Fabrications
On threads, space, and representation in Francesca Torzo’s Loom Model
Abstract
Architectural models serve as tools in architectural design. They also serve as a means of communication through the representation of built space. They contribute to the interplay between conceptual articulation and material presence. The point of departure of this paper is the architect Francesca Torzo’s Loom Model (2018), an architectural model representing her extension of the Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture (2011-2019) in Hasselt.The paper discusses the meaning and agency of yarn as a textile material in the model’s representation of space. It is proposed that in both its fabrication and function,this material expands our notion of representation in terms of agency, worldmaking, and as a matter of praxis. Architectural models, then, are more than a mere copy.
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