The GINA Light Visionary Model by BMW is a concept featuring a flexible fabric skin stretched over an articulated metal frame, meaning the car can change shape. Developed by BMW Group Design and unveiled yesterday, the concept is meant to provoke discussion about the possibilities of car design in the future. Doors open upwards and outwards, creating folds in the material that disappear when the..
Architects Foster + Partners have designed the 40 Signature Series yacht for YachtPlus. The 41-metre yacht is under construction at Rodriquez Cantieri Navali boat yard in Italy and will be available from September. The following information is from YachtPlus: – Exclusive to YachtPlus, the Foster designed 40 “Signature Series” is a new concept private luxury super-yacht for a new generation of ya..
The Toyota iQ, a compact city car that is thought to be the smallest four-seater on the market, is about to go into production. The production version, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, has seating for three adults and a child and is 2.985 metres long and 1.5 metres high. Toyota expect to produce 100,000 iQs a year when it goes into production in October. The following is from..
Industrial designer Michael Young has designed Cityspeed, an urban bike for Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer Giant. The bike features LED headlights and tail lights integrated into the frame. This is the second collaborative project between Young and Giant after the Citystorm range, which was released in Japan last year. Giant, the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world, will officially lau..
Mark Sanders, designer of the Strida Bike, has given Dezeen access to his archive of drawings, models and photographs (including his very first sketch of the bike, above). Here he tells us how the project came about: Dezeen: Why did you first decide to design a folding bike? MS: I am a designer and an engineer and I love to work on mechanical stuff that also has a big aesthetic side. I love the ..
Another product from Normann Copenhagen: Danish architect Britt Kornum has designed a steel version of her Norm 03 Lamp for the Danish brand. The lamp will come pre-constructed, unlike the original version which required the user to assemble the lamp themselves. Norm 03 Steel will be available from September. Below: Britt Kornum See our earlier stories on new Normann Copenhagen products: Cogna..
Swedish automotive design graduate Jon Rådbrink presented a concept for a catamaran-shaped car at the Royal College of Art graduation show in London last month. Called the Lexus Nuaero, it features motors in the wheels and a touch-screen dashboard where the information and controls can be moved around. The driving system is controlled solely by hand without the use of foot pedals; to break, the ..
Car brand Chrysler have re-designed the GEM Peapod, a battery-powered electric car. The Peapod has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and a range of up to 30 miles per charge. Battery charge is extended by regenerative braking and recharge time is approximately six to eight hours. “GEM vehicles are used in settings such as city centers, planned communities, military bases, college campuses, corp..
Belgium-based designers Draw Me a Sheep presented chairs and stools upholstered in real tree bark at 100% Design London, which ended yesterday. The pieces, which feature ash bark formed over timber and resin, are based on the notion that if trees had square trunks, less wood would be wasted. Above: Square Tree Trunk/ stool_I Above: Square Tree Trunk/ bench_I Above: Square Tree Trunk/ bench_II ..
Chris Chalmers will be presenting the following essay at ACADIA 2008. It is based on research done for the Master of Architecture program at California College of the Arts, San Francisco. download it here. More background & supporting research can be found at Chris’ thesis blog site. Abstract Vegetation is divided into natural sets in which diverse species reciprocally limit each other and in wh..