Cornell University has put up a shimmering, seven-foot-high knitted textile pavilion made on a Shima Seiki computerized fat knitting machine at a new exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. The multi-coloured structure was designed by Jenny E Sabin, Cornell University’s Arthur L and Isabel B. Wiesenberger, Assistant Professor of Architecture. It was made from photo-luminescent and solar-active threads, is one of two works commissioned by the museum for Beauty – Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, which includes more than 250 projects by 63 designers and teams from around the globe.

According to Lipps, the museum decided to commission a textile pavilion by Sabin because of her pioneering work using emerging technologies in architecture. In addition to her PolyThread pavilion, the exhibition includes a glass display case with several 3D-printed ceramic PolyBricks and other objects designed by Sabin.

Sabin’s 400-sq. ft. PolyThread pavilion is the largest work in the exhibition, taking up half of a third-floor gallery. Covered with a maze of variegated cellular shapes, the pavilion’s 15-minute illumination sequence mimics the transition from day to night, changing from pale blue to white. The structure is Sabin’s second textile pavilion commissioned for installation in New York City. The first was designed for the release of Nike’s Flyknit Collection in 2012.