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STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION

A workshop in partnership with
PAACADEMY that journeys through the
last decade of initiatives implementing parametric structures into footwear.

Throughout the last decade, the evolution of highly-functional parametric structures
has found a niche within innovations in footwear.

Programmable behavior, data-driven transformation, and customizable arrangements are developments guided by the demands of marathon courses and fashion runways.

By investigating these structural forms alongside their respective footwear applications,
this workshop aims to present students with a focused approach to parametric design techniques
– directing attention first to intended functionality and then to high-level manipulation.

The best lessons are learned through stories.

The Structural Evolution workshop will journey through the last decade of initiatives
implementing parametric structures into footwear.
 
Participants will learn of the early experiments between New Balance and Nervous Systems that explored pressure map-influenced voronoi cells and will analyze the universally known
beam-based structures utilized by the Adidas 4D Futurecraft.

The program will investigate the research of auxetic patterns undertaken by the
MIT Media Lab in collaboration with Puma as well as the study of
minimal surfaces led by Onur Gun’s team in partnership with Formlabs.
 
The goal is to discuss the intention of these projects, extract the framework of their structures,
and ultimately build these geometries as a parametric workflow within Rhino/Grasshopper.

Students will continually transition between industry case-studies and parametric modeling using Rhino and Grasshopper.
In this way, contextual understanding will always predicate technique. 
 
The Structural Evolution workshop will expose students to four structural families:

Auxetics
Beam-based lattices
Triply periodic minimal surfaces
Voronoi structures
 
The first and most important step is to establish the essential building blocks of each structure’s respective anatomy.
Thereafter, the program will build upon these principles to showcase advanced methods of construction
in the form of region-specific control, customized formulas, and data integration.
 
The design process will be taught step-by-step from scratch with the participants,
allowing each individual to have hands-on experience with the software and freely ask questions along the way. 

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

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Day 1, July 8th

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  • Introduction

  • Lecture: Enhanced performance through structural design

  • Lecture: Exploration of dynamic structures and programmed behavior

  • Tutorial 1: Auxetic structures

  • Lecture: Structural controllability and design for additive manufacturing

  • Tutorial 2: Advanced beam-based structures

  • Q&A Session

​

Day 2, July 9th

​

  • Lecture: Internal components and segmented assemblies

  • Lecture: Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces

  • Tutorial 3: Implicit fields and customized formulas

  • Lecture: Data Integration and Biomechanics

  • Tutorial 4: Voronoi structures and pressure-maps

  • Lecture: 3D-printing in the world of fashion

  • Q&A Session

CREDITS

COLLABORATORS

Parametric Architecture
PAACADEMY

SOFTWARE

Rhino
Grasshopper
Houdini
Redshift
Adobe Suite

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