Fitness-focused autonomous vehicle pedals to victory in Interior Motives Design Awards

Earlier tonight, on the eve of the first Paris Motor Show press day, the world's top designers and automotive journalists assembled at L'Espace Clacquesin in Paris to witness sponsors Ford and Volkswagen announce the 2014 Interior Motives Student Design of the Year: ‘Life Cycle' by Jason Chen and Dirk Wan of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, USA.

Launched in January of this year and themed ‘Beyond Styling: a Design for Life', the competition asked students to create projects around three diverse but specific briefs: ‘Beyond Autonomous', which posed the question of what would happen if we were to combine the latest developments in computing and robotics with automobile design; ‘An Interior for Life', in which students were asked to focus on one feature or element of a car's interior and adapt it for dual use in a user's ordinary life; and ‘Pickup Truck of 2030', which challenged the young designers to extrapolate what the future might hold for this popular and versatile mode of transport.

This year's contest attracted more than 200 entries from students based at 57 schools in 24 different countries. The best among them were invited to Paris tonight to watch acclaimed designer and master of ceremonies Chris Bangle reveal the winners of the following eight categories – and ultimately the 2014 Student Design of the Year.

Student Design of the Year and
Best Innovative Interior (sponsored by Volkswagen)
Life Cycle – Jason Chen & Dirk Wan, College for Creative Studies (USA)
No entry embodied the theme of this year's competition more completely than Jason Chen and Dirk Wan's ‘Life Cycle'. Attractively proportioned and beautifully surfaced as it is, this single-seat commuter vehicle truly goes 'beyond styling' in its examination of how the car can double as a mobile gym when traveling between office and home.

A clever zippable outer body (for converting to open-top mode), and a storage area designed to work with Amazon's drone delivery system both feature. However, the true innovation is the interface that encourages its user to get in shape. This can be done either by pedaling or rowing the vehicle to boost its battery-powered propulsion system, and users are encouraged to compete with themselves or with friends, thereby earning credits that can be spent on healthy pursuits.

Renault's Ken Melville called it a "nice proposition to counterbalance the static traveling experience with physical activity", while fantasy car designer Daniel Simon said the project "has a dynamic and memorable form with pleasing simplicity - I could pick it out of a million proposals".

It's easy to see why the project won the Best Innovative Interior category - and ultimately secured its CCS-schooled designers the Interior Motives Student Design of the Year award.

Best Eco Interior (Ford)
Populuxe – Andre Fajardo, College for Creative Studies (USA)
Described as "an intriguing take on the camper van concept" by Infiniti London design director Simon Cox, Andre Fajardo's Populuxe blends architecture and vehicle design to tackle the issue of redundancy - and therefore wasted resources - when the car is not in motion.

Once at its destination, the concept's modular frame expands radially to form a tent-like structure supported by frame legs and held together by the central driver's pod. Alternatively, the frame can reconfigure itself as a wind turbine. In conjunction with the car's electric drivetrain, this can provide supplementary power to any existing home, office or other destination. As well as its clear sustainability theme, Erika Tsubaki or Ford Europe praised the project's "clean, inspirational graphic layout and presentation style".

Best Use of Technology (Visteon)
Alf-e – Antoine Pelleau & Kevin Serrania, Strate Collège (France)
Charmingly sketched and expertly realized, ‘Alf-e' is an autonomous urban mobility device based on the principle of an electronic butler. The vehicle comprises a set of powered wheels with a seat on top that acts as an inverted pendulum, and an intelligent UAV that hovers above, anticipating the user's needs and controlling the mobility unit below.

The backrest adjusts according to riding mode, and gyroscopes measure driver lean and change the vehicle's direction accordingly. Another innovation is the ability of the wheel and frame to split into two and separate outwards to create a motorcycle-riding configuration. "Vehicles are for people, and most of us tend to ignore that completely in the drawing phase - wonderfully illustrated," commented Daniel Simon. Ken Melville of Renault, meanwhile, described it quite simply as a "cool little vehicle with a forward-thinking concept".

Best Ergonomics (Bose)
Opel Trino – Vladislav Domanin, Pforzheim University (Germany)
Like many projects in recent years, the ‘Trino' three-seat coupé examines how the car interior can automatically reconfigure to adapt to urban and extra-urban environments. In the former scenario, the central driver's seat lifts up and the windscreen angle increases to provide better visibility. All three seats feature pressure sensors, allowing them to reshape - via electro-active polymers - to each specific body, while the driver's interface comprises innovative twin levers that together can function as a conventional wheel and independently as a new means of steering the vehicle. The latter feature really caught the attention of Renault's Ken Melville, who praised the concept's "well thought-out ‘dual lever' system".

Best Conceptual Interior (Johnson Controls)
Autonomous Vehicle 2030 – Sol You, College for Creative Studies (USA)
Inspired by the rising popularity of wearable devices such as Oculus Rift and Google Glass, CCS student Sol You proposes a future in which autonomous vehicle users will use journeys to explore new virtual worlds and engage in competitive online gaming.

Wearable ‘bracelets' and sensors in the two-seat coupé's interior detect body motion and control the virtual character accordingly, creating an immersive experience for the user. Given the vehicle interior's subordinate role in this scenario, the judges were impressed with how well it had been rendered and realized. "The multiplayer gaming scenario is an original idea, and very well presented," added Martin Uhlarik of SAIC.

Best Conceptual Exterior (Concept Group International)
Chamion Truck – Seunghyoun Lee, L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris (France)
Part bivouac, part mechanized camel, the desert-friendly ‘Chamion Truck' oozes character and humor. An autonomous drone and helium balloon that extends on a cable from the roof transmit information about the surrounding conditions, while the body self-levels over dunes and other uneven terrain. Once parked, the vehicle can act as a shower room and toilet, storage space or even accommodation thanks to body panels that lever outwards like the carapace of a beetle.

Solar panels collect energy and black ‘camel packs' strapped to the body naturally heat up water for use when showering. "A quirky idea and visualization style, but fit for purpose - I like it!" commented Darren Day of Bentley. Daniel Simon, meanwhile, revealed "one feature stuck in my mind: its self-leveling luggage rig... Just cool."

Best Production Interior (Fast Design)
2030 Toyota Tundra – Paul Mutter, College for Creative Studies (USA)
This project used two hypothetical users with different needs (one a construction worker with a 3D printing business, the other a field veterinarian) to explore how a modular interior with seats on rails, a reconfigurable IP, watch-based projector and removable storage can adapt equally well to the roles of high-tech office and mobile toolbox.

Marcello Cannarile of Fast Design called it "ideally suited to work", while Erika Tsubaki of Ford highlighted its "simple use of technology and realistic illustrations" as worthy of note. "A nicely worked-out concept with clear descriptive renderings showing an attractive design," concluded Ken Melville.

Best Artistic Visualization (Car Design News)
A – Alessandro Fiori & Andrea Bruno, Istituto Europeo di Design (Italy)
Always a source of heated debate, the Best Visualization award this year went to a duo of students from Italy's IED, breaking the stranglehold that Strate Collège has had on the category since its introduction.

The internal driver's shell magnetically levitates inside the outer structure, which can then take any form desired - in this case a svelte, futuristic coupé - and connects to the steam-powered drive unit at the rear.

Erika Tsubaki singled out the project's "engaging storyboard and high artistic quality of sketches" for praise, while Martin Uhlarik of SAIC called it "brilliant drawing with expert rendering of light, shadows and the environment". Simon Cox summed it up: "Good well-illustrated ideas clearly produced by talented designers."

Most Successful School
College for Creative Studies (USA)
In addition to showcasing the talent of student designers, the 2014 Interior Motives Design Awards once again acknowledged the achievements of the schools that nurtured them with its ‘Most Successful School' award. The number of winners and shortlisted students from each college was used to compile a league table, from which a clear winner emerged: the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. Our congratulations go to Mark West, Chair of Transportation Design, and everyone at CCS for their stellar contribution to the future of automotive design.

For the full list of shortlisted entries, details on the judging panel and images of all the finalists' projects, visit www.interiormotivesawards.com

By CDN Team