As part of the Milan–Melbourne Exchange Program, supported by the Annemarie and Arturo Gandioli-Fumagalli Foundation, the TextilesHUB, coordinated by Prof. Alessandra Zanelli at the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (DABC), Politecnico di Milano, collaborated with Dr Leanne Zilka and the Floppy Lab at RMIT University (Melbourne) on an international intensive design studio exploring textile architecture as a lightweight, flexible, and adaptable approach to sustainable building retrofitting.
Held in January 2026, the intensive was co-taught in Melbourne by DABC PhD candidate Ilaria Pugliese and Dr Leanne Zilka, bringing together research and education to investigate fabric-based design strategies for reducing the environmental impact of the existing built environment, while further strengthening the collaboration between the two institutions on innovative textile architecture research, including CNC knitting fabrication.
Image credit: Lindy Ralph