June, 1992
TEXTILE DESIGN
Urban Imaginarium
Textile Installation | Computational Weaving | BFA Thesis Project​​
​Created in 1992, this thesis project explored computerized dobby weaving and digital weave development at a time when computational tools were only beginning to emerge within textile design education.​
Weaving Architectural Memory into Form​​
​​Urban Imaginarium explores how personal experiences of the city can be transformed into textile form. Developed as my undergraduate thesis project in Textile Design, the installation translates architectural observations into woven structures, creating a tactile interpretation of urban space. ​
​Concept: The Urban Imaginarium
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The project originated from a collection of architectural images gathered through daily walks and observations in the neighborhood of Teusaquillo, Bogotá.
Facades, structural details, silhouettes, textures, and spatial rhythms were abstracted into a series of woven compositions that together formed an "urban imaginarium"—a personal archive of the city as remembered and reimagined.​
The project began with a simple question:
How can the visual memory of a city be translated into textile language?
From Observation to Abstraction
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Architectural elements were analyzed for their formal qualities: rhythm, proportion, texture, repetition, and contrast. These observations were transformed into graphic studies that served as the foundation for weave development.
Through this process, architectural forms were simplified into patterns and structures that could be interpreted through woven construction.
Weaving Development
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Using a computerized dobby loom, I designed and produced double-cloth woven textiles that integrated pattern, structure, and color. The work explored the creative possibilities of emerging digital weaving technologies while maintaining a strong connection to traditional textile processes.
The double-cloth structures allowed multiple visual layers to coexist within a single textile, creating depth and complexity analogous to the layered experience of the urban environment.
Technical Design
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The woven compositions were developed through a series of technical weave drafts and fabrication studies. Each textile panel required careful planning of color, structure, threading, and lift sequences to achieve the desired visual effects.
The project combined creative design exploration with technical textile engineering.​
Material and Color Studies
Color played a critical role in emphasizing contrast, rhythm, and spatial relationships. Multiple woven samples were developed to explore different combinations of structure and color before final production.
Textile Structures
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Five woven textiles were produced, each representing a different aspect of the urban imagery collected throughout the project. Together they formed a visual sequence that translated architectural memory into woven form.
Metal rods were integrated into the textiles, allowing them to connect directly to the supporting structures.
Installation Design
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The woven panels were mounted on custom metal frameworks inspired by the skyline and architectural contours of the city. These structures allowed the textiles to be viewed from both sides and transformed the individual fabrics into a modular installation.
As visitors moved through the space, they encountered a sequence of textile forms that reflected the contrasts found in urban environments: permanence and change, structure and texture, industry and craft.
Final Installation
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Urban Imaginarium investigates the intersection of memory, architecture, and textile design, using weaving as a medium for constructing spatial narratives.
The installation transformed woven textiles into an immersive spatial experience, inviting viewers to move through a landscape constructed from architectural memory.
Drawing inspiration from urban observations in Bogotá, Colombia, the project abstracts facades, structures, and spatial rhythms into textile compositions. These pieces are mounted on metal frames inspired by city silhouettes, creating a modular environment of woven panels that guide movement through space.
By integrating materials, structure, and early computational technology, the work transforms the experience of the city into a tactile spatial narrative.
Medium / Techniques
Dobby loom, double-cloth weaving, metal structures, installation