Nagasaka’s “Boingboing” installation consists of free-standing structures crafted from optical fiber and Kinnasand’s white WAVER textile. Photos: © Nacása & Partners

Ask an architect whose natural medium is hard materials to create a design using soft fabrics and the result is going to be interesting. That was the case when Tokyo-based Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architects was asked to design an installation to celebrate the launch of the new ZOOM collection from Kinnasand, a Swedish design firm specializing in unique, modern textiles and carpets.

Since the job of an architect is to make something “stand,” Nagasaka chose to make the fabric stand as a three-dimensional object. To achieve this, he wove strands of optical fiber into the fabric to serve as a supporting structure.

Nagasaka then made three free-standing loops with the fabric. Each tube-like form is delicate-looking but sturdy and illuminates the translucency of the fabric by creating multiple visual layers that respond to external forces with a gentle “boing boing” motion.