FABRICATE
noun, to invent or concoct (something) typically with deceitful intent.
Construct or manufacture (something) especially an industrial product from prepared components.
Synonyms: dream up, formulate, contrive, construct, invent, assemble, conduct, compose, join, form, mix, devise, make, produce, brainstorm, erect, shape, fashion, build, frame, organize, create, structure, cook up, makeup, put together, piece together, prefab
The fabricated landscape is one that appears alien, a contradiction to its surroundings, yet somehow fits seamlessly in its environment. In this lab setting, we focus on the materiality of fabric as a tool to conceptualize landscapes, familiar and new, through a process of experimentation and play. Fabrics and textiles like felt, canvas, muslin, and tulle are characteristically unique, categorized by their construction, texture, color, and movement. How one chooses to manipulate each selected fabric results in an assortment of unique patterns, arrangements, and forms.
Those who work with fabrics, be it textile artists or designers, seamstresses, and tailors of prestigious fashion houses, create products that are not only functional but reflective of the time, occasion, culture, and place. No matter each individual’s preferred craft, most take direct inspiration from the land and its sceneries. They interpret and build narratives for each composition, assigning meaning to every pleat, fold, cut, and seam. As landscape designers, we translate these same acts of manipulation as processes such as soil deposition, geologic shifts, or hydrological flows. Together these interpretations and translations can be used as a pedagogical practice to visualize the interplay of contradictory elements, materials, and forms free from constraints of the existing world. In this practice, we work as imaginaries of landscapes yet to be realized.
