DRAPERS' STUDIO

by Jan Macbean

Richard Sennett wrote that the history of the workshop shows … a recipe for binding people tightly together. My response, Drapers’ Studio, is a three storey workshop enclosed in adaptive hessian screens. The three levels are distinguished by discipline and organised in sequence: processing, spinning, and dyeing yarn for use in the looms at ground level. I believe a space for learning should be defined by honesty of material and clarity of structure. Treatment of a facade with sliding translucent hessian screens not only allows for control over the interior environment - physically and emotionally - but it outwardly expresses activity. This metamorphosis can evoke intrigue as it reveals itself to its surroundings, transfiguring with changes in light.