Blog 01

Neri Oxman – architect, artist, professor – focuses on work that
combines design, biology, computing, and materials engineering.
Of her many projects, all pushing the boundaries of biology and
art, I have always been particularly fascinated by
Silk Pavilions I and II – a series of silkworm spun installations
that, beyond their visual impact, explore sustainable methods of
spinning, weaving, and making silk without the use of cocoons.
Silk Pavilion I, designed by her research team
(and 6500 live silkworms) was constructed over a period of
three weeks, all with the help of a robotic loom-like jig and
a CNC machine to make the 26 polygonal panels as a base structure
for the silkworms to begin laying their silk upon. Her Silk Pavilions,
along with the rest of her work, point to a future of
interdisciplinary and interspecies work that aims to solve
sustainability challenges – like some of the techniques used to
make silk that requires silkworms to be boiled.

Silk Pavilion I: https://oxman.com/projects/silk-pavilion-i
Silk Pavilion II: https://oxman.com/projects/silk-pavilion-ii