Future Habitat - Sponsored by Philips Design

Can Smart Textiles Be Sustainable?

The first project this year was in collaboration with Philips Design, a global design agency of Philips Electronics based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Philips Design has a strong focus on health, energy and the future of our habitat. The research design project questioned the emerging role of smart and responsive textiles for the home. My response to the challenge was 'Breathable Felt':

Taking a pine cone as a starting point for inspiration, and biomimicry as the research method for its development, the textile is designed to open and close in response to heat. When the interior becomes too hot, the petals open up to vent the rising hot air. The interior of the petals are foiled, and will reflect away the sun’s heat when unfurled, thus cooling the interior. The textile is modular and slots together to grow or shrink in size as required. I was inspired by butterfly wings, lizards and feathers for the patterns on these pieces.