Bachelor in Transportation Design – Car Design – a.y. 2007/08

The BMW for 2015

designing a car for the near future on behalf of a world-leader premium brand

An outstanding trademark and an exciting theme: this year the III year  students of the Three Year post-high school Transportation Design – car design Course (a. y. 2007-2008)  of the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin were faced with a new challenge launched by BMW, whose philosophy, always aiming at combining aesthetics research for innovative designs with the best technologies, impresses people all over the world.

Designing the BMW of 2015, interpreting the language evolution and the trademark essence, in view of the company’s future perspectives: this was the thesis objective involving students, for the first phase of the project, in the research of a product and a style projected towards the future, for their subsequent application to actual scenarios of a close tomorrow.

Initially, students’ concept work focused on individuating wishes, needs, tastes and life style of an individual (man or woman) meant to turn 35 years old in 2025. As to shapes development, they were asked to find an inspiration source looking both into natural elements like the sun, the sea, the wind or the earth and in forms of expression such as music, painting or arts in general.

For the second phase of the project, young car designers had to use the project essence and formal language individuated in the previous stage to develop both the interior and exterior of an actual car suitable to fit in an hypothetical 2015 life context and able to generate emotions while also identifying the BMW profile.

The 35 students involved were subdivided into 18 teams, all coordinated by Fulvio Fantolino, Coordinator of the Transportation Design – car design Course and owner of F&F Design Studio. Students were also followed throughout the internal stages of 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 all student teams were later evaluated with the selection of 12, out of which 8 were developed in 1:4 models, in collaboration with Cecomp, and the remaining 4 turned into virtual models.

Projects particularly appreciated by the commission included: “Africa. decompose concept.” by Raphael Laurent and Mihaï Panaîtescu and “Snug” by David Raffai, Kevin Schlaepfer, Andrea Torchia and Alberto Usai.