Mobility icons: India. Florian Seidl, Chanwie Park, Craig Morrison
Modular car for India by Chanwie Park
Social Icons: Generation Y. Matt Croft, Tobias Gabel, Jemma Ooi
Social Icons: Eco-friendly plastic SUV. Vaaibhav Desai,
Daniel Kafka, Tom Hooper
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Mobility icons: India
Florian Seidl, Chanwie Park, Craig Morrison
After undertaking a research trip to India the group decided to focus on entry-level mobility in rural India between 2015 and 2020. The team used a skateboard-like chassis which uses GE’s HydroPlast technology.
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Photo Gallery
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The suspension system is integrated in this skateboard and is inspired by the Citroen 2CV. The car uses electric wheel-mounted engines and a small petrol or CNG engine recharges the batteries. To tackle the affordability problem the group proposed a more service-oriented business strategy comparable to mobile phones and also on the idea of a 'just in time' and a 'just on site' manufacturing model that is also inspired by the open source approach of the IT business.
Florian Seidl’s concept is inspired by post-war Italy and the original Fiat Multipla. It can be used as a people mover or commercial vehicle and has a modular back. The aim is to achieve a friendly and positive appeal and reflect the softness and fluidity of the plastic material. A natural cooling system is also part of the concept, inspired by top-ventilated structures in architecture.
Chanwie Park's concept addresses the fact that Indian cars are often modified by their users according to their individual needs. People living in rural areas carry grain and livestock by a trailer but they also want to use their car to carry passengers. Using a modular principle, drivers can can apply their craftsmanship in changing the car to fulfill their needs.
Craig Morrison's interior proposal for a car for rural india is completely modular. The standard model comes with only the essential articles to use the vehicle, a driver seat, pedals, steering wheel, half a dashboard and a speedometer. The driver can specify add-ons such as seating or load-carrying modules. The dashboard features plug-in accessories, utilising plastics to enable a large number of affordable, small production runs.
Social Icons: Generation Y
Matt Croft, Tobias Gabel, Jemma Ooi
This team researched the habits and consumer behaviour of Generation-Y to discover what automotive designs would best slot into their lifestyles.
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Conclusions were drawn that pointed to familiarity with plastics (shoes, mobile phones, games consoles, iPods). Gen-Y love smart, creative products, and live in a smaller more connected world. Gen-Y also has less money and are more likely to purchase scooters, second-hand automobiles or borrow their parents’ cars.
Matt Croft developed a ‘car canvas’ that is the basic shell of a car with a small engine, aimed at 16 year olds. Designed as a teen’s first road experience, the vehicle moves kit cars away from their current enthusiasts-only image to a generation growing up with Ikea and Lego today. Utilising the flexibility plastic allows, the vehicle can grow with the individual in a plug-and-play fashion, adding mechanical or aesthetic parts to keep the vehicle abreast of the user's lifestyle.
Tobias Gabel's concept is based on research that shows that cars for Gen-Y are more than just a means of getting from A to B. Cars for 16-18 year olds are often seen as a space to have fun and get away from parents.
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Winning team - Mobility icons: China (l-r) Ehsan Moghaddampour, Filip Krnja, Jamie Tomkins
Winning team - Material icons: Plastic form language. (l-r) Yuko Kanemura, Ana Zadnik, Flavien Dachet, (Gregory Adams, vice president of GE Plastics, Automotive), Daniel Sjöholm
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Seats can be easily removed, transforming the interior into a versatile personal space. A ‘push-in’ rear, with the flexibility plastic provides, allows the owner to turn the rear of the car into an external seat.
Jemma Ooi (Textiles student ) integrated the concept of customization within the design of the vehicle – from graphic aspects to materials that hold personal items (CD’s, photos etc) that form both a practical and aesthetic element.
Social Icons: Eco-friendly plastic SUV
Vaaibhav Desai, Daniel Kafka, Tom Hooper
The students in this team realised the changing attitudes of consumers and the demand for eco-friendly SUVs that don’t annoy pedestrians. Rising road taxes for 4x4’s and rising petrol prices are also key issues that influenced this team in designing the SUV for the future. A further consideration for the next generation of SUV was based on the principals of flexibility, lightness and durability.
Vaaibhav Desai's looked at nature for inspiration, the tortoise became the main object of influence. The shell on the Eco Tawtus is used to protect its occupants, while the car protects the environment outside. It has organic and fluid surfaces for a lighter look. Plastics are used to retain utility, and address factors like pedestrian safety, disassembly and recyclability.
Daniel Kafka took influence from modern sports trainers,, his vehicle conceived with the optimum use of material strength, lightness and durability in mind. While encompassing some of the main features that make current SUV’s attractive it encourages interaction rather than isolation from society.
Tom Hooper's research for this project focussed on recycling practices or ‘down cycling’. The design takes a ‘cradle to cradle’ approach as opposed to ‘cradle to grave’, the vehicle could be constructed in such a way that it eliminates the labour intensive and energy exhausting disassembly seen with ‘down cycling’. With disassembly and recycling, the vehicle’s materials are food for the next generation of vehicles.
Today plastic is a material that in automotive applications still has associations of 'cheap', 'mass produced' and 'low quality' – it’s hard to imagine a positive context of the word 'plasticy'. But, through projects like Plasticon, this image will shift as the true value of this material in unlocking many design possibilities becomes better known. Already proven in exterior applications such as the Smart range of cars, and clearly predominant within interiors, the material is progressively elevating itself within the automotive design industry. Whilst there is still the scope for innovation in how natural materials may be used within new vehicle design, plastics offer far greater potential, and with companies such as GE developing continually materials with new properties that offer so many possibilities to the designer, the future for the plastic car looks bright.
Eleven judges evaluated the students’ projects, based on quality of concept, execution and presentation. The members of the jury were:
- Robert Butterfield, Global Market Director, Design Innovation & Technology Demonstration GE Plastics, Automotive
- Mark Kingsley, General Manager of Global Marketing, GE Plastics, Automotive
- Geert-Jan Schellekens, Principal Automotive & Industrial Designer, GE Plastics
- Satoru Tai, Vice President, Nissan Design Europe
- Russell Carr, Chief Designer, Lotus Design
- Dave Cole, General Motors Advanced Design, UK
- Thomas Bürkle, Chief Designer, Hyundai Europe Design
- Dale Harrow, Head of Vehicle Design Department, RCA
- Professor Jeremy Myerson, Director of Innovation, RCA
- David Ahmad, Head Tutor, Vehicle Design, RCA
- Brett Patterson, Editor in Chief, Car Design News
Two teams won a trip to New York including museum visits and an opportunity to present their project to the GE Design Council. Prizes were also awarded to four students for their individual project work.
Royal College of Art website: www.rca.ac.uk
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Royal College of Art - The Show 2005
Royal College of Art - Fiat Pixel project
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