properties and washed instead of being repainted or replaced.

About RSKA

Research Studio for Knit and Architecture consists of Matilda Norberg and Our Architectural Office through Joel Persson and Edvin Bylander.

Matilda Norberg is a textile designer and lecturer in the design education at KMD, Universitetet i Bergen. She is educated at the Royal College of Art, London in knitwear and was previously the creative director of the Norwegian brand Oleana, where she pushed through an aesthetic new direction, based on local production and sustainability. It was at Oleana that Matilda came into contact with 3D knitting for the first time and with both design, product development and production in the same place, Matilda could have total creative control from idea to execution. Matilda’s first collection was purchased by Norway’s National Museum.

Our Architectural Office is based in Malmö and Bergen, Norway and is run by Edvin Bylander, architect and Joel Persson, architect and designer. The office has a focus on form, public art and innovation – often with elements of experimentation as well as digital design and production. The projects revolve around culture and industry with conceptual and strategic dimensions, which range from preparatory work Offentligt konstarbete – fallstudier i konst och arkitektur (2023) based on a research project the office carried out with support from the Swedish Transport Administration.

Edvin Bylander, Matilda Norberg & Joel Persson.