Progress into Unreason - BMW ConnectedDynamics
Bachelor Degree Project, Pforzheim University
BMW AG, Munich, March - July 2014
As a way to face the imminent "threat" of fully automated driving to a joy-oriented brand such as BMW, this project aimed at creating an embassador for the digital age of cars by proving that technology for autonomous cars would not automatically mean a loss in "sheer driving pleasure", but, on the contrary, could even enhance it.
The project was presented at the 2014 Pforzheim University summer degree show and was awarded a distinction. It was featured in several online and offline magazines and publications.
Because the pictures shown here are obviously only the tip of the iceberg of work, I left some comments on the creation process below to give a better understanding how this all came about. Enjoy.
Setting first premises, goals and conceptual ideas. They obviously have a strong effect on the main architecture and character of the car.
If curated carefully, a precise mood board can be essential to keeping a strong character throughout the often bumpy and diluting design phase. This is the original board I used and it helped me many times to refocus on the character I wished to achive.
Rough sketches and thoughts. The Form Language is visibly influenced by my pre-study "Point + Surface", also published here on Behance.
Super rough early Photoshop sketch. The connections and relations of the main lines became more and more clear during the process.
While the reinterpretation of the closed kidney grille was toned down over the process, the fender air bridges are already visible in this early rendering.
The interplay of lines and volumes getting more and more developed
The final design. This was carried through the quarterscale clay model phase, in which I unfortunately was not allowed to take photos. Anyway, the scanned clay model was then partly rebuilt virtually and enhanced with details in Autodesk Alias.
The mashup of clay model scan and Alias-built parts. If you look closely, you can still find the intersections of the "imperfect" clay model and the NURBS-Geometry.
I am pretty happy to see that, after all these years, some of these ideas have proven valid over time and will be found in production vehicles in the near future.
The lighting concept, explained in more depth.
The final model on show at the 2014 summer Degree Show in Pforzheim.
In the photo studio, July 2014.
Notice the little German flag in the front light? Germany had just won the soccer world cup a couple of days before - worth celebrating!
