Common Thread

A wandering wave-like structure activates the historic space, connecting it with the streets of present-day Bruges and creating an urban conduit between districts. An unassuming entryway invites visitors to meander through playfully spiraling tunnels, ejecting them into the sunlit courtyard before guiding them to pivot and continue their journey. Once a hidden retreat, the monastery’s garden is transformed into a playground for serendipitous encounters and exploration.

Inspired by the city’s textile legacy, our installation pays homage to a centuries-old history of lace-making, and the embedded knowledge passed down by the women of Bruges through generations. The celebrated tradition of bobbin lace, still maintained in the city’s shops and ancient béguinage, inspired us to reimagine this intricate process on a different scale using modern technologies. We embarked upon an exploration of the geometric possibilities unleashed by innovative fabrication techniques. The resulting fabric is 3D knit into varying ratios, its individual threads combining and diverging into surprising, ever-changing patterns whose character is reminiscent of Hokusai’s “The Great Wave.”

Common Thread ties the traditions of the past to the possibilities of the future via the timeless beauty of pattern-making. By scaling up a common craft to create a singular piece of architecture, an intricate process becomes a spatial and explorable intersection between history, technology, and discovery.