Rewoven histories: exploring textiles as material and memory in architecture

Abstract

Textiles are often overlooked within architecture, commonly reduced to ornamentation and finishes despite their ability to shape atmosphere, experience, and memory within a space. This thesis explores textiles as both material and memory through research into the textile industry in Canada and adaptive preservation. Central to this investigation is the question: How can the adaptive preservation of a historic textile mill become a communal hub used to highlight textiles as a material? Through an iterative process of research, physical modeling, and design, the abandoned German Wollen Mill in Glen Morris, Ontario, is selected as the site for an adaptive preservation project. The final design proposal transforms the ruins into a community makerspace, exhibition gallery, and artists’ residence focused on textile learning, making, and appreciation. Inspired by the logic of quilting, the project explores how textiles can inform architectural preservation, spatial organization, and collective memory.