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GE and Royal College of Art name winning “auto design of the future” students
BERGEN OP ZOOM THE NETHERLANDS — April 11, 2006 — Vehicle designs for the emerging Chinese market and new ideas for the unique properties of plastics scooped the top awards on April 6 at the GE sponsored Royal College of Art PLASTicon competition.
RCA students mingled with leading international figures from the automotive design industry, and GE representatives at the lively awards ceremony at the RCA HQ in Kensington, London.
Judging was so tight two winning teams which consists of a total of 8 different nationalities, were announced, rather than a single award, with each successful team being rewarded with a trip to New York and a meeting with the GE Design Council.
The first winners to be announced from the podium were the Material Icons team. This group of students, Ana Zadnik, Flavien Dachet, Daniel Sjöholm, and Yuko Kanemura, concentrated on the unique properties of plastic and explored different ways to manipulate it to create new textures, patterns and lighting effects.
Their ideas included a car featuring copper sheets laminated in thermochromatic plastic, which changes color as the vehicle heats up, and a “celebrity car” for Icelandic star Bjork, using the colors of Iceland for inspiration.
The second winning RCA team was the Mobility Icons - China team, who were challenged to create a suitable mode of transport for this emerging market.
After a trip to China, the team of Filip Krnja, Ehsan Maghaddampour and Jamie Tomkins developed vehicles for residents of an imaginary tower block - the Beijing Boom Tower. These ranged from a luxury concept car for the penthouse residents, a taxi design for the middle level residents with concertina doors for the crowded Chinese streets, and a new hybrid bike with interchangable parts for the working class at the entry level.
Individual prizes were also presented to Julien Cueff, Chanwie Park and Matthew Croft. Each individual award winner received an Apple i-pod.
GE vice president and general manager of GE Plastics Automotive division Greg Adams who presented the prizes said that GE was pleased to be involved with the automotive designers of the future. He foresaw that design would be of increasing importance to the automotive industry and plastics would play a vital part in this development. Adams commented on how plastic materials currently accounted for up to 10% of all vehicles, but this percentage would increase greatly in the future.
Seventeen graduate students from the RCA's Vehicle Design Department and three from RCA’s Textiles Department took part in the three month assignment to imagine the future of automotive design in plastics.
The PLASTicon program divided students into teams of three and four for research into specific scenarios including emerging generations, emerging markets, auto segment redefinition, formal freedom and function integration. Once the groups had completed an analysis and reached conclusions, each team member designed and modeled a personal interpretation of the scenario. GE advisors worked closely with RCA staff and students to provide guidance and resources.
RCA Rector and Vice-Provost Professor Sir Christopher Frayling was also at the awards event, and praised the quality of designs.
The RCA is the world's only wholly postgraduate university of art and design. The RCA's Vehicle Design curriculum trains students to pioneer new approaches for private and public transportation, including addressing such concerns as traffic congestion, safety and environmental issues.
GE’s Plastics business is an industry leader in automotive technologies representing body panels and glazing, exterior components, trims and accessories, lighting, structures and interiors, underhood applications and new markets. Innovative GE materials expand design freedom and creativity vs. traditional metal and glass while helping to give manufacturers many performance and aesthetic benefits, including weight reduction for improved fuel economy, noise reduction, parts integration for lighter weight and cost savings, and unique colors and special effects.
Reader Enquiries
Anne Clement
GE Plastics, Automotive
Plasticslaan 1
4600 AC Bergen op Zoom
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| Email | anne.clement@ge.com | | Tel | +31 164 29 31 48 | | Fax | +31 164 29 11 50 |
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Notes for Editors
About GE Plastics
GE Plastics (www.geplastics.com) is a global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building & construction, telecommunications, and optical media applications. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, SAN, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP* line of high-performance specialty compounds. GE Plastics, Specialty Film & Sheet manufactures high-performance Lexan* sheet and film products used in thousands of demanding applications worldwide. In addition, GE Plastics’ dedicated Automotive organization is an experienced, world-wide competitor, offering leading plastics solutions for five key automotive segments: body panels and glazing; under the hood applications; component; structures and interiors; and lighting. As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to a successful Games.
* LNP and Lexan are trademarks of General Electric Company.
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GE Plastics – GE and Royal College of Art name winning “auto design of the future” students
Ana Zadnik - Vehicle Made of Stretched plastic form
159 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 8.8 cm
(6.1" x 3.5")
Daniel Sjöholm – Celebrity Utility Vehicle – Björk
225 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 12.3 cm
(6.1" x 4.8")
Flavien Dachet - Texture and transparency of plastic pellets
241 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 10.8 cm
(6.1" x 4.2")
Filip Krnja - China Mobility Vehicle
222 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 10.6 cm
(6.1" x 4.2")
Jamie Tomkins - Hybrid bicycle for China Mobility
210 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 12.4 cm
(6.1" x 4.9")
Vehicle designs for the emerging Chinese market and new ideas for the unique properties of plastics scooped the top awards on April 6 at the GE sponsored Royal College of Art PLASTicon competition. Judging was so tight that two winning teams consisting of a total of 8 different nationalities were announced. Each winning team was rewarded with a trip to New York and a meeting with the GE Design Council. Greg Adams, GE vice president and general manager of GE Plastics Automotive division presented the prizes to the winning teams.
GEPPR231AU
381 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 11 cm
(6.1" x 4.3")
The winning Material Icons team (from left to right), Yuko Kanemura, Ana Zadnik, Flavien Dachet, with GE VP Greg Adams, and Daniel Sjöholm, concentrated on the unique properties of plastic and explored different ways to manipulate it to create new textures, patterns and lighting effects.
249 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 11.8 cm
(6.1" x 4.6")
The winning team (left to right), Ehsan Maghaddampour, Filip Krnja, and Jamie Tomkins with GE VP, Greg Adams, was the Mobility Icons - China team, who were challenged to create a suitable mode of transport for this emerging market.
238 kB
300 dpi: 15.4 x 11.5 cm
(6.1" x 4.5")
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