"Clouds" Revolutionizes Textile in Design

In 2006, Kvadrat, a Danish textile manufacturer, commissioned Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec to design their Stockholm showroom. The goal is to exhibit Kvadrat's textiles in a way that the textiles were part of the room. The Bouroullec brothers came up with "North Tiles", a modular room-dividing system consisting of textile pieces held together with elastic bands to make free-standing or hanging structures. "Clouds" is a continuation of "North Tiles".

Anders Byriel, CEO of Kvadrat, observed that less and less textiles were being used in interior design. Instead the focus had been on glass, concrete, stone, and wood -- attractive, yet hard materials. However, people started to realize that soft materials (like textiles) are not only soft to touch, but also provide better acoustics. This is because soft materials absorb sound, while hard materials reverb it instead which could be undesirable.

The Clouds system is available in 2 fabrics and 11 color combinations. It is very easy to assemble, thanks to an ingenious click system that connects the pieces together. This ease of use provides an opportunity for personalized design, a decorative element that could easily change the appearance of a wall, a ceiling, floor, or stairs. Byriel thus proclaimed that Clouds is "a new typology, a new interpretation of the use of textiles".

Photos from Paul Tahon and Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, as used in www.dezeen.com.