Pairing her passion and admiration for fashion design
with her expertise in both civil engineering and architecture, Elena Manferdini
is striving to bring intricate, detail-oriented design to large-scale dimensions. The exhibition space
at SCI-Arc, where she is currently teaching, is the setting for her latest interpretation of one of
the most delicate techniques applied in fashion design – lacemaking. Merletti is
“aesthetics and technology of fashion applied to architecture,” says Manferdini.
Strung
on 26 cables, the suspended canopy is made of 301 single plastic pieces that vary in size and shape.
The upper part that is closest to the ceiling is created as a more solid structure, which while gradually
sloping down, evolves into a delicately intertwined mesh. Including ideation, planning and several mock-ups,
the project took three months to complete. Ideally, the canopy would be used as a shading device in
a space where the light changes throughout the day. A beautiful pattern is cast on walls and floor.
The
set of dresses (Manferdini’s design) that are also displayed underline the possibilities for utilizing
elaborate and complex surfaces that are usually restricted to the intimate size of a human body, in
architecture. Manferdini is drawn to the fact that in fashion design knowledge of seams and subtle techniques
can turn a flat, delicate piece of fabric into a shape or structure whereas in architecture or automotive
design molding or other high impact methods are relied on. In case of the canopy and the dresses she
used the same laser-cutting techniques to create two interpretations of the same visual effect.
Manferdini
is also the architect behind the US West Coast pavilion design at the 2006 Beijing Biennale exhibition.
Featuring similar aesthetics: of a recurring single pattern, Manferdini calls this building “the mother-ship
of all ensuing projects.” Currently, she is working on a museum/library and residential building in
Marcerata, Italy.
Link:
www.ateliermanferdini.com
