College Exhibition: IED Degree Show 2008

Graduating students at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) recently completed a project created in association with BMW. The projects, presented at an exhibition entitled ‘Designing the BMW of 2015', followed a brief to design a car by interpreting the language evolution and the trademark essence in view of the company's future perspectives.

Students were asked to research the needs, tastes and lifestyle of 35 year old individual in 2025 and find inspiration in natural elements (sun, sea, wind and earth) and in forms of expression (music, painting and art). For the second phase of the project, the designers had to use the project essence and form language individuated in the previous stage to develop both the interior and exterior of a car suitable for the hypothetical 2015 life context while generating emotion and also identifying the BMW profile.

The 35 students involved were subdivided into 18 teams and followed through the project development by a BMW Commission including Thomas Plath, Director Model Techniques and Process Management, and Anders Warming, BMW Exterior Design Director, under the supervision of Chris Bangle, Chief of Design for BMW Group. The proposals elaborated by the student teams were then evaluated and 12 were selected. Eight were developed into 1:4 models (in collaboration with Cecomp) and the remaining four became virtual models.

Concept AFRICA
Raphael Laurent and Mihai Panaitescu
This concept took inspiration from African lifestyle, tradition and art, and searched searching for unique ways of thinking, different from modern ones to create a cultural design. Designing a car for future Africans has given the possibility to rethink vehicles that fit their owners through aesthetics, mentality and way of use. The vehicle, which deconstructs itself in order to fit different daily needs, features African culture and artistic expression within its design language. 

ZX 6
Jai Ho Yoo and Lukas Vanek
The designers on this project envisaged a drastic change in the way mankind will be living and driving in the future. Inspired by object ‘GOMBOC', which is most stable homogeneous shape that can be created by men, the ZX 6 was born from the philosophy of ‘the stability have to be considered even from the body shape'. The concept, made of lightweight plastics and carbon composites, features rotating seats in the interior for enhanced space and comfort. The car is powered by BMW's hydrogen fuel technology, which propels the half-sphere driving wheels mounted at a 45 degree angle via a declined suspension axis, keeping it stable.

X-NIV (Natural Interactive Vehicle)
Matteo Bergantin, Alessandro Roselli and Satoshi Shiina
This 4+1 seat vehicle was designed for the family of tomorrow. It combines a large amount of internal space with a sleek external form and environmental credentials. Inspired by nature, the car's lightweight composite chassis structure maintains optimum structural rigidity. A transparent solar panel positioned on the roof, which transfers energy to the batteries, powers large, hollow and tilted wheels using a newly-designed electromagnetic system. This system eliminates the present type of braking system: to slow down, users only need to invert the polarity of the magnets.

SEED
Serino Kohler and Fabio Santamaria
The Seed is a small interconnective coupé concept whose name is derived from Symbiosis, Emotions, Elasticity and Drive; four words that explain the content of the project. The car creates a symbiotic relationship with the driver: It learns to adapt to how the user wishes it to act and look. The vehicle also actively teaches users how to become a better driver, on the streets and race tracks, and increases 20cm in length as the user's skills improve, allowing space for more horsepower. The design language features natural architecture represented in a technical way Comprised of a bones-like structure that guarantees flexibility and stability, this structure is partly covered by a semitransparent skin-like surface with integrated optical fibers and headlamps.

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By Eric Gallina