SHOE REFORM

The Shoe Reform workshop, led by designer Michel Charlot and Siddhartha Berns, representative of AddiPole — a hub for reverse engineering and additive manufacturing — brought students together for an innovative exploration of 3D scanning technologies, in collaboration with Technopôle Sainte-Croix.

Over the course of a week, participants worked in pairs to reinvent existing footwear using CREAFORM 3D scanners. Starting from physical shoe models, students engaged in reverse engineering, digital modeling, and the creation of new concepts blending function and formal expression.

Workshop Results

Using 3D scanning, they were able to capture the precise shape and texture of existing shoes and turn them into editable digital models. Some participants added ergonomic elements, while others redesigned the structure to explore new aesthetics or functions. This hands-on process allowed for a high degree of creative freedom in customization, rapid prototyping, and iterative design development.

Titled TECHNO WORKSHOPS, a series of workshops explored the creative potential of different technologies in the context of industrial design. Students were able to discover Additive Manufacturing with Rapid Liquid Print, Artificial Intelligence with the EPFL+ECAL Lab, and 3D Scanning with Michel Charlot and the Technopôle Sainte-Croix. These workshops gave them the opportunity to experiment with and reflect on the potential of such technologies, and to envision how they can be integrated into the design process — from early ideation and exploration to the tangible realization of objects and concepts.

TECHNO WORKSHOPS

RAPID LIQUID PRINT

Project

A short and engaging workshop held in collaboration with Rapid Liquid Print, a Boston-based startup and spinoff of the MIT Self-Assembly Lab, explored the fundamentals of Embedded 3D Printing by questioning, in both technical and poetic terms, what defines a curve, a surface, or a thickened volume as it transitions from the digital to the physical world.