Foundation Fellow Virginia Melnyk Exhbition

This week, an exhibition presenting the research undertaken during Virginia Melnyk’s term as a Foundations Fellow at Virginia Tech was displayed in the Cowgill Lobby. The showcased work highlights her research into textiles and deployable structures and where they converge to redefine the possibilities of architectural form and function. Through development in parallel with the courses she has been teaching at Virginia Tech, this body of work illuminates the relationships between foundational practices and structural research, pushing the boundaries of both disciplines.

The exhibition consists of several deployable scissor structures, which were constructed during Virginia’s time here. The work was supported by the facilities at Virginia Tech. Each of the designs embodies the principles of flexibility, sustainability, and aesthetic design fundamentals. These creations are not intended to be static but are forms that breathe, expand, and contract. Rigorous research and experimentation, featuring membranes knitted from elastic and acrylic yarns. The textiles are developed specifically to adapt to the forms, offering a glimpse into a future where architecture and textiles coalesce to create living, responsive environments.

The exhibition is divided into several themed research projects, each dedicated to a different facet of the research:

Origami Wall, Scissor Shapes, Scissor Layers, and the Hyperboloid Towers.