Techno Textiles

Science is shouting loud and clear: Textiles are the new black. They are in a unique position to advance space travel, building construction and interior design, and clothing. The Goldstein Museum's latest exhibit, "Techno Textiles," shows how innovative engineers are combining textiles and technology to change the way we live and the things we build. Sports clothing manufacturer Numetrex, for instance, creates cutting-edge workout shirts and bras that have a heart-rate monitor worked into the fabric that sends the information to a watch. Another growing textile field highlighted at the Goldstein is fabric architecture. It's in the news because the Beijing Olympic aquatic center, or Water Cube, is the world's first structure with an exterior made entirely out of textile membranes. Cloth architecture is also being implemented on smaller scale. Internal cloth walls can be self-lighted, and external textile structures are becoming more popular both for aesthetics and sustainability. With the certainty that textiles are finding wider use, "Techno Textiles" offers us the chance to glimpse the future.
May 27-July 27, 2008