Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Adaptive Reuse
Department
Interior Architecture
First Advisor
Can Altay
Second Advisor
Francesca Liuni
Third Advisor
Jeffrey Katz
Abstract
Silk is delicate yet strong, responsive to light and air, dependent on living processes and careful labor. These qualities position silk not only as a material object, but as an instrument capable of organizing space. Rather than functioning solely as a surface or decorative textile, silk can operate as a spatial generator, shaping enclosure, movement, and environmental conditions.
For centuries, domestic courtyard houses in the Jiangnan region, located south of the Yangtze River, evolved alongside sericulture, forming spaces that were attuned to the environmental and material requirements of silk. Architectural elements such as courtyards, screened openings, flexible interiors, and canal-directed orientations were shaped by the environmental and spatial needs of silk production. These houses demonstrate how architecture was not separate from silk, but physically and spatially structured around its cultivation, processing, and handling. Within stable timber frames, soft, permeable environments emerged to accommodate the sensitivity of silk and the domestic labor associated with it, much of which was carried out by women.
This thesis proposes a contemporary silk showroom as a testing ground to reinterpret this historical relationship between silk and architecture. The showroom is not conceived as a neutral container for display, but as a series of spatial interventions generated through the behavior of silk itself. The existing architecture establishes a clear structural framework, while silk operates as a spatial medium that shapes enclosure, circulation, light, and thresholds through its capacity to drape, suspend, permeate, and gather. Spatial gestures derived from silk making processes, such as stretching, hanging, folding, and layering, are translated into architectural operations.
By recovering the historical relationship between silk production and Jiangnan architecture, the project argues that softness can reorganize structure, that material behavior can inform spatial organization and design, and that historical relationships between craft and architecture can be mobilized as contemporary design strategies.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Emily, "SOFT BODIES, HARD FRAMES" (2026). Masters Theses. 1577.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1577
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