Symbiotic Shoes project starts with the desire of applying 3D printing to develop zero waste, ultra personalized and circular shoes that are inspired in traditional shoemaking. When looking at the shoe industry nowadays, we can see that most of the materials that go to shoes end up being discarded in landfills at the end of their lives. Symbiotic shoes aims to provide an alternative to this with 3D printed shoes that can be recycled entirely to make new shoes. At the moment a working proof of concept has been reached for the shoe design, construction and recycling model.
The shoes developed are based on a parametric pattern in Grasshopper, which allows for simple customization to each user. The shoes are made almost entirely out of 3D printed TPE material (98%), and the other components (thread and laces) can easily be detached. In collaboration with 3D print filament manufacturer Recreus, the shoes can be used at the end of their life to produce their recycled filament Reciflex.
Final Project Fabricademy 2020-2021 | #3dprinting #circulareconomy #shoemaking #parametricdesign
