Goji & Goko represent two experiments using generative design techniques in Houdini to create outsole structures for footwear that with some design refinement could theoretically be 3D printed in an elastomeric material. They take much inspiration from the processes currently being used by Adidas to produce Futurecraft 4D shoe soles, and were a technical exercise on my part to figure out a method to do something aesthetically similar.

This generative design process involves starting with a single unit of polygonal or spline-based pattern geometry, and copying it into the UV space of the polygons of the outsole form. These polygonal units are then scaled appropriately and fused together into a single piece of geometry. This geometry is then voxelized using the OpenVDB framework, smoothed and blended together into one continuous body, using the scale of the outsole's polygons to determine the thickness of the voxel structure, and then converted back into an optimized mesh.

3D Art, Industrial Design, Generative Design