Metropolis Digital Optimism Talks logo

Join us every second Tuesday of the month for a dose of optimism with thought-provoking guests who are revolutionizing their fields. Innovators will lead virtual workshops for an hour of discovery, inspiration, and community. Led by editor in chief, Avinash Rajagopal, these workshops will be guided by our audience, where questions are not only welcome but encouraged.

Register Now
natural habitat cold spring home exterior

Metropolis Editors, Natural Habitat, sustainability, sustainable architecture

METROPOLIS Introduces Natural Habitat, a Sustainable Homes Video Series

The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles.

Read more
robotic needle felting
Courtesy Ng

September 6, 2023

Tsz Yan Ng is Pushing the Boundaries of Material Innovation

Developed with support from the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Robotic Needle Felting is a novel additive manufacturing technique for nonwoven textiles.

By: Matthew Marani

The University of Michigan’s Taubman College has long served as a laboratory for experimentation in material technology, engineering, and design. (Eliel Saarinen, Gunnar Birkerts, and, in more recent times, T+E+A+M are among the architects who have called the university home.) So it should come as no surprise that Tsz Yan Ng, founder of her eponymous firm and associate professor of architecture at Taubman College, is pushing the boundaries of material innovation from Chicago to Guangdong. 

Ng’s firm, founded nearly two decades ago, has consistently sought to reexamine time- and labor-intensive fabrication and construction techniques, and through that approach it aims to establish new modes of design and material assemblies. That approach was partially informed by Ng’s upbringing: Her parents were involved in the garment business and, as a result, were both familiar with large-scale manufacturing processes, as well as their shortcomings in both efficiency and flexibility of form. 

robotic needle felted object
Courtesy Ng

Funded with support from Taubman College and the University of Michigan Office of Research, Ng’s Robotic Needle Felting project is a logical culmination of her upbringing and explores a novel manufacturing technique to fabricate nonwoven textiles. “The Robotic Needle Felting project is about changing our relationship to the material, in this case textiles,” says Ng. “Through the additive manufacturing process, the nonwoven textiles are layered, enabling complex geometries and coverage without loose excess material.” The absence of glue or threads allows for the components to be fabricated, and assembled, as homogeneous wholes of exceptional depth. The textiles may be used for a range of purposes, from thermal insulation to acoustic panels. 

Ng’s firm was recognized as a 2022 Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York. She says, “My interest in rethinking construction is how different fabrication technologies, of specific techniques paired with material performance, can present new design opportunities, new assemblies, and ultimately new ways to interact with our built world.” 

Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]

Latest