2005: Germany.
Scale Model on Display at Michelin Challenge Design™
Biography:
I am Raymond Hwang and I am currently pursuing my education in the Industrial Design
Degree program at Humber College in Toronto Canada. I have always been interested in automotive design. Even when I was a little boy I was designing my own cars and dreamt of becoming a car designer. But it was not until 2004 that I was able to pursue this dream career and enrolled into the only school with a Transportation Design program here in Toronto. Combined with my pervious education from another design school with what I have learnt during the first year at Humber, I bravely entered the Michelin Design Challenge to gain more real world design experience.
Description:
German design is the father of the Modern style that has such a great influence on all designs in the twentieth century. From many of the skyscrapers in most of the great cities in the world to many household items and furniture that we have inside our homes, this modern style, created by the master designers form the Bauhaus period, is eternally beautiful and utterly functional. There is no other style of design that can last for so long, through generations of people, and still retain all of its coolest without any feeling of being dated. It has the best balance of form and functions, plus it is honest. There is no stylistic detail that does not serve a purpose, which I found to be a great problem when it comes to modern day car design. Many of the designs are trendy only and not long lasting, making the design being outdated very quickly and therefore reducing the product’s life cycle. It is with this idea in mind that I wanted to create a car that can be just as cool as the Bauhaus furniture, namely those tubular chairs that are still the definition of good design even today. I want the design to have the same exposed tubular frame with carbon fiber or plastic composite panels replacing the black leather that is often used.
German design also means design for the masses, which is reflected in the practical aspect of the Bauhaus housing, interior designs, and also with the German vehicle that started it all, the VW Beetle. So my design has to be cheap to produce and affordable to the masses. I hope to achieve this with the reductions of parts. The tubular frame is identical front and back and side to side. Therefore it only requires to same section of bend tubes to be used all around. Joining these identical tubes together forms the chassis. There are only two identical doors on each side with hinges inside the roof so it could swing up and out of the way for good passenger access into the car. Also because of the identical design that body panels are reduced to only a few pieces, which can further reduce production and repair cost. For the drivetrain, I am hoping a low cost diesel electrical hybrid can be both a fuel efficient, environmental and affordable solution for a car that can last a longer period of time. The exposed tubular frame also meant that mechanical parts could be easy to access and repair. To further establish a link to its heritage, the car shares the name with the chair that inspired the design, Barcelona.
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