College for Creative Studies Student Exhibition 2004

The CCS Student Exhibition is one of Detroit’s major cultural community events. Work including jewelry, paintings, photography, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, and textiles was for sale and was available for viewing through the month of May. Proceeds from the sale of art go directly to the students, while ticket sales and sponsorships benefit student scholarships.

In the Transportation Design exhibition, a variety of both sponsored and individual projects were available for viewing. This year's senior class project was sponsored by General Motors and was based on a 'Version 2.0' of the skateboard-like Autonomy chassis. The Junior class was asked by ASC to consider the next generation of 'open top' vehicles, which is where that firm's roots lie. French manufacturer Renault engaged another group of CCS students to design 'The Next Big Thing', a look at the possibilities for transportation in 2010. Also on display were an array of projects from the Industrial Design courses, including packaging, product, furniture and interior design.

The Senior Class project was already introduced to CDN readers in an earlier story: GM Autonomy 2020 , but it's an intriguing project, and definitely worth another look to focus on some of the designs not presented earlier.

Amina Horozic's vehicle has was based on the notion that, 'Parenthood is Evolving'. She designed the vehicle from the inside out, with the idea that the vehicle has replaced the family dining table as a place to converse and interact. She states, “In a category of its own, this family vehicle would provide all the functions of the minivan with a rather unique and individual style. It is aimed at young families who strive to stand out in a crowd and escape the stereotypes and connotations associated with the current minivans and their drivers.” The overall proportion of the vehicle is of a panel truck from the 50's modified into a chopped top lowrider, but the forms and detailing tell a much different story. Safety is obviously in mind with tall body mass and lots of sheetmetal giving it a protective feel, but it also has expanses of glass in the rear hatch and in a dramatic swoop on the side that provide both a daring exterior design and unique interior view out into the world. The body shape mixes both organic and geometric forms in a way that feels like skin over bones. Amina reveals, “I looked at a lot of fashion. I wanted to capture that same emotion and feel that like the fashion brings in to, when you see the shows, into a vehicle. So I looked at French houses of design like Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Paul Gauthier and they have really bold and flamboyant, really extravagant designs of their fashion and I wanted to capture that same feeling in it...the car surfaces look like they are draping over the structure, like cloth drapes over your body." Graphic elements mimic the overall forms in that there are both flowing lines and geometric elements present. The final piece of her effort is the floating light bar at the front, with it's oversized Chevy logo, which puts a modern spin on the way headlights used to be a separate element of a car's overall design.

Joel Baek' s creation is, as one of his sketches point's out, his “boyhood dream machine”. It's a Pontiac-branded, two seat race/track event sports car with just enough civility (ie. meeting relevant vehicle codes) to be streetable. Despite the seemingly simple concept, it's apparent that Joel has put a lot of thought into both the overall functioning of the fuel cell powertrain in a racing environment and the aesthetics of his vehicle. He has proposed modifications to the Autonomy chassis that make it more suitable to going quickly, handling better and providing the flexibility for reasonable range on the street and light weight on the track. These include storage for extra hydrogen tanks, aerodynamic enhancements, and allowance for additional wheel motors to be added easily. The exterior is in the basic style of today's open cockpit prototype racers but without wings and other drag producing appendages. This proportions are similar too with a fairly long nose and the lengthy tail needed to produce good downforce. The overall forms are curvy and contemporary with a bit of snap on the upper radiuses and a cut off “kamm” tail. The two headrest forms put a lot of visual mass over the rear of the car, but this is not a negative in my mind, and since they cover the rear hydrogen tanks as well as providing an aero benefit they are certainly justified. Other intriguing details are the removable clear/tinted body pieces and the small 'fingernails' at the back of the headrests. The cockpit is relatively simple and the passengers are partially separated by a tall bulkhead that doubles as a lateral head restraint.

At the opposite side of the design spectrum is Jeremy Rolfs' Hummer for the US National Park Service and it's fire fighters. His premise was to utilize the unique, environmentally friendly features of the Autonomy chassis in roles that benefit the environment itself. The long range and the excellent power and torque of the electric motors would make for an excellent forestry vehicle, allowing the firefighters and forestry personal to spend longer periods of time in the field, in more demanding terrain, with better support due to the electrical generation capabilities of the platform. As with current Hummer products, massive blocky forms are used to convey strength and solidity. Those forms create ample space for external bins, storage areas and tool attachment points. Features such as running boards are either integrated or made retractable into the main body so they can't snag on trees and other obstacles. At the front, the traditional seven-port Hummer grill is reproportioned into a set of lights set into the large frontal storage compartment lid. A soft, fire resistant retractable top is also part of the design. Other details are influenced by carabiners, heavy duty travel cases, furniture and tool design. Inside, Jeremy's design has incorporated an articulating and damped seating system that allows the occupants to remain relatively motionless while the vehicle traverses rough terrain.