MINTA, a structure system based on the art of weaving, translating the logic of the handicraft into modular multi-layered surfaces that create a unique aesthetic and customizable design using 3D modelling software and laser cutting. The digitally designed and made modular components are assembled by hand, integrating the traditional crafts with digital technologies.
Rediscovering a new meaning of weaving, MINTA explores both the weaving technique and also the geometric repetitive patterns that are typical of the Mediterranean and Islamic traditional patterns. The intricate geometric patterns of the Mediterranean are being loosened up to create new patterns and structures through the amalgamation of the traditional with the digital forming a new aesthetic of contemporary tessellation.
The Design
The rules of the weaving craft are translated parametrically to give the designer full control to modify, adjust and tweak the desired patterns in a modular system. Each piece is designed with individual slits creating an overall interlocking system that facilitates the attachment of all modules to create connected tessellated structures. The manual assembly process was facilitated by these distinct modules that were numbered to ensure a seamless workflow was achieved. The design process was a journey of various iterations and applications, exploring the endless possibilities of parametric patterns and a myriad of new perspectives.
The control over the tessellations through parameters allows the designer to channel geometric pattern systems inspired by the Mediterranean and Islamic cultures in combination with organic forms. The morphing of rigid grids into organic, softer schemes represents the combination of the traditional and the innovative, the analogue and the digital. Digital 3D modelling and parametric tools facilitated a more detailed and diverse pattern system that generates a practically infinite number of iterations. For the final tessellated structure, the designer parametrically modified the basic line and pattern drawing before sending them to the laser-cutter and eventually hand assembly.
The Making
The making of MINTA comes in three phases: the preparation of the material used, the digital manufacturing of the individual modules and the assembly. The way the modules are attached to one another dictates that the material used must have a certain level of flexibility and tensile strength. The compatibility of the materials used for laser-cutting is critical, making the selection of the right material was a challenge in itself. Identifying the one material that satisfies all required characteristics pushed the designer to experiment with various improvised composite materials.
Ultimately the design team concluded that the combination of transparent foils with Nylons textiles and thin sheets of wood called ‘Microwood’, gave the desired end result. Lasercutting was in turn a very efficient method of making in terms of time, material, and energy; using digital tools, the modules are designed in 3D, exported and appropriately nested onto the desired sheet of cutting material to minimize as much as possible material wastage.
The Studio
Orsi Orbani is a multidisciplinary designer based in Germany with a background in textile design, product design, jewellery design, 3D modelling, and laser cutting. She is passionate about new, innovative technologies, materials and cross-disciplinary collaborations, characteristics that transpire in all of her work.
