BEN VAN BERKEL / UNSTUDIO for UNITED NUDE is working on a project of re-inventing the shoes. Thanks to the 3D printing, he is pushing the boundaries by creating a new type of shoes in a hard Nylon and all-new soft Rubber material. Each shoe will be available as up to 50 pair limited edition.

Ben van Berkel stated that “with the design for UNX2, we wanted todress the foot in such a way as to make its form partially visible, to highlight the mechanics of the foot and the visual effects that can be created by the shoe in motion.

We were particularly interested in the kinds of images the shoe could create, both when static and when in motion. When the wearer is still, the curve of the foot can be glimpsed within the shoe and the dynamics of movement are suggested by the curving vertical ribbons that envelop it.

However, once the wearer begins to move, shifting levels of transparency are created and the vertical lines create a staccato rhythm reminiscent of early stop-motion photography. The UNX2 shoe creates patterns of movement and produces a dynamic form of image-making through motion. The vertical ribbons and the hoof-like shape of the shoe elongate the legs and create an almost animal-like extension.”

Ben van BerkelBEN VAN BERKEL, born in Utrecht, Netherlands, is the Founder and Principal Architect of UNStudio in Amsterdam and Shanghai.

Ben van Berkel studied architecture at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and at the Architectural Association in London, receiving the AA Diploma with Honours in 1987. UNStudio is a network of specialists in architecture, urban development and infrastructure.

Currently he is Professor Conceptual Design at the Staedelschule in Frankfurt am Main and was recently awarded the Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor’s Chair at Harvard University Graduate.