Contemporary Material and Technological Culture
Cloudland Pavilion for Triennale di Milano
This interactive installation combined digital knitting, recycled materials, and lightweight design to create a visually evocative and environmentally responsive shading structure in the gardens of Triennale di Milano.
Summary
During Architecture Week 2019 (May 21–26), students from Politecnico di Milano collaborated with architects and fashion designers to create an interactive shading installation for the gardens of Triennale di Milano. Inspired by the ephemeral nature of clouds, the installation featured air-filled balloons suspended on a handmade textile net fixed between trees. The balloons were clad in digitally knitted textile covers, made from recycled low-melt yarns by Italian companies Kn-Hit and Sinterama. These seamless, shrinkable fabrics enabled fast, waste-minimised assembly and produced unique patterns in situ. The use of vivid green hues linked the installation to its natural surroundings while reinforcing its sustainable message
As part of Architecture Week 2019 in Milan, a multidisciplinary collaboration between Politecnico di Milano students, architects, and fashion designers led to the creation of an interactive shading installation in the gardens of the Triennale di Milano.
Designed to serve both a functional and symbolic role, the installation provided shade for visitors while evoking the lightness and impermanence of clouds. The structure was composed of air-filled balloons resting on a handcrafted net, suspended between surrounding trees, gently floating and interacting with their environment.
Each balloon—the central element of the installation—was covered in a digitally knitted textile shell, produced using advanced digital knitting technology by the Italian company Kn-Hit. The fabrics, made in the form of seamless, rounded bags, were crafted from low-melt yarn supplied by Sinterama, composed of recycled plastic bottles. This material has the unique property of shrinking when exposed to heat, allowing the fabric to form tightly around the balloons and create sculptural surfaces and site-specific textures without the need for cutting or sewing.
The use of digital fabrication minimised material waste and assembly time. At the same time, the bold green tones of the textiles were carefully chosen to engage with the garden’s natural palette and to stand out as a statement of environmental awareness.
The installation served not only as a functional shading system but also as a sensory and visual experience—a contemporary architectural gesture that merged craft, technology, and sustainability.
VIDEO by Sebastian Guzman
VIDEO by Sebastian Guzman
Tutors:
Prof. Ingrid Paoletti, Maria Anishchenko, Mohamed Abdelkarim, Ofir Albag, Samir Al-Azri, Kasra Behforous, Rodrigo Scheeren
Prof. Ingrid Paoletti, Maria Anishchenko, Mohamed Abdelkarim, Ofir Albag, Samir Al-Azri, Kasra Behforous, Rodrigo Scheeren
Participants:
Şeyma Adalı,, Mohammad Ahsani, Kasandra Bolivar, Gizem Begüm Boylu, Deniz Bucan, Jian Du, Alessia Galdi, Franco Garrido Huguet Selena Isildar, Aasish Janardhana, Chang Liu, Renato Magni, Mariela Saavedra Menacho, Martina Piccolo, Stefano Sciamarrelli, Dmitrii Shcherbakov, Maha Sobhy, Hanqiu Sun, Mengwei Wang, Alek Yordanov, Larashintya Galia Zhara.
Şeyma Adalı,, Mohammad Ahsani, Kasandra Bolivar, Gizem Begüm Boylu, Deniz Bucan, Jian Du, Alessia Galdi, Franco Garrido Huguet Selena Isildar, Aasish Janardhana, Chang Liu, Renato Magni, Mariela Saavedra Menacho, Martina Piccolo, Stefano Sciamarrelli, Dmitrii Shcherbakov, Maha Sobhy, Hanqiu Sun, Mengwei Wang, Alek Yordanov, Larashintya Galia Zhara.
