All photos are by David Matthew Walters (unless noted otherwise) and courtesy of Ishraq Zraikat.

Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths.

In this installment, we're talking with Ishraq Zraikat, a Jordanian textile artist, weaver, and wool researcher. We learn why she decided to pivot from conventional architecture practice to fashion and textile design and how she eventually found her niche by fusing architectural design thinking with centuries-old Bedouin weaving techniques.

Where did you study architecture?

I studied Architecture at Virginia Tech, with the last year and a half spent at the Alexandria (Northern Virginia) campus where I did my thesis with the late Marco Frascari.

Did you practice architecture? Please describe that work experience.

After a few internships I did in the Washington D.C. / Maryland / Northern Virginia area as a student, I went back to Jordan following my graduation and worked in Amman with one of the largest architecture firms in the country. We worked on large-scale projects like governmental buildings as well as projects abroad, like schools in Angola. Although it was thought to be a 'great job' and place to work by Jordanian standards, I did not feel fulfilled working at such a firm. I would have been much happier working on small-scale special architectural projects where there is attention to details.

At that time, having spent many years abroad, I was not fully aware of the architecture job landscape in Jordan and did not know about a few 'young' architects who were doing really great work — the kind I would have loved to be involved in. But by then, I was done with a career in architecture and decided to move to a different field of design — fashion design — because I really enjoyed working with my hands and was spending my free time designing and making clothes.

At what point in your life did you decide to pursue architecture?

As a child, I always thought I would be a professional athlete/Olympian. I was very serious about sports. Then at 13, I discovered 'design' when I started making clothes for myself using the German sewing magazine Burda. I started wondering about certain details in clothes making and appreciated the inventiveness in these design and construction details. I loved the process of tracing the flat 2D patterns and seeing them transform into 3D garments. I began discovering international designers and collecting fashion magazines.

I am creating materials with wool that are not only for the textile/crafts market but for potential uses in architecture, agriculture, and various other industries.

At the same time, I was becoming fascinated with this idea of design when applied to buildings and spaces. I used to love to design and make houses and spaces for my Barbies. (Yes, I still played with Barbies even as a teenager because we hardly had any TV time, and I had two much younger sisters who loved Barbies. Making a house and clothes for them was always my task.) That is why I decided to study architecture rather than fashion design. I somehow knew that architecture would be a much broader design education than fashion. I thought to myself: I can be an architect who also makes clothes.

Also, I remember one of my classmates in school had a house which really left an impression on me. I did not know exactly why at the time, but I used to LOVE going there, and it really stuck with me throughout my architectural education as I constantly revisited it in my mind and understood more and more what a well-designed house it was. Just a couple of years ago, I learned from this friend that their house was designed by a then young, upcoming Jordanian architect who won an architectural award for this particular house! As a child, I somehow intuitively recognized that it was 'good design.'

When did you decide to stop pursuing architecture? Why?

A few years after I started my career here in Jordan, I decided that my passion in design lies in small-scale design where I can really make what I design with my own hands. Architecture, and the way I was practicing it, was way too large of a scale for me to really feel like I was applying my skills and talents. I also felt like I stopped learning and growing as a designer when there was too much copy/paste of construction details from one project to the next.

I gave my 30-day notice at my office and spent the next couple of months sewing clothes for a fashion show which I did in Amman in a parking garage, before heading to New York City to pursue training in the fashion industry. Going back to school for fashion was not an option, and I already had basic garment design and construction skills, so interning in the fashion industry was the best option for me.

I interned at two fashion companies, a large-scale one, Anna Sui, and a very small-scale studio, Kai Kuhne, where I learned a lot about the fashion industry. During that time, I discovered that there is something called "textile design and innovation," where designers can design and produce their own unique fabrics. I watched Kai Kuhne produce some fabrics for his first solo collection for Spring Summer 2006, and I was so intrigued with the process. A few years later, I studied Textile and New Materials Design at NABA in Milan, Italy. Since then, I have been working in the field of textiles and have found that it is the perfect medium for me to combine all my past design education and work experience.

Describe your current profession.

Currently I work as a textile designer and material developer. I utilize knowledge of various textile construction techniques to create new exciting materials for various end uses. I am particularly focused on weaving as a technique and wool as a fiber/material. I have been deepening my understanding and skills in both areas. Years ago, I found Bedouin women who taught me the centuries-old Bedouin weaving techniques using the most primitive tools.

I really believe that the education of an architect is a solid foundation for all design mediums and fields.

I have since been occupied with innovating this ancient craft, using it in textiles and installations which I have shown in exhibitions in recent years. As for the wool, I have been busy researching our native Jordanian wool and what its material possibilities are. I am creating materials with wool that are not only for the textile/crafts market but for potential uses in architecture, agriculture, and various other industries. Research-driven design is what excites me the most.

What skills did you gain from architecture school, or working in the architecture industry, that have contributed to your success in your current career?

I really believe that the education of an architect is a solid foundation for all design mediums and fields. From myself and other real-life examples of architects-turned-something-else, I can confidently say that once we learn how to think like architects, we excel in pretty much anything else we do. The design process in architecture can easily be translated into so many other mediums and scales. I will always cherish my education as an architect even though I no longer work as one by traditional definition. I still think like an architect for sure, I am just working with softer, more organic materials at a much smaller scale. One of the most important skills I have learned from my architectural education is the all-inclusiveness of design: how everything really is connected, from human psychology, to natural materials and resources, and how they drove human innovation throughout history — all the way to new high-tech innovation and the digital age. One cannot exist without at least considering the others.

Do you have an interest in returning to architecture?

Of course I am always happy to return to architecture, especially when I can bring with me what I have learned about textiles and fibers. I really do believe that architecture can accommodate design at this small intimate scale which I currently work at. In fact, last October, I was asked by OnSite Architects to join their team to work on a competition entry for Desert Dwellings in the ancient city of Al Ula in Saudi Arabia, initiated by the Royal Commission for Al Ula. OnSite felt they needed a textile component in their design and had seen my weaving installation which I exhibited at Amman Design Week in 2019. They felt that I can add that component to their architectural program.

The design process in architecture can easily be translated into so many other mediums and scales.

For my installation, I had developed the flat Bedouin floor loom (used to weave Bedouin homes/tents) from a simple weaving tool into a spatial element which still functioned as a weaving tool. The loom itself became the shelter or enclosure inside which the weaver sat while she wove the 'tent.'

Joining the architectural team, I was able to bring into the program my research and understanding of Middle Eastern native wool and animal fibers, as we share the animal breeds and much of the desert landscapes in our region. It was an amazing opportunity for me to apply some of the material experiments I have been doing with wool and goat hair on the larger architectural scale. It definitely enhanced my research and ideas as it allowed me to jump scale and base my work on larger and real environmental factors. Fibers behave differently when used indoors versus outdoors, in small-scale textiles versus large-scale ones.

I am happy to share that we won that competition and are waiting to know how we will move to the next stage.