BMW Lovos Design Study Has us Wondering About Art, Design...

Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to understand what most modern artists and designers believe that they achieve by being different just for the sake of being different. True, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I wonder how many of you wouldn't agree with me when I say that for example, the Winged Victory of Samothrace or if you prefer something car related, Pininfarina's 1940's Cisitalia 202, are timelessly beautiful and will always remain fresh and unique?

As for the concept that ignited our thoughts, the fish-scale-armadillo-like BMW Lovos concept with Swarovski earrings for lights, which was crafted by Anne Forschner, a 24 year old designer from Germany's Pforzheim University, what can we say; the photos speak for themselves.

And if you're still not baffled, well, just go ahead and read the designer's description of the project. That will do the trick for sure...

BMW Lovos – "Lifestyle Of Voluntary Simplicity"

Anne Forschner, Pforzheim University Germany

Textual description of the project

Lovos (Lifestyle of Voluntary Simplicity) is based on a philosophical idea, which asks critical questions about the design, construction and use of road vehicles, as we know them today. The world we live in is increasingly complex and we move within multifaceted social structures, hardly noticing that we perhaps lack an overview over how products and services influence and overwhelm us. We rarely question these structures and continue to live and consume habitually. The car represents this world in the form of a physical object.

Lovos aims to oppose and question the familiar process of designing, building, purchasing and driving cars. The project is a symbol for the Life Of Voluntary Simplicity and is an object that seeks to provoke the viewer to sidestep his or her embrace of pleasant conformity.

Leaving our common habits/knowledge behind, Lovos is asking fundamental questions:

How many parts do we use to build the exterior of vehicle?

How would a car look like, if it was built by just one (recurring) piece?

The result of an experimental research is a vehicle that is made by 260 identical, exchangeable pieces which are fixed with a hinge on a substructure. The individual pieces are movable, which allows the surface of the vehicle to be closed - like the scales of a fish – or opened to the environment. These pieces work like airbrakes and are also photovoltaic, following the movement of the sun when the vehicle is stationary.

Contrasts, emotion and provocation are the main themes of the design.

The pieces of the covered wheels are also functional: as soon as the vehicle starts driving, 12 pieces per wheel change their formation and move inside, just like a turbine.

The interior is soft and warm and represents a contrast to the mechanical and technical exterior.

Anne Forschner personal Information:

I am a 24 year old german girl and I have just finished my 7 Semester Transportation Design Course at Pforzheim University. For my final Project I got sponsored by BMW in Munich and graduated with a Bachelor degree in July 2009. Before and during my studies I was able to complete several Internships with Mercedes Benz in Sindelfingen, Mazda in California and BMW in Munich.

Thanks and Credits go to Grigory from Cardesign.ru