Recent technological advancements have expanded the capabilities and our understanding of textiles, transforming them from passive materials into interactive and responsive substrates. By intrinsically embedding sensors within textile structures and integrating computational elements, these smart fabrics can now sense and respond to environmental stimuli and human presence, facilitating seamless integration of imperceptible technologies for physical-digital experiences.

KnitworkVR is an extended digital twin version of the Living Knitwork Pavilion, an architectural interactive textile structure installed in the desert environment of Black Rock City, Nevada. The Pavilion was built for Burning Man, a weeklong large-scale event focused on community, art, and expression. After its installation in Black Rock City, we installed it in a building lobby for a longer period of time. The installation offers audiences the opportunity to witness the intricacy of the textile as well as the immersive experience provided by the spatial audiovisual systems, while the virtual reality correspondence offers an immersion into the Living Knitwork Pavilion’s original state in the Black Rock Desert landscape.

We have also developed a dual reality pipeline and telepresence environment where the sensors, audio, and visual experience of the Living Knitwork Pavilion in the physical reality interacts in real-time with the position trackers of the user, as well as the audio and animation of the virtual representation of the Living Knitwork Pavilion in KnitworkVR. We aim to demonstrate how contemporary technologies and materials, inspired by cultural wisdom and heritage, can enhance our experiences, deepen our connections with one another, and enrich our immersion in built environments.