Elaine Yan Ling Ng's Fabrick Lab redefines textile as structural material
In Kwai Hing, Hong Kong, Elaine Yan Ling Ng operates The Fabrick Lab, which features both a jacquard loom and a 3D printer. This studio focuses on creating sculptures driven by data, light installations, and thermochromic carpets, considering textiles as essential structural elements. They designed 'Phantasmagoria' for The Macallan House, an interactive piece comprising 3,000 handcrafted textile petals with tailored LED programming. Ng believes that technology and craftsmanship enhance each other. Their inaugural significant project, 'SUNDEW' for Swarovski, incorporated bio-mimicry and shape-memory polymers. While she finds AI beneficial for data validation, she prefers human intuition for creation. Ng anticipates a revival of 'technical craft' across engineering disciplines and plans to document their processes in a book.
Key facts
- Elaine Yan Ling Ng runs The Fabrick Lab from a factory unit in Kwai Hing, Hong Kong.
- The studio treats textiles as structural and narrative materials, not decorative surfaces.
- Projects include data-driven sculptures, permanent light installations, and thermochromic carpets.
- For The Macallan House in Hong Kong, they created 'Phantasmagoria' with 3,000 handmade textile petals and responsive technology.
- The first major commission was 'SUNDEW' for Swarovski, using bio-mimicry, crystal, and shape-memory polymers.
- Ng views AI as useful for comparative studies but not for physical making.
- She predicts textiles will become primary structural components in automotive, aerospace, and medical engineering.
- Ng aims to scale hybrid digital-making methods into architectural dimensions and document the methodology in a book.
Entities
Artists
- Elaine Yan Ling Ng
- Anna Lazzaron
Institutions
- The Fabrick Lab
- The Macallan House
- Swarovski
- DesignWanted
Locations
- Kwai Hing
- Hong Kong
- Milan
- Barcelona