LightWeighting

Graduate - Elective

Winter 2014

Collaborators:
Robyn Wolochow
Andres Marin

Instructor:
Sean Ahlquist

The Lightweighting design class sought to utilize the CNC knitting machine in order knit fabrics that have designed properties to them. The fabrics would then be employed to create play structures that stimulate sensory interactions between the players and the object. With autistic kids in mind, the play structures are meant to be used to kids understand issues of force in which something is pushed, pulled, poked, and punched. By allowing different outcomes to happen when the fabric is interacted with differently the child starts to understand the consequences of their actions beyond just a simple touch.

This project let to further explorations in Sean Ahlquist's Research Through Making project for the University of Michigan's exhibition where conductive thread was being woven into the fabric structures to provide pressure readings so lights could be activated as an outcome to how to interacted with the fabric structure. A video for the exhibition can be found at the bottom of this page.