“…the beginning of building coincides with the beginning of textiles. …
The Wall is the structural element that formally represents and makes
visible the enclosed space as such, absolutely, as it were, without
reference to secondary concepts.
We might recognise the pen, bound together from sticks and branches, and the
interwoven fence as the earliest vertical spatial enclosure that man
invented. … Weaving the fence led to weaving movable walls. … Using
wickerwork for setting apart one’s property and for floor mats and
protection against heat and cold far preceded making even the roughest
masonry. Wickerwork was the original motif of the wall. It retained this
primary significance, actually or ideally, when the light hurdles and
mattings were transformed into brick or stone walls. The essence of the wall
was wickerwork.”
Gottfried Semper The Textile Art
Illustration: 200th birthday of Gottfried Semper. 10 euro, silver, 2003. Federal Republic of Germany.