May 1, 2015 by Webmaster Webmaster

Evolving Macramé at RETROSPECT

Originally published on dhome.com.

Every year when March comes rolling around, our young designers at CallisonRTKL get excited about what we like to call “RETROSPECT Season.” CallisonRTKL has made it a commitment to fund our RETROSPECT participation for the past few years and we continue to use this opportunity to test our minds to think outside the 3’x3’x8’ box. Ideas start to generate about the year’s theme for RETROSPECT and we begin to assemble our dream team for this unique design/build exhibition.

This year, with the theme of “Architecture Matters: Past, Present, and Future,” we began our design process by thinking of innovative ways we could integrate the past by using old techniques or methods in a new way to produce something that suggested the future of design. After some digging, we came across the antiquated skill of Macramé, a knotting technique developed centuries ago by weavers for intricate 2-dimensional textile patterns. This technique provided us with ample opportunity to explore its capabilities of transforming a generally flat art form into a modern, potentially 3-dimensional, design element.

Atop a monolithic cube structure emerging from the ground, the delicate assemblage of the geometric cubes twist and reveal different viewpoints, encouraging visitors to peer into the macramé tunnels and observe the evolution of a basic knot. Using Macramé as the basis for our design, our exhibit explores the tectonic characteristics of this process in a way that reflects a current design sensibility.

As architects, it is important to broaden your skillset, challenge your mind to think differently, and explore the creative freedom that this field provides. Not only are we challenged as designers to come up with innovative ideas, we are also responsible for building it. Retrospect gives us that chance to put our hands and minds to work and see a great idea be built in our own backyard. Despite its age, our team was able to learn a new skill, teaching us patience, precision, and problem solving. More than 2,000 feet of parachute cord and thousands of knots later, we created a team of knotting experts. Family and friends, watch out. Your next birthday or Christmas gift might involve a lot of string.