| A building is a static object, but you can
move inside. The car, on the other hand, is a moving object that is static
inside. Combine the two and you may end up with a perfect object, says
Nargess Shahmanesh-Banks.
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Viewed from above the exterior
design gives the illusion of moving like the wind |
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Patrick le Quément is the crème de la crème of the
car design world. He’s a veteran, an old boy who successfully transformed
the image and identity of Renault. He believes that there are tremendous
similarities between architecture and car design. The car and building
are living objects and require a certain set of parameters that sets them
apart from other objects. “The main thing is to accept the car as
a dynamic object and to treat it that way,” he says.
The French refer to the car’s body as its architecture, but in English
the term ‘package design’ is more commonly used to define
the same thing, though this is rapidly changing.
“Many of us, like myself, would be architects if we were not in
this business,” le Quément confesses. “We are fascinated
with everything that is related to architecture.” This, it seems,
is very much inherent in the language of Renault design. “If you
look at Renault’s history, it has always made very practical cars,
with lots of space,” he says.
So, going back to the original question, how do you create movement inside
a car? Renault’s new concept, Fluence, sets out to challenge this
idea. Unveiled this month, the up-market four-seater sports coupe fits
nicely into Renault’s third phase of design.
Taking a brief glimpse back, Renault's evolution in design began back
in 1988 with the objective to build a strong image as shown on the Scenic
and Twingo. The second phase was marked by a quest for a strong visual
identity, most strongly translated to the Vel Satis. The current phase
was born in 2002 and le Quément describes it as: “moving
to an evolution in styling, making strong line that refer to our company's
genes and heritage, but also searching for great sensuality.”
The car by nature is a mobile object, but what Fluence sets out to do
is to visually play with or enhance our perception of mobility. To explain,
the body outline sweeps forward like the wind – wind being the inspiration
behind the car -- so that when viewed from above, it magnifies the feeling
of movement.
Achieving mobility inside the cabin was a little harder. Trends in furniture
design played a key role in Fluence’s interior. “We have what
you may term as an obsession with seats,” the designer confesses.
One aspect is to achieve ultimate thinness and for this the team looked
outside the industry by visiting furniture and antique fairs around the
world.
Furniture design is often ahead of other industries in its use and manipulation
of materials. Renault took cue from some of these current trends and the
result is a soft, modern cabin that reminds you more of luxury aircraft
interiors than that of a car. There are some strong architecturally inspired
metal controls and you can even dismantle them and take them home.
According to the rule book, for the third phase of Renault design, the
interior has to project overall warmth, in complete contrast to what le
Quément refers to as the current trend of bio design, with its
masculine lines. Therefore nature, plants and specifically exotic ones
played a huge role in inspiring shapes and textures inside the car.
The design team even cut sections through leaves, which became the basis
of the seat design. To contrast with this, so that the passenger doesn’t
feel completely lost in a jungle, there are some strong 21st century shapes,
influenced from the mechanical and high tech world, but also with an inclusion
of ‘touch design’. “We love the idea of using metals
that give the feeling of precision, but are warm to touch,” says
le Quément.
The touch design approach is something that has been a major part of Renault
design since 2001. It simply means making complex electronics simple.
“Our message is to ‘burn the manuals’,” says le
Quément.
If you have been sitting in a car for a long time, your will eventually
need to move as your body will be numb. The problem, explains le Quément,
is that the current car seat is not ergonomically adjustable to the body.
His second obsession therefore is to have a fully adaptable seat that
can accompany the passenger in any movement. Renault’s dream is
to make a seat that senses you and your shape as soon as you make contact,
then simply engulfs the body.
Fluence is more or less production friendly, though history has shown
that the production version seldom does full justice to the original concept.
Whatever happens, these ideas will be the inspiration behind what Renault
will show us next.
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