01 PINE SO(U)LEIDE-05
ICL/RCA ACADEMIC WORK
What if we nurtured mutualism in nature? “Pine Soule” reimagines footwear by employing pine needles, a readily available forest-floor by-product, as an alternative material. Although pine is a natural resource, how we extract it often disrupts the symbiotic relationships crucial to our ecosystem. 20% of pine mass comprises pine needles that are discarded as by-products.
The project proposes to use pine needles from the fire break formation process. Fire breaks are shaped to increase the resiliency of forests to wildfire, and using the natural mass from this operation fosters a new mutualistic connection between humans and nature.