CMF has long been about enhancing how products look and feel. At Autonomy Practice, we redefine our role, seeing CMF as an active material that responds to its environment and transforms the product itself. This perspective inspired us to explore shape memory polymers (SMP), materials that change shape with temperature. By blending adaptive materials with product design, we’re discovering new ways to shape interaction, meaning, and use.

Shape Memory Polymers (SMP) can be set to react between 25°C and 90°C. When heated to a certain temperature, SMP becomes soft and flexible. When it cools down, it hardens in that shape. Heat it again, and it goes back to its original form. After testing, we chose 80°C as the best temperature for our design. Based on this, we made a shoe that can be put together when hot, stays strong at room temperature, and can be taken apart easily by heating again. We get rid of glued construction and move to an assembly-based design. This change offers a new way to make and use complex products like footwear. It transforms the whole process, from production to how people experience the product.

Autonomy Practice approaches materials with autonomy, exploring how this shapes structure and form. We record the design journey that comes from the interaction between dynamic materials and products, and share it as a unified process.