08. Jun 2020

Ceiling design: Metal fabric as textile eyecatcher

The School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University in Melbourne is a world leader in fashion and textile training. Its graduates work for premium producers such as Dior, Alexander McQueen, or Louis Vuitton. For the design of the institute's new interior, Spowers architects chose Largo metal fabric from GKD – GEBR. KUFFERATH AG. Fabric panels suspended from the ceiling in wide curves provide a spectacular backdrop to the students' creations.

Building 8, built by Edmond & Corrigan Pty. Ltd. in 1993, houses the University library, an extended student union, the Faculty of the Constructed Environment and the Departments of Fashion and Mathematics. The architects’ goal was to create a new, contemporary design studio feel for the School of Fashion and Textiles in the penthouse of Building 8 on the City Campus. The institute was to receive an inspirational home while constructing an ultra-modern fashion center. Created as a collage of design ideas, the building is an unmistakable part of Melbourne’s image. A striking style element in the penthouse are the fabric panels suspended in curves from the center of the ceiling, which are reminiscent of gently falling waves of fabric. 24 elements – each 1.20 to 1.80 meters high and 2.90 to seven meters long – draw the gaze of visitors in combination with an orange backdrop. The textile structure of the metal fabric underlines the principle of uniting opposites which is reflected throughout the building – design and production or form and function. With this in mind, the shimmering stainless steel mesh from GKD helps to bring the exacting standards of the training course closer to the general public as well as the fashion and textile industry.