The present invention relates to a method for producing man-made devices which have the properties and functions of biological membranes and membrane proteins, and to the structure of such devices.Briefly, in one aspect of the invention, natural or genetically engineered proteins are incorporated into a polymeric vesicle that is conjugated to a thread to form a vesicle-thread conjugate. The engineered protein is preferably a transmembrane protein embedded in the wall of the polymeric vesicle. The vesicle-thread conjugate is then formed into a membrane or thin fabric having a wide variety of inherent functionality, including the ability to selectively transport and/or filter compounds between fluids. By selecting proteins with specific properties, membranes can be fabricated with a defined functionality including molecular scale addressability via directed electrostatic, electromagnetic, and chemical forces.