MIT's living knitwork pavilion changes color and patterns as burning man attendees dance

The Living Knitwork Pavilion for the 2023 Burning Man Festival

The Living Knitwork pavilion is an interactive installation created by a collaborative team from MIT for the 2023 Burning Man Festival. The structure takes the shape of a dodecagonal pyramid, measuring 18 feet (around 5,5m) in height and 26 feet (around 7,9m) in width while consisting of 12 petal fabrics, each designed with 90 textile reliefs. These reliefs draw inspiration from ancient temple carvings and are distributed across a knitted-mesh surface, depicting 12 stories about the future world, exploring the relationships between humans and nature, evolving built environments, and the interaction between organic and synthetic beings.

The project aims to blend traditional textile artistry with modern materials, sensing technologies, and digital fabrication techniques to create an interactive pavilion. It seeks to bridge the gap between art, research, and immersive experiences, offering festival-goers an opportunity to engage with the stories it conveys. ‘We set to weave contemporary and traditional patterns and motifs in a Knitwork petal narrative ranging from bio-machine symbiosis, solarpunk cities, to deep ocean and space exploration,’ shares the team.

all images by Irmandy Wicaksono/MIT Media Lab

A Pavilion Alive with Color and Light

Inside the pavilion, 3D-knitted optically and electrically-active yarns are used to bring the 12-petal fabrics to life. The yarns are equipped with sensors that respond to physical interactions by changing color and providing illumination throughout the day and night. On sunny days, hidden patterns emerge through photochromic effects, while at night, the pavilion transforms into a radiant lantern, creating a communal gathering space influenced by the movements and presence of festival attendees.

‘Our presence, movements, and environmental changes constantly contribute toward the entire glow, visual effects, and ambiance of the space, as they are reprojected onto the pavilion as living memories, fostering and amplifying moments of discovery, reflection, and connectedness,’ shares the team at MIT Lab.

the structure consists of 12 petal fabrics, each designed with 90 textile reliefs

The central structure of the pavilion is built with an asymptotic gridshell, a lattice network of timber elements that combines structural integrity with material efficiency. This design seamlessly integrates with the knitwork, creating a harmonious overall structure. The antennas integrated into the knitworks receive signals from a central transmitter pole, enabling real-time control of the lighting network.

‘Our ultimate goal is to create a dynamic, responsive, and immersive space that will take the audience into a storytelling journey by seamlessly integrating sensing, computation, and interactivity into the knitwork. The pavilion showcases a creative interplay between art, architecture, and technology, evoking our relationship with nature and the built environments through augmented textiles as media for artistic expression, mediation, and protection.’

during the 2023 Burning Man festival

the pavilion’s main framework is constructed using a special gridshell design

under the sun’s rays, concealed patterns come to life through photochromic effects

Living Knitwork petals and detailed patterns, photo courtesy of Irmandy Wicaksono

construction on-site

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Living Knitwork petals and detailed patterns, photo courtesy of Irmandy Wicaksono

the pavilion transforms into a radiant lantern during the night

Living Knitwork Pavilion installation at the MIT Saxon Lawn, photo courtesy of Jimmy Day

rendering of the Living Knitwork Pavilion

asymptotic gridshell lattice structure inside the Living Knitwork Pavilion

project info:

name: Living Knitwork Pavilion

designers: MIT Media Lab | @mitmedialab

design team: Irmandy Wicaksono, Sam Chin (Responsive Environments), Alfonso Parra Rubio, Nicole Bakker, Erik Strand (Center for Bits and Atoms), Gabriela Advincula (City Science), Manaswi Mishra (Opera of the Future), Age van der Mei (MIT CSAIL), Judy Chichoka, and Angelica Zhang (MIT Architecture)

exhibited at: Burning Man Festival 2023 | @burningman