As an architecture student, I design shelters at a scale that is unrecognizable in a semester’s time. Typically my designs are realized only through representational material: architectural drawings, models and renderings that give a sense of what a space might be like when complete. Rarely do I find an opportunity to realize a concept at one-to-one scale. Designing for the body, however, allows me to apply architectural ideals about shelter and space at a scale that I can realize myself or with the help of a friend.

Do you feel that your latest design fills a void left by traditional clothing?

Not literally. I believe some of the ideals that my project captures — extending personal space and creating a completely new way of experiencing the world — are captured in certain respects, not by clothing but by headphones, where music changes the experience of a place and the headphones themselves turn public space into a zone of introversion. I suppose there are alienating modes of dress, but those typically align the wearer with a certain social group. My project shirks identity labels.

Has working with clothing changed your perspective on form and function?

Even if it didn’t exactly change my perspective on form and function, it certainly did re-emphasize to me the importance of taking designs off the drawing board and making them a reality. I was very surprised by the form Body Mass took once inflated. It has a split between the legs to facilitate walking, and it tapers to comfortably fit around the ankles. I was expecting the split and also the feet to be visible once Body Mass was inflated, but this never happened. The structural tape I used exists mostly on the bottom and weighs it down, so the feet never become visible. Furthermore, I was surprised by how pleasant it felt to be inside Body Mass.

It seems the Monumental Helium-Inflatable Wearable, Floating Body Mass trades personal comfort for social discomfort; do you see this happening with other technological interfaces?

I am not sure that the Monumental Helium-Inflatable Wearable Floating Body Mass trades personal comfort for social discomfort as much as it trades personal comfort for social avoidance. A person couldn’t pass a day in Body Mass. Its 13-foot diameter would make it impossible to do normal daily activities such as get on the bus, enter an elevator, walk down certain hallways, go grocery shopping. Those things should cause valuable self-reflection, though. I intend to do a video project highlighting these aspects of Body Mass.

As for other technological interfaces that trade personal comfort for social discomfort, I would have to say that cell phones — alienating and annoying to all those not involved in the conversation — and iPods are prime examples of this contemporary phenomenon.

Do you feel as if we’ve begun to wear technology as a disguise?

I am not sure that we wear technology as disguise as much as we wear it to hide and to forge personal space. I also believe that technology plays a role in a person’s outward image, the same way clothing does. People can be very conscious about the image their cell phone or other personal technological devices/accessories project.

Do you think that technology will replace traditional fashion as the body’s first line of communication with the environment?

Well, I’m not into prophecies, but my guess would be that technology will not totally replace traditional fashions as the body’s first line of communication. I think that clothing will always play a very important role. Still, I believe that technology and traditional fashion will fuse more, as technological devices become inexpensive enough to integrate into clothing. Hussein Chalayan has done some very interesting things with technology and fashion. Beyond his work however, there are practical ways to integrate the two. For example, a colleague of mine, Angela Chang, has integrated noise cancellation technology into head-scarves.