"Architects are only beginning to explore the implications of 'smart' materials and interactive technologies for the built environment.  Yet over the past decade, textile designers have made significant advances integrating these new technologies into their creative work.  This book explores the potential offered by these emerging developments at the interface of textiles and architecture.  Essays by authorities in this exciting field explore these technologies not as novelties, but for their fundamental implications with respect to human agency, social relationships, and our understanding and respect for natural systems."