Fashion, fabric & architecture: An exploration into the relationship between fashion and architecture by way of building fabrics

RESEARCH QUESTION How can techniques from contemporary garment design be utilised in designing a fashion retail hub to enhance the visitor experience? ABSTRACT The necessity for shelter gave rise to architecture. Nomadic cultures lived in tents made of cloth or animal fur before the development of architecture as we know it today; these same materials were utilised to make clothing. The parallels between architecture and garments are evident in buildings such as Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Centre. Both use sophisticated pattern-cutting software to generate complex, layered forms akin to high-fashion clothing - sometimes referred to as body armour. Fashion is simply the architecture of movement expressed through fabrics. The research project, “Fashion, Fabrics, & Architecture” aims to create a fashion retail hub using the design principles and motifs discovered by an in-depth examination of fabric used as building materials. In addition, this proposal will attempt to apply architectural concepts that support the purpose of the building. A fashion retail hub must address the relationships between retail, hospitality, entertainment, and public pedestrian space. This project will treat the fertile intersection of fashion and architecture as inspiration and a design resource. Notions derived from fashion’s use of fabrics, textiles, and patterns and the tectonics of their connection will be assessed in the context of architecture. It is anticipated that characteristics drawn from contemporary garment design have the potential to inform all aspects of the design of the building. ... The chosen site is nestled between Commerce and Gore St and atop Auckland’s main transport hub, Britomart.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture (Professional)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Unitec, Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Munemo, Nigel

• Auckland CBD (N.Z.)
• New Zealand
• fashion
• retailers
• street shops
• building materials
• garment design
• architecture and fashion
• architectural investigation

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6504

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchbank.ac.nz:10652/6504