The GINA Light Visionary is a BMW Concept car which might redefine the dogma of form-making in the auto industry.
The outer skin of the car is fabric, which covers the metal substructure, almost like a tunic. The cover pulls back for certain functions, including the headlights, which are hidden beneath the fabric when not in use. The rear spoiler also lifts from the skin to create more down-force on the rear axle at higher speeds.
The GINA is driveable, with power coming from a 4.4 liter V8 mated to a six-speed automatic. It rides on 20-inch wheels and is built on a lightweight aluminum space frame.
Think of the potential of limitless variations of style. Amazing.
Here is an image of a screen system I have been developing (rendered with a little 50’s newspaper panache) for a project that I have had the pleasure of helping out on. Pretty straight forward, I think the image speaks for itself, but simply put, the screen tries to achieve depth on a flat façade.
The ultimate goal is to accommodate the multiple scales and gradients of its locale (suburban Moscow) through the use of a panelized screen that can be manipulated to achieve varied effects textually and materially that may respond to program elements of the office behind it. As cost can never be overlooked the screen uses only one panel size, and the effect is achieved simply by spacing the panels differently on vertical struts that run the height of the curtain wall.
The buildings abut end-to-end such that the surface condition can both wrap the corner, and translate across from building to building.
I think all too often we associate “random paneling” with “interesting”, in lieu of actually taking advantage of inherent relationships.
Architecture and its subsequent production are entering a new phase in the processes of its making. It is nothing new that architecture is always a few steps behind the other related design fields, simply because of its cost and multiplicities of coordination, as well as its direct degree of physical influence. Although I don’t think we would have it any other way, other art forms can provide a window into oblique directions we may find ourselves confronting in the years to come.
Commonwealth is an upstart firm based in NYC whose principals, Zoë Coombes and F. David Boira, have recently found themselves extending their expertise gleaned from an architectural based background into the realm of product design-as-art. Having carved for themselves a distinct working studio in Williamsburg, they have begun staging exhibitions which explore the possibilities that occur at the intersection of different design fields. This ongoing investigation goes beyond simply implementing qualities from the respective fields, but rather takes the expertise and stylistic dispositions of the participants and fuses them into a singular project that creates an experience beyond the capacity of what either party might produce individually.
Tropism: Commonwealth vs. Joshua Davis is the most recent installment in these investigations. It is curated by Maxalot, and is currently on view at Espeis Gallery until July 22nd. A more in depth description of the show can be found here, but as an overview, Commonwealth contributed a vase design that moved from a 3D digital model in Maya, output and rapid-prototyped in SLA plastics to a positive resin form, and then cast and refined in porcelain. Graphic designer Joshua Davis, the shows second participant, wrote programs for generative graphics to uniquely conform to the vase’s topology. Moving from a vector file to a paint sheet, Davis’s graphics were output as ceramic paint and fired onto the digital-porcelain vases. Davis also generated new print work to serve as a backdrop for the vase installation.
The beauty in these works is partly a product of their process. Commonwealth has used the strides in digital manufacturing beyond just making possible the impossible, but have absorbed the inherencies within the media (specifically MEL scripts and Stereolithography) to make art which exploits those potentials. The result is truly a craftsmanship that exudes a degree of control and precision that I think we as designers are constantly searching for. It is a testament to what rigorous process can bring to form, style and material.
