Rachel Amos Designs - Valkyries' Heirlooms | Swedish Rag Rug Weaving Studio

Valkyries' Heirlooms aims to house a studio, exhibition, retail, and learning space for a Swedish rag rug weaving guild in Knoxville, Tennessee that emulates the traditions, techniques, folklore, and sacred heirlooms that's been passed down from mother to daughter. The building's interior is inspired by a rag rug design combining shapes defined by a contrasting hierarchical system of color exposing a pattern reminiscent of a "family tree".

Swedish Rag Rug Design Analysis

A Swedish rag rug design was chosen to analyze the 2D and 3D components of its design as it related to research about the social and cultural significance of Swedish rag rug weaving. Here, the combination of the hierarchy of shape and line, a grid organization pattern, and the repetition of shapes are reminiscent of a family tree and how mothers passed down weaving skills and rag rug family heirlooms to their daughters for generations.

Original Swedish Rag Rug Design for Analysis

2D Analysis: Hierarchy of Shape and Line

2D Analysis: Grid Organization

2D Analysis: Repetition of Shapes

3D Form Analysis 1

3D Form Analysis 2

3D Form Analysis 3

New Swedish Rag Rug Design Inspired by Analysis

For multiple generations, rag rugs have been a vital part of Swedish culture. Weaving traditions, techniques, and heirlooms have been passed down through oral communication from mother to daughter. For centuries, Scandinavian women have sought after and protected these skills so much that superstitions surrounding weaving and Scandinavian culture not only because they're a necessity in the frigid climate, but also because it's a part of a family's heritage and sacred history.

Site Analysis

Valkyries' Heirlooms would be located in an existing building along North Central Street in North Knoxville and is about ten to fifteen minutes from the University of Tennessee campus and downtown Knoxville. The surrounding neighborhood this existing building is located in contains both residential and commercial areas. A coffee shop and a furniture store are housed currently in this existing building. The section of this building that's currently vacant is where Valkyries' Heirlooms would plant its roots.

Schematic Design

Below are several drawings including a floor plan, a reflected ceiling plan, and two section elevations of the Valkyries' Heirlooms facility. The programs this facility would hold include a visual merchandising and retail exhibition space, inventory room, lounge, guild workshop spaces for both ages six to thirteen and ages fourteen and older, outdoor merchandising space, dye station or kitchen, dye garden, public and private bathrooms, manager's office, and an employee breakroom.

Renders of key moments in the space are shown below. Women and girls are the primary demographic that Valkyries' Heirlooms is catering to because Swedish rag rug weaving has historically been predominately practiced by women. This also ties in with the research behind the new rag rug design about this craft's techniques and traditions being passed down generationally from mother to daughter. With these findings, the activities offered at Valkyries' Heirlooms would focus on bonding mother-daughter relationships across all ages and backgrounds.

Outdoor Merchandising

Dye Garden & Kitchen

Guild Workshop Ages 14+

Guild Workshop Ages 6-13

The exploded axonometric diagram of the building below exhibits all of the structural, acoustic, material, lighting, and decorative elements that are found within its interior.

A variety of flooring, wall, acoustic, and furniture material samples that would be found in this facility are shown below. Hickory hardwood was chosen to be the flooring for the majority of the building due to its great durability and being locally sourced from Knoxville and the surrounding Appalachian region. The color palette for these materials is drawn from the new Swedish rag rug design's color palette. The wall, acoustic, and furniture materials are complainant with code standards for commercial spaces.