GINA - The BMW Group Design philosophy. Challenging
established concepts, hazarding visions.
Successful design arouses desire. In order to achieve this, it is more
crucial than ever before that car manufacturers create the conditions that
allow customers to establish a close relationship with their cars.
Therefore, designers seek ways to promote and intensify people's
identification with their car that reach beyond pure aesthetics. In the
premium segment in particular, customers demand cars that stir emotions and
allow them to express their individuality. BMW Group Design has set another
deepened objective for designing new cars that moves today's consumers and
their demand for enhanced utility and more versatility to the top of their
agenda. An innovative concept introduced by BMW Group Design prepares the
ground for this new approach: the GINA (Geometry and Functions In "N"
Adaptions) principle grants more freedom for car design. It allows the
creation of products with a design and functional range that express
individuality and meet the wide variety of requirements of those who are
using them.
In the 21st century, customers approach their purchasing decision with a
high degree of assertiveness, clearly defined requirements and subjective
concept-tions - particularly when it comes to selecting their means of
transport.
In recent years, the interests and priorities that motivated them have
changed and, more importantly, they have become considerably more
diversified. This development will continue in the future. Today, the BMW
Group is already responding to the highly diversified range of customer
requirements and heightened expectations by providing services such as a
substantially more varied product range, ever increasing possibilities for
personalization and requirement-oriented production among others.
Future customer requirements as a benchmark. By introducing the GINA
philosophy, BMW Group Design presents ways of meeting these challenges in
the future. The philosophy expresses the readiness and ability of BMW Group
Design to consider individual customer requirements as an integral part of
car development. Christopher E. Bangle, Head of BMW Group Design, speaks
with conviction when he says: "Personal customer requirements will broaden
the context of our products and change the core values that define our
industry along the way." For more than ten years now, these issues have
inspired Bangle's ideas. Time and time again, these ideas have been
motivating the BMW Group Design team to break new ground and to find
pioneering solutions. These results have spawned new customer expectations
which in turn inspires designers to develop further innovations.
GINA: Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptions. The GINA philosophy
offers designers as well as development and production specialists an
opportunity to challenge existing principles and conventional processes.
Solutions that will benefit the car of the future are examined without
predefined rules and from as many perspectives as possible. This also
involves questioning what is believed to be set in stone. Does a car roof
really have to rest on pillars and be bordered by windows? Do all functions
have to be visible at all times, even when they are not needed? How many
personalization options does my car offer? Are there any possible
alternatives to the rigid body shell made of steel or plastic?
Questions like these lead to groundbreaking, cross-segmental solutions -
and visions of the future of individual mobility. An essential principle of
the GINA philosophy is to deliberately integrate the potential of new
materials and pioneering, innovative constructions into the creative design
process, and the idea of challenging existing manufacturing methods and
material concepts. BMW Group DesignworksUSA, a subsidiary of the BMW Group
that operates globally and caters to companies across the industry, has
greatly inspired the design team at BMW Group Design. The design agency's
extensive experience with projects for a number of industrial partners
outside of automotive engineering, predominantly in the field of material
development and production.
It is in the nature of such visions that they do not necessarily claim
to be suitable for series production. Rather, they are intended to steer
creativity and research into new directions. This approach helps to tap
into formerly inconceivable, innovative potential that reaches far beyond
the appearance of future cars and takes into account not only materials and
structures but also functions and manufacturing processes. The potential
requirements of tomorrow's customers serve as a benchmark. In addition to
aesthetics, the GINA philosophy also deals with ergonomics, the functional
range and all other factors that rule customers' emotional relationship
with their car.
With the development of the GINA Light Visionary Model, the BMW Group
presents examples of visionary solutions. For the first time, exemplary
adaptations of various approaches described by the GINA philosophy are
brought to life to illustrate the potential impact of this concept on the
future of automotive engineering. The limits of current material properties
and manufacturing processes are projected far into the future. All
innovations that these cars present focus on the variable adaptation of
form and function based on individual and situation-related driver
requirements as well as the demands of the driving situation itself.
Therefore, both the exterior and the interior are equipped with a variety
of components that differ significantly from conventional solutions, not
only by the way they look but also in terms of their basic properties.
For example, the GINA Light Visionary Model presents features such as a
virtually seamless outer skin made of a textile fabric that stretches
across a moveable substructure. Functions are only offered if and when they
are actually required. The drastic re-interpretation of familiar
functionality and structure means that drivers have a completely new
experience when they handle their car. Reducing the car to its essentials
and adapting it to the driver's requirements enhances the car's emotional
impact and achieves a crucial objective of the GINA philosophy.
Visions spawn innovative concepts. The strategy of challenging what is
established, exploring new possibilities and focusing on customer demands
and requirements has inspired the BMW Group to implement a wide variety of
innovative concepts. It has also affected the design of production cars in
ways that are completely new and unprecedented by any other car
manufacturer. A wide range of innovations that have been acclaimed for
their virtually revolutionary character is actually based on the GINA
philosophy. On the way from vision to production model, visionary ideas
have been turned into new concepts.
Both the sculptural design presented by the BMW X Coupé concept car, for
example, and the interplay of convex-concave surfaces that has affected the
design of all production vehicles, are derived from visions with an
innovative power. This power is generated by the unrestricted freedom that
characterizes the quest for wider design possibilities. In the example
mentioned above, the natural material properties of the outer skin have
been deliberately incorporated into the design process. The design process
has integrated the twisted surfaces and has used the specific sculptural
aesthetics of the convex-concave elements that are created by the
material's reaction. The design of the BMW Z4, which has been modeled on
the BMW X Coupé concept car, is a striking example.
These visions could only be implemented because of the development of
completely new manufacturing technologies. As before, the objectives
defined by the GINA philosophy have been achieved thanks to the special
expertise of production engineers and their ability to move beyond
traditional methods. Their effort has allowed the creation of a form
language that has not only significantly enhanced aesthetic standards and
the significance of design as an expression of product substance, but also
the manufacturing processes themselves.
Versatility in function and form stirs emotions. Some of the pioneering
visions that are based on the GINA philosophy have also been implemented in
the interior design of concept cars such as the BMW CS1 concept car of
2002. This car's interior is equipped with control and functional elements
that become visible only if and when the driver wishes to avail of them.
Thanks to a flexible, Neoprene-covered instrument panel, the driver's
attention can focus on the required functions. This situation-oriented
variability of form and function invites the driver to engage in a dialogue
with his car. Using these functions, the driver experiences an emotional
reaction. This is caused by the fact that he can adapt the car's appearance
to suit his personal wishes. In this application, the intelligent
deployment of flexible material dispenses with the need for complex
mechanical features. At the same time, the versatile appearance has a
natural aesthetic appeal.
The control concept iDrive, first demonstrated by the BMW Z9 and refined
in the BMW CS1 concept car has long since become established as part of BMW
production models. It is a perfect enhancement to the spirit of the GINA
philosophy, as it is guided by the principle of displaying only those
functions to the driver that are relevant to the individual driving
situation. The cockpit adjusts to the driver's needs. As he handles the car
by interacting with it, the driver forms a strong emotional bond.
Integration of meaningful functions that are relevant to the customer.
It is one of the GINA principles to challenge existing solutions in order
to broaden the context, thus extending the scope of possibilities for
customers. In the engine compartment of the BMW CS1 concept car, the engine
cover has been replaced by flexible stretch material. A graphical display
panel provides information on the particular arrangement of the service
functions, integrated zip fasteners facilitate easy, hands-on access to the
filler caps of the cooling water and wiper water tanks. A number of
functions - cover, orientation and access to service points - are
integrated into one component in a logical and attractive manner. This
deliberately minimalist approach to the deployment of components is an
active contribution to the protection of resources.
Rapid Manufacturing for more versatility. As a result of our
interdisciplinary cooperation, we have developed a method that allows
manufacturers to decorate outer skin components that have been preformed by
conventional methods with individually configured high-precision contour
lines prior to their reintegration into the manufacturing process. The GINA
design philosophy has been applied to Rapid Manufactu-ring to create an
unparalleled method of manufacturing single components fast,
cost-efficiently and with a focus on individual requirements.
This combination of processes was first used during the production of
hoods for the BMW Z4 M Roadster and the BMW Z4 M Coupé. These models
received their distinctive contour lines at a separate production stage
which differed significantly from conventional sheet metal processing. The
lines were embossed into the hood with pin-point precision by a
robot-guided steel pin. This approach allows for entirely new ways of
individualized production.
With Rapid Manufacturing, customer preferences can be implemented when
car body elements and other components are designed to the specifications
of designers.
New materials and manufacturing processes create a natural aesthetic
appeal. The cockpit surface of the BMW Concept Coupé Mille Miglia 2006,
which has been influenced by the technology of industrial origami, is
another example of vision-based, revolutionary design. It has produced
solutions that reflect several guiding principles of the GINA Philosophy.
The number of components is significantly reduced compared to conventional
cockpits while completely new methods of combining different materials have
provided valuable stimulation for the conception of innovative production
technologies. The manufacturing process has deliberately relied on the
expertise and technical skills of highly-qualified specialists, whose
competence is a prerequisite for the practical implementation of design
visions.
The exterior design of concept cars also reflects innovative concepts
resulting from the practical implementation of visionary ideas. Both the
sculptural design presented by the BMW X Coupé concept car, for example,
and the interplay of convex-concave surfaces that has affected the design
of all produc-tion vehicles (introduced for the first time in the Z4), are
derived from visions with an innovative power. This power is generated by
the unrestricted freedom that characterizes the quest for wider design
possibilities. The design deliberately uses the interplay of splines as
character lines and the natural flow of stretched convex-concave
surfaces.
The designer's metal processing ideas for the interior of the BMW Mille
Miglia Concept Coupé were inspired by the traditional Japanese art of paper
folding. An inherently stable, three-dimensional structure was created from
two-dimensional V2A sheets of metal by means of a special laser cutting and
folding processes. This technique produced joints which were strategically
employed for integrating ventilation functions into the cockpit without the
need for additional elements. The result was an innovative solution with a
natural aesthetic appeal that was produced with a minimum amount of
tools.
The GINA principle: Priority for sustainable solutions. The GINA
philosophy objective also includes the quest for sustainability on
different levels. The search for new materials and production technologies
favors solutions that work with less raw material and energy. A minimalist
approach to the use of components and production stages yields ecological
and economic benefits. As part of our endeavor to create social
sustainability, we are looking for production methods that rely on the
expertise of highly qualified specialists instead of expensive
manufacturing tools.
With its goal-oriented research into new materials, the assessment of
production processes without tools such as Rapid Manufacturing and the
incentive to incessantly challenge existing solutions, the BMW Group is
already equipped with a variety of tools that bring the implementation of
the GINA philosophy to life for the customer. Research objects such as the
GINA Light Visionary Model demonstrate that the principles of the GINA
philosophy grant designers maximum freedom for approaching their subject
with visionary thinking. This approach is used for finding solutions that
offer customers new possibilities of adapting forms and functions to suit a
variety of personal requirements and the driving situation in hand.
They pave the way for innovative ideas that can be implemented in
concept cars in order to stimulate series production.
This way, visions can create products that allow drivers to interact
with their vehicle in ways that reach far beyond the conventional
individualization potential established thus far. The GINA philosophy
allows BMW Group Design to support and steadily enhance this interaction
and help drivers build a strong emotional relationship with their car. With
its sensible and careful use of resources for products and their
development, the GINA principle contributes to the sustainability of future
car generations. After all, the social significance of the GINA philosophy
is a product of its heightened application of social aspects both to the
development processes and to the conscious reflection of customer
requirements. |