gaoshuang Chen

Gaoshuang Chen (陈高爽) is an emerging textile designer, architectural textile material designer, fashion designer and 3D printing textile designer. He graduated from the University of Southampton and Dalian University of Technology in China as an undergraduate, and the Royal College of Art as a postgraduate.

His project focuses on the relationship between architectural spatial reality and human emotional stress. Drawing on research into emotional design and art therapy, he aims to make textiles that can be used to alleviate emotional and spatial stress for people facing anxiety in environmental spaces.

Simultaneously in his research, he is trying to break the boundary between traditional handicraft textiles and emerging 3D printing technology. Aiming to combine traditional textile materials and new 3D printing materials he is developing his own unique design language. In recent material developments he has explored full-colour 3D fabric printing technology, recognising it’s potential for architectural space. interior installations and fashion.

There is an old Chinese saying: "So embarrassed that you want to find a hole to burrow into". For me, this refers to a person's emotional instability being overwhelmed by external circumstances and wanting to escape, because in many cases, I am such a person, and in such situations, I would love to find a space where no one is around to hide and stabilize myself. But often I can't find such a space. This situation makes me think of hermit crabs. I took inspiration from the habits of hermit crabs and combined it with an organic style. I named the project Comfort Shells to provide individuals with a sense of security from sight, hearing and touch and to relieve them of their emotional burdens. Rooted in the symbolism of the hermit crab, the concept of Comfort Shells aims to mimic this natural process by allowing individuals to wrap themselves in a personal cocoon, creating a calm, safe and rejuvenating atmosphere.

The genesis of my entire Comfort Shells project has been a constant battle with my emotions throughout my second year of MA. In the beginning, based on my OCD background, I relieved my stress and emotions by making fabric with messy threads. I continued to develop work this thread work with 3D printing combined with traditional textile techniques in an attempt to "soften" the discomfort I felt in the architectural spaces. The discomfort was audible, visual and tactile. Excited by the potential of 3D printing and traditional stitching I developed my original visual research of the hermit crab and her shell focusing on the organic form of the shell. Materially I built up this form to create a comfortable and relaxing "soft space".