Top Architects Focus on Wool
 

Brussels, 25.03.2010

IWTO has initiated a new education project for wool in the interior textiles sector. The project will be executed in New Zealand, hosting a five-day seminar with eleven of the world’s top architects in Christchurch in early April this year. The architects will talk about using wool and getting a hands-on feel for wool from inside the farm gate through to the finished product. This event is aimed at renewing interest and understanding by architects in using wool in both domestic and commercial buildings and will cover carpets, bedding and other interior textile uses. The benefits of using wool rather than synthetic fibres, especially for its luxury, health and safety attributes as well as fire resistance will be major themes of the seminar. The focus this seminar can bring to the wool industry will have long term benefits that should increase the demand of wool in the Interior Textiles Sector.

These architects are amongst the most influential in the world and changing the way they specify the finishes, particularly in large buildings such as hotels and office blocks is important to encourage a wider use of wool.

Participants are coming from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Spain, The Netherlands and USA. Among the architects and interior designers participating in the project are partners from the following architecture offices as:

•  Henning Larsen Architects A/S, Copenhagen

• bost berlin Interieur Design.Architecture, Berlin

• Auer und Weber Assoziierte, Stuttgart

• O-D-I sprl international, Brüssel

• Schmidt Hammer Lassen, Aahus

• Graft Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, Berlin

• HEY-SIGN e.K., Meerbusch

• Kleihues + Kleihues, Berlin

• Tezuka Architects, Tokyo

• bailo+rull ADD + ARQUITECTURA, Barcelona

• de Architecten Cie, Amsterdam

• GIORGIO BORRUSO DESIGN, Marina Del Rey, California

The rest of the architectural profession takes note of what these people do and the follow-on effect to other architects is expected to be both real and significant.

International cooperation partner from the architecture and interior design side for the project is ‘AIT – Architecture – Interior – Technical Solutions’, the leading European magazine for architecture and interior design.

The project is executed jointly by IWTO, AIT and the New Zealand Wool Industry

This new initiative is financed jointly by the New Zealand Wool Industry and other IWTO members.

For further info, please contact the IWTO head office under info@iwto.org