Coursework_California College of the Arts_MArch_Fall 2016
Instructor_Inaqui Carnicero

Considering the nature of concrete to imprint and fluidly take the shape of its formwork, this experiment in fabric casting intends to defamiliarize the textural and heavy formal qualities of concrete as a building material.

Historically stone and fabric mingled in the sculptural expression of drapery over the human body, an effect translated architecturally through caryatid columns. More recently fabric has been used in architectural applications for its catenary properties in optimizing for structural loads in beams, as well as for its sustainable properties as an easy to use formwork. This experiment in fabric-based casting combines these contemporary properties of fabric as a formwork with the historic visual effects of sculptural drapery through use of textured vinyl upholstery.

Vinyl as a engineered material does not absorb water and thus is a perfect surface for casting concrete against, as it does not need a sealant of mold release agent to remove cleanly from the finished surface. This material properties also allows for the fine texture of the fabric to imprint onto the concrete, giving the architectural product a sensorial, tactile quality.

Speculation here imagines this system as a both a panelized architectural installation that stands monumentally as a cast in place wall, and as a building-scale facade system. The concrete panels are stable and resilient, yet evoke a delicacy in form and surface as light gently interacts with the folds and bulges, and nature takes hold within the crevices.