This thesis project, titled “ifantra: an interactive installation of embodied spatial weaving”, was developed by Efi Lazakidou, under the supervision of Professor Evelin Gavrilou at the Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly.

In continuation of the research project: “un-weaving the roots: The practice of weaving as a mediator of architectural thinking and production”, this thesis focuses on the legacy of traditional techniques of weaving and natural dyeing, as well as on the spatial transformations generated through the gestures and presence of the craftswoman–weaver.

The project revolves around an open-air, polymorphic workspace, whose form emerges through the movements and practices of the weaver. As part of the thesis, the studio was designed and constructed at a 1:1 scale. It was later activated through a four-day workshop by architecture students, who took on the role of craftswomen–weavers. Through this embodied engagement, the spatial dimension of gesture was revealed, while the process itself became a tool for mapping bodily experience.

The installation is designed to operate across diverse contexts, as part of academic research and design education, as well as a participatory work that can be exhibited in public spaces or museum environments, activating new relationships between body, space, and audience each time.

In this way, “ifantra” proposes an alternative mode of spatial production, where the body does not adapt to space but instead it adapts the space itself, turning architecture into a living, embodied experience.