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Industrial Design Student Work: Sneakers Designed for Disassembly

Disassembly Lab, by Robin Luginbühl at ECAL

By Rain Noe - August 8

in design.edu | Footwear

Robin Luginbühl, an Industrial Design student at ECAL, started his diploma project with inspiration from the following quote:

"One day, laws are going to change, and brands will be responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products from beginning to end." - Chris Wawrousek, New Balance's Innovation Studio Lead Designer

Luginbühl's resultant project is called Disassembly Lab, and it's about exploring ways that footwear can be designed for disassembly.

"Prototyping evolution, from final mockups to the initial tests of the first shoe model of the D-Lab project. This encompasses both formal and functional research, ranging from the TPU-injected sole to the knitted upper section. Using a basic rubber thread, the upper is effectively secured through tension against the sole."

"Research on knitted eyelets, demonstration of shoe disassembly by hand, final sole rendering, and a 2D cutting pattern for a prototype:"

"In my opinion, Disassembly is going to become a new legislative norm for the footwear industry. Products can't live on their own anymore; they have to be conditioned to a new system if they want to become more responsible. Essentially, Disassembly extends the life of a shoe, making it repairable, restorable, replaceable, and recyclable."

"The Disassembly lab is a conceptual and formal study aimed at creating shoes integrated into a sustainable commercial system. The aim is to rethink and redefine the way we build and assemble sneakers without glue. This research is inspired by various references and explores several distinct concepts. Each concept evolves over the course of the research, culminating in three shoes, offering a variety of functional and aesthetic solutions."

"These shoes, with their TPU soles and 3D knitted upper, are reduced to the essentials, enabling simple, rapid production and assembly by hand, and easy recyclability."

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Toby B

3 months ago

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It'd be customer-friendly if they sold uppers and soles separately, since it's certainly possible to wear out a sole while the upper is still perfectly fine (or even the reverse, though that is less common). But the exposed lashing on the edge of the sole seems very likely to fail first...

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- Dee An
  
  Toby B
  
  3 months ago
  
  Z
  
  1Z
  
  Reply
  
  Aye. Walking boots designed to be professionally re-soled ( a service that is around £60) start at at around £200, whereas walking boots can not be re-soled might be £120. The soles usually wear out before the uppers, the exception being if the waterproof membrane is punctured by a piece of grit or straw.
  
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Dee An

3 months ago

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I only buy Ecco trainers, since they invariably last upwards of 18 months with near daily wear. If they can produce polyurethane soles that are that durable and still be grippy, there is no reason that other shoe brands can't do the same. In the real world, durability is more important than repairability (though of course the two aren't mutually exclusive)

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