Prototyping Footprints Symposium

How does a contemporary shoe ‘work’? What does it look like? And how is it worn? What repair and sharing models could characterise the future of the shoe industry and what role does open source play in this? Which materials and processes enable recyclable production models? How can microorganisms not only supplement conventional materials, but also become materials themselves? Which biotechnological processes could become new production techniques for shoes? These questions and many more were the main focus of the ‘Protoyping Footprints Symposium’. The programme of the evening event, which was open to the university public, included four keynote speeches. Two invited experts with different design practices offered a variety of practical, visionary and scientific perspectives on the topic. In addition, the SustainLab and the BioLab gave insights into their ongoing research projects on the topic of shoes from their own lab work. Moderated by the students, a subsequent panel discussion offered the audience the opportunity to ask questions and engage in a professional dialogue with the experts. The residency students also gave an interim presentation of the first results from their design process and took the opportunity to get feedback from the audience.

SOPHIA GUGGENBERGER
The designer focusses on sustain- able shoe design. She talked about her experiences working for the shoe manufacturer ‘Camper’ as well as her work as a researcher at Atelier Luma. In addition, she gave us an exciting insight into the ‘Syntropia’ project in cooperation with Eugenia Morpurgo, which investigates the circular economy from seed to shoe.

LUIS UNDRITZ
The industrial designer and BURG alumnus reported on his experience in upscaling grown and living materials for a larger production scale, which he gained at ‘Modern Synthesis’ in London, and gave us an impression of his work processes as well as the hurdles and opportunities in the design process at the shoe giant ‘adidas’.