Vitra Design Museum, France
The Brief
In collaboration with the Centre Georges Pompidou and Vitra Design Museum, the Domaine de Boisbuchet in rural France offers a series of summer workshops run by internationally recognised artists, designers and architects.
We were asked to run a series of workshops as part of this programme to encourage design students and amateur design enthusiasts alike, to explore key themes such as colour, form and community.
The Challenge
In 2008 and 2009, our workshops were sponsored by the textile company, Kvadrat. These ‘1001 metres’ workshops focused on how fabric could be used as an architectural tool to manipulate, influence and change our perception of space and place.
The Solution
Within these workshops, we explored how fabric could work in all sorts of ways. From using colour as a beacon to guide and locate people within a landscape, to altering the appearance of a place or object through colour and texture, or simply employing fabric as a technical intervention, to influence light and acoustics.
In 2008, we focused on fabric as a fluid element within the context of nature, seeing how it could be used to investigate, interact with, and transform a space.
In 2009, we experimented with fabric as planes and surfaces within basic archetypal forms. Concentrating on the use of colour, shadow and light, we also looked at how large, stretched fabric modular panels could be turned into installations, enclosures, sculptures and social events.
In both workshops, fabric was manipulated to shape and change the experience of places, spaces and people. As part of the workshops, we physically expressed this within the context of Boisbuchet (the main hub of the conference) by creating a visual spectacle for people to interact with.
The Reaction
“Working in this group was magical. The SevilPeach team running the workshop put their soul into it. This workshop changed my life, in terms of jobs, friendships, and my perception of ‘research’.”Anna Fabrizi, workshop participant
“Thank you for teaching us not only that every decision we make, in architecture and in life, has a reason and a meaning but also how important it is to believe in a project and not throw in the towel.”Blanca Drake, workshop participant