College Exhibition: Pforzheim Design Forum 2006

The biennial Design Forum at Pforzheim Hochschule in Germany took place last week, with six international design schools joining together to present and discuss the latest work of their students. The Forum is held in conjunction with the annual summer degree show at Pforzheim where Diploma and Masters students presented their work. The Forum was chaired by Professor James Kelly who welcomed the tutors and their accompanying students to the event.

Tokyo Communication Arts [TCA] opened the presentations with two projects introduced by Mr Yoshinao Fujimura. The Ferrari Tre Diviso was one of the winners of last years 'Ferrari: New Concepts of the Myth' competition last year and was designed by students Daisuke Nagasato, Hiroaki Yakubo and Kim Taekyung. The model arrived just in time, having been rushed from display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England earlier in the week. TCA  also showed the Communi Gate, a small K-car concept based on the Mitsubishi 'i' platform, featuring wide opening rear bodysides to allow the young target customers to use it for displaying goods for sale at fleamarkets.

Musashino University in Japan presented Amnis, a compact city vehicle with a 'convivial' interior layout. Here the driver sits at the rear of the cabin with 6 sideways-facing passengers in front. It features a roll up front hatch entrance and enclosed wheels to emphasise the 'floating' feel of the design. They also presented 'Trefull', a 3-seat sportscar by students Koji Yano and Haruka Ikegame, that leans in corners to enhance the driving experience.

Chung Joo Hyun, Associate Professor at Hong Ik Unversity in Seoul introduced two graduate projects: 'Hang-On', a 2-seat sportscar by Kim Young Seong and 'Zigae' by Yim Seung Mo. This latter project is a sporty MPV concept based on a re-interpretation of the traditional Korean farming carriage of the same name. The open hatch rear end of the vehicle opens out to allow a rumble seat or extended load-through facility for luggage.

Tony Catignani, Course Tutor at Umea University in Sweden [and an old colleague of James Kelly from Ford days] brought along two students to present their work. Hirash Razaghi showed his Mars crew exploration concept for 2035 called 'Aelita'. This articulated vehicle allows the Marsonauts to explore the hostile terrain of Mars and was developed in conjunction with Land-Rover and the Swedish Institute of Space Physics. Fellow student Dong Yen Ryu introduced his see through model of his Lexus LF-FS, a 'luxury icon concept for the next generation'.

Two students from Northumbria University in UK were introduced by their Course Tutor, Rob Leeman. Mark Skinner presented his 1-man lightweight skidoo racer which puts the rider in a prone position for added excitement on the downhill descent. Phil Dixon also showed a winter sports concept, this time an ice racer for the Trophee Andros Series which is held in France each year. Features include illuminated mudguard blades that are designed to enhance the spectator experience through the light show created by the snow kicked up from the studded tyres.

Finally, Car Design News Director Nick Hull gave a talk about how awareness of automotive design education has increased through use of the internet and how students are now able to swap ideas faster and more easily than ever before. He also presented a short history of the development of the website from its earliest format in 1999 [covering just one auto show] to the latest redesign last month with new features and more content. Founder and Creative Director Brett Patterson also attended, photographing and recording the events as ever! This year Car Design News will cover nine major auto shows and no less than fourteen Design School shows, including most of the schools attending the Forum.

Our report on the Pforzheim Summer Degree Show is coming soon... 

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