Crystallized seeks to apply the structural forms and relationships found in viruses to the design of wearable objects. The project aims to abstract and reinterpret the elegant shapes and architectures of viruses to create novel wearable designs and explore new applications. Key aspects of the project include laser-cutting textiles based on molecular representations of viral structures and creating helical accessory prototypes that apply virus-like forms to wearables while exploring new functional architectures.

1. CrystallizedHybrid Worlds: Nano+Bio+ArtVictoria Vesna | SiddarthRamakrishnanKatherine LeeMFADT candidate 2010

2. abstract Crystallized seeks to apply the logic and elegance of natural systems to wearables, exploring the structural relationships that emerge through relating viral forms to wearable objects. Using structures inspired by viruses, Crystallized aims to reinterpret the beauty and evolutionary robustness of the virus world within the constraints of wearable media.

3. conceptVirology is a source of well-validated structures & shapes.These architectural forms can be deconstructed or abstracted to create novel wearables and explore unprecedented applications.

4. social contextvirology Postmodern fashionthis projectSocial context around vaccines

5. precedents

6. The MMR vaccine and autism

7. proposalI propose a series of wearable representations of viral structures investigating novel architectures within the constraints of wearable media and human scale2. Structural representations of molecular forms1. Laser-cut textiles of molecular representations

8. design questionsHow can virus-like structures and forms be meaningfully deconstructed and applied to wearables?What novel and functional architectures can be created?

9. scheduleWeek of…April 25: prototypes – laser-cut viral proteinsMay 2: prototypes – helical accessoriesMay 7: concept PDF with final layoutMay 14: show

10. referencesN-e-r-v-o-u-s system custom dendrite program. Image: screen shot via http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/dendrite/. 2009.Mashallah Designs, T-shirt Issue. Image: Marco Marcus. 2008.Dimmock, N. J., Andrew Easton, and Keith Leppard. 2001. Introduction to modern virology. 5th ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Science. English, Bonnie. 2007. A cultural history of fashion in the twentieth century: From the catwalk to the sidewalk. English ed. Oxford; New York: Berg.Loschek, Ingrid. 2009. When clothes become fashion : Design and innovation systems [Wann is Mode?]. English ed. Oxford ; New York: Berg.Noad, R. Roy, P. Virus-Like Particles as Immunogens. 2003. Trends Microbio. Sep;11(9):438-44.