March 21, 2003 - From October through December of last year, the Elisava School of Design in Barcelona presented the exhibition 'Expression of Dynamism', including 17 prototypes of vehicles designed by the students of the Masters degree course in Transport Vehicle Design. The projects were on display in the school hall in Plaça de la Mercè in Barcelona.

The Masters degree in Transport Vehicle Design aims to provide not only the necessary skills and tools in car conception but also to design motor vehicles in general. Thus “Expression of Dynamism”, is a compilation of very unusual means of transport, including the design of vehicles for air and water. The projects displayed anticipate trends from a perspective that is free from the everyday pressure of the industry, but with an aim to influence developing models in the market in the near future.


SEAT Mambo
Julio Lozano Benlloch

This is a design based on the main characteristics of sports shoes, which are suitable for all kinds of terrain.
Seat Mambo Roadster tries to reflect the new radical trends in SEAT: design sports cars that are versatile and with a strong bold character. It is a very light four-wheel drive with top performance qualities. The design includes such aspects as the ability to move easily in all kinds of terrain, and it also has advanced or avant-garde connotations. Thus there stands out the interaction between the pilot and the exterior by means of the cabin, a glass dome. Modern architecture is represented by the use of transparencies and articulated structures. The structure is based on a skateboard in terms of suspension and rotation ability, with the rear steering rotating around the central chassis to provide maximum agility.


Airbus VIP Compartment
Tony Gallardo, Carlos Andrés Escalante and Marc Nadal

Interior design of the Super First Class area of the Airbus A380. The project is based on the creation of a space optimised for multiple uses within a specific area for business. The space is divided into two different zones. One is a common area, a social space where people can interact with one another and with the outside, achieving relation, recognition and safety. The second zone is more private: its cabins provide privacy and emphasize such aspects as comfort, by means of objects like a seat that may become fully flat for rest and total relaxation. All of this surrounded by an atmosphere of sophistication and minimalist refinement.


Zeppelin
Rubén Hidalgo Téllez

This means of transport has been designed to enjoy the trip: flying is understood as a cruise, air travelling as an experience, so that the route itself and not just the destination is to be enjoyed. However, in a plane, due to such factors as height and pressure, one cannot have contact with the outside and enjoy the landscape, buildings, people. The dirigible could linger over Paris without technical trouble, without disturbing or interfering with the usual everyday activities below. Leisure orientated, the projected dirigible includes such places as dancing rooms and restaurants, becoming thus an ideal way of enjoying an unusual environment full of luxury.


Citroën DS
Juan Sanz Molina

Citroën created the DS model in the 1960s, commonly known as ‘Shark’, whose new surprising design impressed a society willing to forget the past and prone to changes, novelty and boldness. Beyond modernity, DS had a unique design that lasted for over a decade thus becoming an indispensable icon in the development of car design in the 20th century. The expectation caused by this model and the legend that still surrounds it have made this new version possible. It was a rightful reason to retrieve its main features and create again a completely different vehicle, a reinterpretation that maintains its sophisticated character, its provoking style and its ability to raise great social expectation.


Lexus NS320
José Luis García Ortuzar

More space, more freedom, you choose how to travel. It is a luxury self-driven saloon car, designed for GPS-monitored routes. Highly geometrical exterior design, it is functionally a vehicle for meetings. As a project, it seeks a place in the field of big representative saloon cars, where prestige, comfort and highly demanding standards in safety or equipment are key objectives. It offers a new type of architecture that emphasizes comfort by means of more and better-distributed space. Current saloon cars’ comfort is subject to the usual three-room configuration as if that was the only valid kind of language in this kind of vehicles. Based on architectural principles, this project claims that a vehicle must be designed so that its occupants enjoy the maximum comfort without prejudices towards its exterior shape. An organic conception of the project, the manipulation of space and light, these were Frank Lloyd Wright’s distinguishing marks. His conception of the living space has influenced this project considerably.


BMW H-Concept
Álex Pirard Corominas

BMW vehicle powered by hydrogen. Oriented towards the promotion of the use of hydrogen, this project is a reflection on the hydrogen engine as a new conception and how this change affects the rest of the vehicle. The BMW H-Concept has been designed to act as an ambassador of this concept. Before running out of all fossil fuels as energy sources, car manufacturers have started to investigate in order to develop engines, which do no finish with them. In this framework, hydrogen has been selected as the best option, since the public specifically demands nature-friendly vehicles, without forgetting the comfort, safety or design of conventional vehicles.


Moon Rover by Land Rover
Carles Bonet Solsona

When it is easy to travel to Mars or the Moon, there will be a new kind of tourist industry on Earth to meet the new interplanetary needs. This vehicle seeks to satisfy such demand and it is presented as a four-wheel drive suitable for unknown grounds and all lands different from ours. Based on space vehicles, it has been designed for space tourism to make it possible for everybody to observe an inhospitable landscape and have fun experiencing low gravity. It has 4 electrical engines placed over the wheels, and intelligent suspension. The interior features suspension so as not to feel the irregularity of the ground, individual on-board computer monitors, and it is driven by means of a joystick. It is a light vehicle, safe, focussed on fun. With few changes, it could also be used on Earth to reach inaccessible places for common off-road vehicles. The project focused on concept, knowledge and technology transfer from aeronautics to civil application.


Renault U-Time
Marc Nadal Campistrou

Urban single-seater, designed for Renault, a concept inspired by a fan. Concieved for dense traffic and lack of parking space. It is an electrical vehicle, so it does not pollute (sounds and environment). It acts as a gust of fresh air in and for cities. As far as the style is concerned, it is an urban vehicle whose design resembles the architectural structures based on predominant glass and visible frames, seeking to integrate with the urban landscape and its buildings. Safety is also a very important component. The reduced size has been compensated by a bigger sense of rigidity and strength, to prevent its occupants from feeling unprotected.

GAudi
Tony Gallardo Ruiz

Inspired by Gaudi’s constructive style, particularly his dragon-like shape, and Audi’s image as a make, this project seeks to remember Barcelona’s contribution to the fields of architecture and design, now also recognised for its industrial design and specifically its car design. The vehicle is conceived as a specific means of transport to visit cities. Transport-oriented but also as a leisure experience. It is a kind of minibus that can travel by land and water and that can be suspended from a wire to resemble a cable railway’s journey. In the LAND position the vehicle “walks” (lower position of the gear) and it stands on the four wheels. In the WATER position the vehicle “swims” (intermediate position of the gear) and the four skates provide stability to the whole. In the AIR position the vehicle hangs from a wire (upper position of the gear) and its four extremities hold the vehicle’s structure.

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