Smart Textiles: Science and Technology of Textile Art

A number of articles have been published in Leonardo and Leonardo Music Journal on topics related to the textile arts. This Special Project expands on Leonardo's archive of textile art documentation by focusing on textile artists and scientists around the world who work with smart textiles or the new textiles science and technology.

Artists and researchers interested in writing about their work involving the science and technology of smart textile and clothing arts are invited to view the Leonardo Editorial Guidelines and related information at: http://leonardo.info/Authors and send in a manuscript proposal to leonardomanuscripts@gmail.com.

The project is supported by The Marjorie Duckworth Malina Fund, which honors the memory of a key long-time supporter of Leonardo/ISAST. The project recognizes Marjorie's dedication to the ideals of international cooperation by emphasizing the participation of artists throughout the world. For information on making a donation to Leonardo/ISAST in memory of Marjorie Duckworth Malina, please visit http://leonardo.info/isast/donations.html

SOURCE: here

Fabricate / Digital Fabrication Conference

FABRICATE is an internationally peer reviewed conference to be held at The Building Centre in London from 15-16 April 2011. With presentations and conversations between pioneers in design and making within architecture, construction, engineering, manufacturing, materials technology and computation. FABRICATE has emerged as the first in a series of focused events from the highly successful Digital Architecture Conference and Digital Hinterlands Exhibition in London September 2009.

FABRICATE will assess the progressive integration of digital design with manufacturing processes, and its impact on design and making in the 21st century. Discussion on key themes will include: digital craft, representation and realization, material performance and manipulation, off-site and on-site construction, interdisciplinary education, economic and sustainable contexts, automated fabrication, and associated theory.

Organised by The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London in collaboration with The Building Centre London, this conference intends to frame discussion around the presentation of built or partially built works by individuals or collaborators in research, practice and industry selected from submissions through our Call for Works (deadline 10 September 2010).

Representing the broad disciplinary spectrum from design to production, the presentation of built work will contribute alongside leading invited speakers from Australia, Europe, North America, and Asia. A significant and supportive context for the event will be provided by London’s extensive network of global creative consultancies, many no more than a short stroll away from the venue.

We welcome original, innovative and pioneering projects for the Call for Works and we would also encouraged works in progress to enter too. Submission requirements emphasise strong and informative visual material with succinct analytical text and project synopsis. A major publication based on selected conference submissions together with articles from keynote speakers will be launched in time for the conference.

We hope you will join us in London on 15-16 April 2011.

Bob Sheil & Ruairi Glynn
Co-Chairs of FABRICATE 2011

Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction Conference

TEI invite submissions of prototypes and daring ideas, tools and technologies, methods and models, as well as interactive art, interaction design, and user experience that contribute new understandings to the broad area of tangible computing, embodied interaction, interactive surfaces and embedded interactive systems. The 5th edition of the highly successful Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) Conference series will be held between 23rd and 26th January 2011 in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Papers will be published in the ACM digital library.

In recent years, computing has progressively moved beyond the desktop into new physical and social contexts. As physical artifacts gain new computational behaviors, they become reprogrammable, customizable, repurposable, and interoperable in rich ecologies and diverse contexts. They also become more complex, and require intense design effort in order to be functional, usable, and enjoyable. Designing such systems demands interdisciplinary thinking. Their creation must encompass software, electronics, and mechanics, but also the system’s physical form and behavior, its social and physical milieu, and beyond.

Research on tangible and embedded interaction has gained substantial visibility and activity over the past decade and it has worn many names, including tangible interfaces, graspable interfaces, physical computing, tangible interaction, IT product design, appliance design, interactive spaces. It has also been associated with larger research areas, including mixed, virtual, and augmented reality and ubiquitous and pervasive computing. TEI brings together this emerging field, providing a meeting ground for the diverse communities of research and practice – from computing, hardware, and sensor technology, to HCI, interaction design, and CSCW, to product and industrial design and interactive arts. We invite submissions from all these perspectives, be they theoretical, conceptual, technical, applied, or artistic. The conference is designed to provide appropriate presentation forms for different types of contributions including talks, interactive exhibits, demos or performances, and posters. Accepted submissions of all types will be included in the Proceedings as papers and will be integrated within the single-track conference. Interdisciplinary submissions are particularly welcome.

More info here

Call for papers deadline: 1rst of August

Counter Point: Playing Devil’s Advocate With Sustainable Design

Counter Point: Playing Devil's Advocate with Sustainable Design

The WHY: Counter Point: Playing Devil’s Advocate With Sustainable Design... 

The WHAT: A Camberwell, Chelsea, Wimbledon (CCW) AGENDAS Event 

The WHEN: Friday 16th July 2010, 2 – 4pm 

The WHERE: Lecture Theatre, Chelsea College of Art and Design, Atterbury Street, Millbank, London SW1P 4JU (http://www.chelsea.arts.ac.uk/location.htm)

Four speakers will take up a position pro the motion and anti the motion for 5 minutes respectively, to make their case...

1. Clare Brass

2. Dr. Otto von Busch

3. Kieren Jones

4. Sandy MacLennan

Image: www.selfpassage.org von Busch (2008)

If you would like to join in the debate, please turn up on the day. This event is free, and you do not need to RSVP or reserve a space. See you there!

Visit the TED blog for more info or follow TED_Chelsea tweets direct from the event

Digital Relations in Architecture

A PhD Symposium organized by CITA to investigate the impacts & challenges of digital technologies on the way we build and understand space.

I have been part of the organization and I can't wait to present my work in such a context where 17 PhD from three research centres concerned with IT & Architecture: SIAL (Australia), Bartlett (Uk) and CITA (Dk) will be gathered in dialogue with key researchers in the field including, among others, Mark & Jane Burry, Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen or Sean Hanna.

New Technologies in Digital Architecture

A bit far away to join but this sounds like a very interesting event for anybody concerns with the impacts of digital technologies on the way we build. Of particular interes is the speech by Ayelet Karmon as it involves textiles !

Call for embroiders

We're just embarking on an exciting project and are in search of keenembroiderers. Amit Rastogi of RCKC (the sari firm which is now a partner in the British Sari Story and Stitch) is planning a unique catwalk collection by one of his designers. It will be a collection with a difference - designed in India and embroidered in the UK i.e. completely the reverse of the usual run of things.

This is a first step in our plans to try and regenerate an embroidery industry in this country to supply samples for designers - giving (hopefully!) some of the people who have contributed or taken part in Stitch and the British Sari Story the chance to develop and use their skills. So I am spreading the word to anyone who might be interested: please email me. If you like to embroider and think you could contribute, please do think about coming on board. Geographical location doesn't matter too much -we can sort out logistics.

Initially it will be a question of getting a sample of your work to Amit, so he can start to put together a team. Look forward to hearing from you

Susan

Susan Roberts
www.bridging-arts.com
tel. + 44 (0)20 8746 2120
mob. + 44 (0)794 12 52 444