CDN-Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Design Competition Enters Exterior Phase

Car Design News is pleased to announce the finalists of the interiors phase of the Car Design News-Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Design Competition. Pierin Giacomo of the Istituto Europeo Di Design in Turin, Italy, Victor Uribe, also of IED Turin, and Chiayuan Lu of Coventry University in the UK have been named as the top three entrants in the first phase of the competition. They topped the entries received from students at 36 design schools across 18 different countries in Europe.

Following the successful completion of the first phase, today sees the launch of the second, exterior design phase of the competition open for entries.

Nearly 300 students have so far registered for the competition, which launched on 11 October 2010 and in its first phase asked European design students to create a ‘Lounge in Motion' for the Opel/Vauxhall brand. Judges initially selected entries from a total of ten students who they felt worthy of mention. Aside from the finalists, they were (using their screen names and in no particular order): Lina of Creapole in France, Luci_ued of George Enescu College of Art and Design in Romania, Ewan Gallimore from Coventry University in the UK, Vincent of Strate College in France, Vince from Institut Superior de Design in France, Joe Sun from Coventry University in the UK and Jadir E. Minutti from IAAD in Italy. All of these students have a rosette against their work on the competition site, and have comments about their designs on the ‘Judges Report' tab on the site.

The first of the three finalists, Pierin Giacomo with an entry titled ‘Interior Revolution', envisions a compact interior that features organic forms and a floor-based rail system that allows the driver and passenger seats to be moved and swiveled depending on how the car is used. Judges had nothing but praise for the naturally inspired forms of the final design, and for the "elegant" developmental sketching.

Another finalist, Victor Uribe, was the very first student to upload an entry to the competition website. His ‘Opel City Lounge' separates the passenger compartment from the mechanical elements of the vehicle, allowing a completely different type of car interior with ‘maglev surfaces' that permit massive re-configurability of the space. Judges thought it was not only "cool", but also "a simply brilliant project". They were particularly impressed by the way Uribe had clearly laid out his concept, and how three key words - ‘comfortable', ‘flexible' and ‘simple' - perfectly described the project.

Completing the top three is Chiayuan Lu, who called his entry ‘A Lounge to be Together with your Child', reflecting the fact that the designer himself has recently become a father and sees Opel/Vauxhall as the perfect brand to place children and their needs at the heart of a vehicle's design. His concept features a pushchair designed to seamlessly dock with the car, forming the child's seat and an integral part of the interior. Judges said that it was "clear to see his passion for the subject" and thought his entry was "ahead of the game".

Lu also scoops the award for the best contribution to the online community, for his numerous comments, great feedback to other students, and his openness in receiving criticism and advice. He wins a year's subscription to Car Design News.

These three students now go forward to develop their designs further, and will have their work displayed on the Opel/Vauxhall stand at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show in March. At the show, one of them will be selected as the overall winner of the interiors phase of the competition, and will receive the prize of a paid internship at Opel/Vauxhall's design studios in Russelsheim, Germany.

The competition today carries on to its second phase, to design the exterior of the vehicle in accordance with the interior design. Once again open to students studying on any design course in Europe, the brief asks them to choose one of the top three interior entries - so one from Giacomo, Lu or Uribe - and develop an exterior for it while continuing the theme of a ‘Lounge in Motion'. 

Students are challenged to create an innovative and relevant exterior design for the Opel/Vauxhall brand, which will respect the first contest phase lounge concept with an inside-out approach, and leverage use of innovative materials. As of today students can begin uploading their entries, and are encouraged to do so as soon as possible and develop them as they go. The exterior phase of the competition closes on 11 February 2011.

As with the interior design phase, anyone can view and comment on the designs as they progress, giving feedback to the students and so making the competition truly interactive. There were almost 1000 comments made on the competition site during the first phase.

And once again, CDN wishes all entrants the very best of luck!

The competition is a collaboration between Opel/Vauxhall and Car Design News, to use social media and web-based tools to help develop car designs. The competition is supported by partners, Dassault Systèmes and Dinamica by Miko

Related articles:

Car Design News – Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Design Competition
Interior: Judges Report
Phase 2: Exterior Design brief

By CDN Team