Discovering Technology Treasures: Time Keeper of the “Fabric Garden” - Go Deeper

Fabric Garden’s green wall at Warehouse No.1, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

Following up the “Discovering Technology Treasures: Time Keeper of the ‘Fabric Garden’ - First Look”, after the trial planting and production of the robot’s face, at the end of February 2014, we started the exhibition of “Discovering Technology Treasures”. We had about two weeks to do the installation. The wooden structure of the green wall in the exhibition hall took about one week to produce, and “Fabric Garden”’s fabrics and vegetation came to the hall the second week. We also installed the automatic irrigation system and water-proofing mechanism.

Wrapping and seaming

Beginning to plant

Planting according to designed pattern

Divided planting

After about one week, we started to test the lighting and theatrical effects. Following is the actual situation after the installation:

Front of the Time Keeper

Front of the Time Keeper

Normally, the robot’s face is hidden in the wall and hard to detect. During the show, it can show facial expression and open its eyes and mouth to reveal the original set screens to create a performance full of lighting and sound effects.

Robot’s face appears on the wall

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Discovering Technology Treasures: Time Keeper of the “Fabric Garden” - First Look

“Discovering Technology Treasures” takes place in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, showing results of creativity in various fields. The project: Time Keeper uses two technologies: one is the directivity loudspeakers stimulating outdoor sound effects, and the other one is an indoor 6-meter-high green wall, a fabric garden with a robot’s face on it. Combining both technologies creates a lively indoor jungle an indoor magic playground with all kinds of advanced technology presenting a wonderful show with light and sound. The exhibition takes place from Feb. 22 to March 16, at Warehouse No.1 of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park ( Next to Songyan Eslite book store). The exhibition is free. 

We started from scratch. The process of creating the robot’s face with green plants was started last year. The steel structure allowed the installation of servo-motors which allowed for movable facial features and cheeks. 

Structure of disassembled robot’s face

The control equipment and system of the robot’s face was made by Luxury Logico and the plants are taken care of by the Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI). During the test phase, we also did the Fabric Garden wrapping and a trial planting.



As a smiling person’s face, full of vitality, is made of curved surfaces, we had to use soft material to do the wrapping. The vegetation fabric of the Fabric Garden is soft and can be used in different environmental conditions and made into various forms. These plants are of different sizes so that designers can cut out any particular plant right on the spot according to their ideas.

The picture of Fabric Garden wrapping the robot’s jaw and upper lip

This time, Fabric Garden produces according to specific standards and applies the Taiwan Textile Research Institute’s digital printing technology to print camouflage color patterns.

Fabric Garden’s trial planting situation

The TTRI works with Treegarden landscape designers to choose various kinds of plants and certain types of hanging plants to embellish the steel structure. As for eyebrow parts, we make some very prominent ones to show the robot’s momentum and facial features. The result is quite amazing and unexpectedly appealing.

Fabric Garden’s robot’s face trial planting acceptance

( To be continued ...)

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Chiayi Industry Innovation and Research Center’s green wall

Chiayi Industry Innovation and Research Center’s green wall

Chiayi Industry Innovation and Research Center front side green wall

The Chiayi Industry Innovation and Research Center, built by the Department of Industrial Technology (DOIT), Ministry of Economic Affairs with NT$790 million is the first building to obtain the green building diamond level certificate. This building is built on the concept of environmental protection, and is not only about people but also about the environment. The idea of construction is based on air flow to the water saving box and the architect uses garden fabric to build three green walls that ranges over 270 degrees of the building. These walls form a 6-storey keystone-shaped green wall which provides shade for the building during the summer, reduces the indoor temperature and purifies the air.

First phase green wall

First phase front wall has been growing for about a year with an automatic irrigation system and free planting style which allows the green wall to grow freely.

Chiayi Industry Innovation and Research Center’s green wall in its court

 top view of green wall

The just-planted green wall

This wall is built with bird's-nest fern which is naturally rough and doesn’t require much special environmental elements. Fabric Garden’s medium has great ventilation and excellent water retention. In summer, it grows fast and in winter, it grows slowly at a low temperature. The irrigation system is set for daily timed watering in order to maintain the moisture in the medium and allow plants to grow easily.

Fabric Garden’s artistic landscape—Gathering

Outside the Chiayi Industry Innovation and Research Center, there are two large Fabric Garden’s installations which show the extendability and elasticity of the fabric medium which can be made into various forms. One of the installations, “Gathering” , shows the spiral growing of plants and is full of tension.

Fabric Garden’s artistic landscape-Chiayi Music Festival

The Fabric Garden’s enormous music note is made for “Chiayi Music Festival”. Dense vegetation outlines the complex green treble clef.

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Fabric Garden - Beneficial Design ( Fu Jen Catholic University )

Fabric Garden - Beneficial Design ( Fu Jen Catholic University )

The inventor of Fabric Garden, Dr.Huang taught at Fu Jen Catholic University’s Beneficial Design Camp and lectured on the product’s value and the value of good will. He also brought desktop style’s “Fabric Garden” which are not sold on the market for students to choose from so they could experience the value of green products during the DIY process and create different values for the design. 

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2012 Taipei Garden Design in Motion－Talent show: Love Taipei﹒Fabric Garden (Documentary Film)

This film recorded the installation process of Fabric Garden during the 2012 Taipei Garden Design in Motion－Talent show.

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Selected by “Taipei Garden Design in Motion－Talent show”

Selected by “Taipei Garden Design in Motion－Talent show”

In the primaries, “Fabric Garden “ stood out among many professional studios and companies. Our team holds the concept of “challenging, innovating and promoting new materials” to bring a new and uniquely innovative mode to the Talent Show. The features of fabric guiding the flow of water, an easily-maintained irrigation system and new material all combine to create a new vegetation space. 



The easily twisted fabrics shows its free expressions in this heart installation. 

Installation process: wrapping 

Pry into the garden path

In the primaries, “Fabric Garden “ stood out among many professional studios and companies. Our team holds the concept of “challenging, innovating and promoting new materials” to bring a new and uniquely innovative mode to the Talent Show. The features of fabric guiding the flow of water, an easily-maintained irrigation system and new material all combine to create a new vegetation space.


The easily twisted fabrics shows its free expressions in this heart installation. 

Original design 

Original design 

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Trace

Fabric Garden’s Trace

In 2011, Fabric Garden participated in the iF product design awards and won the Golden Prize, the first time for the Taiwanese Research Institute in this competition.

2011, was a finalist in the 7^th Keep Walking Projects

2012, Selected by the Taipei Garden Design in Motion－Talent show

2012, Exhibited at Dechnology in Taiwan

2013, With the project “Incredible Fabric”, selected again by the Taipei Garden Design in Motion－Talent show

2015, Fabric Garden’s “soft shell” again won an award at iF product design awards

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