Karolina Borucka

designer&researcher

A layer in between - Woollen Interventions for a Warmer Home
2024

Wool used to be one of the most important commodities that redefined and helped develop many industries across the globe. It warmed individuals, invited comfort to interiors as well as financed expeditions to foreign lands, fuelled political powers and was a symbol of dominance and wealth. Special breeds of sheep were kept from opponents and gifted to allies, ransoms were paid in bags of wool and new infrastructure was built to accommodate the trade.

“A layer in between” is a modular textile system that bridges the gap between insulating the home and warming the human body. Borrowing from the tradition of adapting interiors of a home for different seasons and triggered by the ability of wool to regulate climatic conditions, the knitted structures clothe the home and the bodies within, for the uncertain futures and harsh consequences of climate and energy crisis. It visualises the invisible grids and structures that the modern heating systems rely on.

The objects can be used in the home for the duration of the season or temporarily, as well as help adapt buildings that have not been initially intended for housing. They offer a softer, smaller scale addition to fill in the cracks of the complex systems that can be felt more by some socio-economic groups.

textile, system, interior