Body, form, material and surface-making of Ruga Interior Skin

Abstract

In design history, the concept of “skin” has been used to refer to the outermost tissue that encloses a physical body. So, if the concept of “skin” can be understood as a generator of ideas for interiors that lie in between the flexible spaces around the body and the rigid spaces within the building, what new form and context can an interior skin take in adding to the contemporary interiority? Borrowing from the metaphor of “skin” in fashion, interior design, and architecture, Ruga Interior Skin (RIS) explores the ambiguous and conceptual realm connecting the act of wearing, inhabiting, and its relationship between body, form, material, and surface-making of a novel interior semi-structural wall and partition. “Ruga” is the Latin word for making wrinkles, creases, pleats, and folds. RIS is inspired by the use of wrinkling and folding to create flexible frameless topological forms that can be suspended in a way that is similar to a piece of cloth or textile. Both flexible and rigid, RIS draws the connection between the body and the interior surface, placing the dichotomy of permanent versus ephemeral, solid versus light, and material versus digital at the center of the concept.