Kvadrat Presents Knit!
at Downtown Design 2021, Dubai
Knit! by Kvadrat is a series of work by 28 different designers exploring the potential of knitted textiles by Kvadrat Febrik. Select projects from Knit! will be presented at Downtown Design 2021, Dubai (8-12 November 2021).
For the project, designers were chosen from across the world to create pieces with Kvadrat Febrik textiles as the protagonist. A Softly Winded Chair by Faysal Tabbarah (Architecture + Other Things) and Blue Velvet Colonnade by Bahraini — Danish will be presented at Downtown Design 2021, Dubai.
Selected by curators Anniina Koivu, Jeffrey Bernett, Johanna Agerman Ross, Njusja de Gier, and Renee Merckx, each designer was picked for their curiosity in experimenting with materials, form and colour, with many operating on the border between industrial design and craft.
Kvadrat Febrik’s knitted textiles are three-dimensional constructions with form-shaping abilities that open up a world of material possibilities. They provide the perfect canvas for the designers to push the boundaries of what can be achieved within their respective disciplines.
Knit! is the fourth edition of Kvadrat’s Design Projects, following iterations dedicated to Kvadrat’s Hallingdal 65, Divina and Canvas textiles.
A Softly Winded Chair by Faysal Tabbarah (Architecture + Other Things)
Faysal Tabbarah’s A Softly Winded Chair dramatically contrasts its underlying chaotic structure, formed from found tree branches, with the precise engineering of the pliable knitted textiles that wrap around this. In doing so, it offers a thought-provoking blurring of natural and synthetic materials. A Softly Winded Chair consists of a bundle of fallen branches sourced from around the United Arab Emirates which have subsequently been clad in the Apparel textile from Kvadrat Febrik. Each branch has been digitally scanned and analysed to ensure that it is suitable for its load-bearing function – it is otherwise left untouched. The flexible knitted textiles hold the seat in shape while still allowing the contours of the branches to appear in all their natural variability.
About Faysal Tabbarah (Architecture + Other Things)
Faysal Tabbarah is an educator, architect and co-founder of Architecture + Other Things, an experimental studio based in UAE that aims to develop alternative, research-based design and building methods. An associate professor of architecture at the American University of Sharjah, he explores the potential of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) environmental techniques to drive innovative building solutions, focusing particularly on contextual modes of production and material systems.
Blue Velvet Colonnade by Bahraini — Danish (Bahrain and Denmark)
Soft folds of Gentle 2 textile by Kvadrat Febrik drape to form the structure of Blue Velvet Colonnade, a soft architectural installation developed by Bahraini — Danish, the design practice of Batool Alshaikh, Maitham Almubarak and Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen. Whereas a traditional colonnade is a structural element designed to support a building, Blue Velvet Colonnade makes use of the flexibility of textile to subvert the medium – it is an element of architecture that cannot even hold itself up, and which instead drapes under its own weight. Bahraini — Danish further challenged the textile by embellishing it with golden embroidery. Playing out between the columns, this embroidery tells the tale of A’ali, a Bahraini town undergoing rapid change. Through this golden embellishment, the studio offers an interpretation of the town’s landscape, blending both present and prehistoric time.
About Bahraini—Danish
Bahraini—Danish is a collective that uses cultural differences to create, engage and question the best ways to make. Established in Bahrain in 2016 by Batool Alshaikh, Maitham Almubarak and Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen, it is named to reflect historical encounters between Bahrain and Denmark in fields such as archaeology, architecture and dairy production. The group’s work has been presented across the Middle East and Europe.
About Kvadrat Kvadrat was established in Denmark in 1968 and has deep roots in Scandinavia’s world-famous design tradition. A leader in design innovation, Kvadrat produces high-performance, design textiles, rugs, window covering and acoustic solutions for both commercial and residential interiors.