Hasta La Ideas

The Design Museum in London launches its Design Museum Collection iPad app today that features 59 objects from their collection, including interviews with museum director Deyan Sudjic filmed by Dezeen. Download it free from the app store here.

In this first movie in a series taken from the app, we’ve compiled entries about classic design for driving. Pieces discussed include the Vespa Clubman scooter, British traffic lights, Mobil Oil petrol pump and a model car built from a sketch by Le Corbusier. You can also watch this movie on Dezeen Screen »

iPhone and Android versions will be launched in the next few months.

Download the Design Museum Collection App here.

Here are some more details about the app from the Design Museum, followed by text excerpts from the app:

Design Museum launches Collection App

The Design Museum launches its first iPad Collection App featuring 59 objects from the Design Museum’s collection. The App is a free download which explores key moments in design history through the extensive Design Museum Collection. Classic pieces featured include: the Angelpoise lamp, the Dyson vacuum, the Thonet chair mould, the Face magazine, the British telephone box, the Vespa and the Kindle, a recent addition to the Collection.

The App includes video interviews with Deyan Sudjic, Design Museum director, and Helen Charmen, Design Museum head of learning. Stephen Bayley, Design Museum founding director, has contributed additional commentary. The App enables users to explore each design by material, date, manufacturer, designer and colour.

The Design Museum has showcased and celebrated design innovation for 22 years and this App, supported in part by donations from visitors, is a new way to explore the museum’s collection. With a global digital audience in excess of three million visitors a year including over 500,000 Twitter followers and 150,000 Facebook fans, the museum is offering new ways to engage its global audience with design.

The Design Museum is building its collection ahead of its move to new premises at the former Commonwealth Institute in west London in 2014. The App will develop in line with the collection and build to become a unique design resource.

iPad launch date: 28 March 2012
iPhone launch date: 3 May 2012
Android launch date: 5 June 2012

The Design Museum would like to thank the developers twentysix, film makers Dezeen and Alice Masters, author Stephen Bayley and all those who made contributions to the app. The Design Museum would also like to thank the Heritage Lottery Fund for their initial support.

Commissioned by the Design Museum
Development by twentysix
Films by Dezeen

The Design Museum Collection

The Design Museum Collection is made up by over 2000 objects that range from the early Modernism of the 1900s to the cutting edge of contemporary design. The Collection tells the history of design in mass production and includes furniture, lighting, domestic appliances and communications technology. The Collection is an important record of the key designs which have shaped the modern world.

Model of the Voiture Minimum

It is hardly surprising that Le Corbusier, the architect who conceived of houses as ‘machines for living in’, should attempt to design a car. The Swiss architect was famously obsessed with the potential of technology to transform everyday life. To him, and many progressive thinkers of the time, the automobile was a symbol of modernity and a focal point in his visions for futuristic utopias. The car was designed in response to a competition by France’s Société des Ingénieurs de l’Automobile (SIA), which called for proposals for a small, practical and economical car that cost no more than 8,000 francs. Le Corbusier answered the challenge with his cousin, and business partner, Pierre Jeanneret, and in 1936 they submitted proposals for the Voiture Minimum. Sadly, the car never actually made it into production, nonetheless, its striking form had a lasting impact. As Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro wrote in 1987, the Voiture Minimum ‘is so full of inventive touches that even nowadays they are among the most advanced proposals’, pointing out that it was ‘following the principles of aerodynamics that were sensed long before prototypes were placed in wind tunnels.’

Vespa Clubman

Launched at the Rome Golf Club in 1946, the Vespa was the birthchild of Enrico Piaggio. After the Second World War, a time when most Italians lacked modes of transport or the means to acquire them, the aeroplane manufacturer hit upon the idea of developing a scooter to kick-start Italy’s economic reconstruction. He approached the aeronautical engineer Corradino D’Ascanio to design a new motorcycle. D’Ascanio famously did not like motorcycles, finding them uncomfortable and bulky, dirty and difficult to maintain. Drawing on his experience in aeronautical engineering, D’Ascanio completely re-designed the scooter. The riding position of the Vespa was designed to let you sit comfortably and safely, rather than perched dangerously on top. The front body protected the rider from getting dirty and the wheels are supported by arms similar to those found on aircraft carriages to make changing tyres easier.

Just four years after its debut, companies across Europe clamoured for the right to build the motorcycle. In the UK, a licence was granted to Douglas of Bristol, who marketed the Vespa with the name ‘Clubman’. By the 1960s, the Vespa Clubman had become the scooter of choice for the fashion-conscious mods, who liked its stylish Italian associations and its potential for modification. They would add lights, accessories, various racks, mascots and crash bars, and attended scooter rallies across the country. A cultural icon both in Italy and in the UK, the Vespa scooter was one of the great transport phenomena of the twentieth century.

Traffic light

During the 1960s, thousands of miles of new roads and motorways were built in Britain. Following the introduction of the new signage system by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert, the Ministry of Transport approached David Mellor to design a new traffic control system. Over 4,500 sets were to be gradually replaced by a new version, which used a new light which was brighter during the day and softer at night. Mellor’s main concern was to simplify a system that had been cluttered up with various additions over the years, developing a new system which was adaptable to include additional signs such as ‘no left turn’ and traffic filter arrows when required. It was of prime importance that the message should come across with total clarity. The new signals were made from polypropylene plastic, which needed no repainting. Mellor’s traffic lights are still in use today.

Road sign (Scarborough, York, Pickering, A64, A169)

Britain’s first motorway, the Preston By-pass, was an endeavour to alleviate congestion on the roads by increasing both capacity and the speed that cars could travel. In response to this, a government advisory committee was established in 1957 to investigate the effectiveness of current signage and align it with continental practices.

Graphic designer Jock Kinneir and his assistant Margaret Calvert were then asked to research the requirements of a new signage system. After introducing successful signs to the new M1 motorway, Kinneir and Calvert redesigned and unified the entire road sign system. Although modified over the years to include extra information, such as junction numbers and speed cameras, the purity of their original system remains and is integral to the identity of British roads.

Petrol pump for Mobil Oil

One of the most recognisable petroleum brands in the world, the Mobil logo has remained more or less the same since it was designed in 1964 by Tom Geismar of Chermayeff & Geismar. Commissioned by architect Eliot Noyes to develop a strong and coherent graphic identity for the new company, Geismar’s initial concern was that their name would be mispronounced as ‘Mo-bile’, rather than ‘Mo-bil’. His solution was to stress, visually, the letter ‘o’. By reproducing the letter in red, it is distinguished from the rest of the name and suggests the correct pronunciation. This also added a very memorable and distinctive element to an otherwise straightforward identity.

S-Cargo

Launched at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1989, the tall curved roof and circular rear windows of the Nissan S-Cargo attracted a great deal of attention. The commercial van’s name is a affectionate play on words meaning both ‘Small Cargo’ and ‘Escargot’, the French word for snail. Despite the whimsical name, the snail-like appearance of the S-Cargo belies serious design considerations. Large side doors make it simple for the driver and passenger to get in and out, while a top hinged rear door with a low payload floor allow for easy loading and unloading of large items, made simple by the tall roof and foldaway rear seat. Clear, easy-to-read gauges and a generous windscreen were developed with the driver in mind and a flat dashboard makes an ideal desk away from the office.

Although the van won widespread appeal for its appearance and versatility, it was only ever intended to be a limited edition production. Built by Nissan’s special projects group The Pike Factory (also responsible for cars such as the iconic Figaro and the Pao), a total of 12,000 vans were made between 1989 and 1992.

Moulton AM2

James Dyson, industrial designer and founder of Dyson describes the 1983 bike’s success as follows: ‘Designed by west of England designer, Alex Moulton, this bike is extraordinarily engineered. It has very small wheels, but is able to tear along at the speed of a racing bike. Small wheels grip the road surface, and good suspension gives the robust frame comfort.’

Slideshow: car brand Mini will present a panel-van version of the Mini Clubman at the International Geneva Motor Show next month. 

Two hinged doors at the back of the Clubvan open onto a flat loading compartment in place of the Clubman’s rear seats, separated from the cab by an aluminium screen and stainless-steel mesh at the top, but otherwise the dimensions are the same.

The rear side windows are covered and, as with the Clubman, there’s a rear-hinged door behind the driver’s door to give access to the back compartment.

The interior of the loading compartment is covered in anthracite-grey cloth and Mini claim the premium vehicle would be ideal for a fashion designer, gallerist, caterer or photographer.

See the Mini Rocketman Concept they launched at last year’s show in our earlier story and check out the original Clubman here.

The International Geneva Motor Show takes place from 8 to 18 March.

Here are some more details from Mini:

More space for style: The MINI Clubvan Concept. Compact lifestyle van for business and leisure – First concept of its kind in the premium segment – World premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show 2012.

Stand-out-from-the-crowd style can also be amazingly practical – and practicality surprisingly attractive. The MINI Clubvan Concept brings apparently conflicting profiles together into a single package, paving the way for an innovative vehicle concept without parallel in the premium small car segment. The MINI Clubman-based concept car, scheduled for its world premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show 2012, combines the driving fun for which MINI is renowned with increased load-carrying capability. The MINI experience will therefore find its way into new areas of life, the brand’s distinctive character gaining new popularity among target groups not previously on the MINI radar.

The closed-off load area behind the front seats and the opaque rear side windows of the new concept set it apart most strikingly from the MINI Clubman. The MINI Clubvan Concept uses its broader skill-set to open up new usage possibilities – both business and leisure. Where a business’s customers, product range and operating environment demand a particular style for its vehicles, a premium model can make the perfect delivery solution. For example, a car in the mould of the MINI Clubvan Concept would fit excellently into the fleet of a fashion designer, art gallery owner or event caterer. And its abilities as an all-rounder also tick the right boxes for a photographer with a stack of camera, tripod and lighting equipment to ferry around during the week – and bulky sports and leisure gear to pile on board at the weekend.

The MINI Clubvan Concept pulls off the trick of blending enhanced practicality and a well-judged lifestyle focus with natural ease. This ability is based on the impressive adaptability that goes to the heart of the MINI brand’s heritage. Calls for maximising the load capacity of the classic Mini began as early as 1960, just a year after the car’s birth. And they were soon heeded. With its 10-centimetre-longer wheelbase, separate load compartment and split rear doors, the Morris Mini Van was perfectly equipped for commercial use. It also provided the basis for the fully glazed, four-seat Morris Mini Traveller, one of the precursors of today’s successful MINI Clubman. And so, more than 50 years on, the MINI Clubvan Concept sees history repeating itself – albeit in a slightly different order.

Two seats, five doors, endless usage potential. Limiting the car to two seats creates the capacity its owners will need on a day-to-day basis, as well as opening up a whole new world of customisation potential. The load compartment of the MINI Clubvan Concept embodies the car’s fresh and rigorous interpretation of the principle used in the classic Mini – of providing the maximum amount of interior space on the smallest possible footprint. The load area reaches from the split rear doors right up to the partition grille behind the two seats. The totally level floor makes full use of the interior’s depth, and that allows the concept car’s load capacity to exceed the maximum achieved by the MINI Clubman.

Six attachment loops recessed into the load compartment floor use elasticated straps to hold items of varying lengths, heights and widths in place – without the risk of them sliding around. Added to which, the partition grille, which is fixed securely to the car body, ensures that items stowed in the load compartment cannot find their way into the front seats, even under extremely heavy braking. The lower section of the partition is made from solid aluminium, while the upper section consists of a silver-coloured stainless steel honeycomb grating. The side walls and floor of the load compartment are trimmed in high-quality anthracite-coloured cloth. The anthracite roof liner, meanwhile, extends along the full length of the interior. This uniform colour scheme emphasises the pure-bred, practicality-oriented character of the MINI Clubvan Concept.

Like the MINI Clubman, the MINI Clubvan Concept is a five-door car with a twist. Two front doors for the driver and front passenger, two side-hinged doors at the rear and the rear-hinged Clubdoor on the right-hand side create comfortable access to the interior. The Clubdoor gives owners the option of loading or unloading smaller items from the side of the car as well as the rear.

The generous levels of space on board the concept car can be exploited in a variety of ways. Commercial users will be particularly pleased to discover the scope for configuring the load compartment to personal requirements. For example, tools and goods can be stored neatly and securely in made-to-measure drawers or shelving units. 12-volt plug sockets in the rear area of the load compartment provide additional practicality.

Exterior design: shields from prying eyes, cuts a distinctive figure. Impressive practicality and the brand’s time-honoured style lend the MINI Clubvan Concept its unmistakable character. Sharing the exterior dimensions of the MINI Clubman and boasting cleverly increased storage capacity, the concept car is the first premium model in the small car-based van segment. The exterior appearance of the MINI Clubvan Concept marks it out immediately as a MINI – and therefore as a premium product. The function-led design modifications have no impact on the car’s proportions and hallmark MINI design language, but they do give customers the opportunity to combine the demands of commercial use with an appreciation of individual style.

The MINI Clubvan Concept comes with British Racing Green exterior paintwork, which extends to the roof, C-pillars and exterior mirror caps. As is usual for vehicles charged with transportation tasks, the rear side windows of the MINI Clubvan Concept are opaque. Polycarbonate sections – their outer surfaces painted in the car’s body colour – and heavily tinted glass for the rear doors make it difficult to see into the load compartment.

The unbroken paintwork along the car’s flanks offers extensive scope for individualisation, which the MINI Clubvan Concept highlights to eye-catching effect. The sealed side windows bear the logo of a sign design company based in the MINI’s native Great Britain. The hand-applied graphics lend the vehicle a personal look. Indeed, the ultra-versatile MINI carries both its cargo and the company’s promotional message with a uniquely stylish verve. The MINI Clubvan Concept presented in Geneva lends this form of customisation a piquant authenticity – on two fronts. The British company that has literally left its stamp on the MINI Clubvan Concept creates similar vehicle graphics for its customers. And the MINI Clubvan Concept showcases how these might look when applied to a MINI van.

Dezeen Wire: a prototype of Thomas Heatherwick‘s redesign for the iconic Routemaster bus was unveiled in London this morning.

Realised in collaboration with bus manufacturer The Wright Group, the design sees the return of a hop-on-hop-off platform at the back of the bus, which will be in use only when a conductor is on board, plus window strips that wrap around the corners and up to the top deck.

Eight of the new busses are due to be in service by the end of February 2012.

Photographs are by Iwan Baan – we’ll show more as soon as we get them.

Meanwhile you can see renders of Heatherwick’s design that were unveiled in May 2010 in our earlier story here and the winners of the design competition from 2008 here.

Here are some more details from Transport for London:

Prototype seen for first time in the Capital. Seven more buses to follow early next year and enter service on 20 February, 2012. Buses to serve the busy route 38 between Victoria and Hackney. New bus will be the most environmentally friendly of its kind.

The first bus designed specifically for London in more than 50 years arrived in the Capital today.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, committed to build the bus in his election manifesto and he was one of the first to jump on board today when the bus was driven from City Hall to Trafalgar Square to be unveiled in front of Christmas shoppers, tourists and Londoners.

In just under two years the new bus has gone from the drawing board to a fully functioning prototype.

Today the Mayor announced that the first prototype buses will be operated by Arriva and will enter passenger service on 20 February next year on one of the Capital’s busiest routes, the 38, which runs from Victoria station to Hackney.

The new bus has been designed, engineered and built by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland with aesthetic design by the London-based Heatherwick Studio.

It incorporates the most innovative and cutting-edge hybrid technology and will be the most environmentally friendly bus of its kind when it enters passenger service.

A team of 25 engineers and a 40-strong production team at Wrightbus have worked on the first prototypes.

But the manufacture of the bus has stimulated industries across the UK and, in a difficult economic climate, the Mayor is confident that when the bus goes into full production it will create many more jobs around the country.

Cutting-edge technology

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘Christmas has arrived early in the form of this revolutionary new bus whose gleaming coat of red paint and sinuous curves will brighten the day of all who see it humming along our great city’s streets.

‘It is the latest, greatest masterpiece of British engineering and design, and I am certain it will become a much-loved and iconic vehicle akin to the legendary Routemaster from which it draws so much inspiration.’

The new bus received the thumbs up today when it hosted its first event – as a London radio station broadcasted its breakfast show live from the bus – before it was driven through the streets of the Capital to be unveiled at Trafalgar Square.

Children from Kew Riverside Primary School, that won a prize in the original design competition, were also at Trafalgar Square to see the bus arrive.

Transport for London Commissioner Peter Hendy said: ‘It is a phenomenal achievement to get a bus of this calibre from the drawing board to the streets of London in just two years and my congratulations goes to all who have worked tirelessly to make this happen.

‘This bus has been designed from the wheels up with the complex needs of Londoners in mind; it truly is a 21st century bus.

‘It’s stylish and comfortable, and will ensure a smooth ride for all on board as well as an eye catching spectacle for those who will see it glide through the streets of London.’

Passenger trials

Over the next few weeks the bus will undergo testing for certification purposes and will be put through its paces by the Arriva staff who will be responsible for driving and crewing them when they enter service early next year.

In total eight prototype buses will enter passenger service in the first half of next year.

The prototype buses will be trialled in passenger service and the performance and passenger feedback will be evaluated.

If the trial is deemed successful there could be hundreds of these buses operating across London in the coming years.

This new bus will be the most environmentally friendly bus of its kind when it enters passenger service.

In tests at Millbrook Proving Ground, the engineering test vehicle emitted only 640 grams per kilometre (g/km) of carbon dioxide and 3.96 g/km of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) – less than half of the carbon dioxide emitted by a current diesel bus (1295g/km) and under half of the NOx emitted by a current diesel bus (9.3g/km).

In testing, fuel economy was also better than twice that of a standard diesel bus at 11.6mpg

Wrightbus was awarded the contract for engineering design and to build the New Bus for London in January 2010.

London-based designers Heatherwick Studio provided the exterior and interior design and the result is a vehicle that not only has an iconic look but every aspect of its design has at its heart the complex needs of London’s bus passengers.

Designed for London

Critical design features include three entrances and two staircases to deliver speedy boarding, a new seat and moquette design, innovative use of new materials and an open platform at the rear, in common with the iconic Routemaster.

The rear platform will be open when there is a conductor on board allowing passengers to hop on and off at bus stops.

The three sets of doors will ensure easy access on and off the bus and quick access up to the upper deck via the two staircases.

Thomas Heatherwick, of Heatherwick Studio, said: ‘It has been 50 years since a bus was last designed and commissioned specifically for London.

This has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a team to look again at the opportunities for a new open-platform bus.

It has been an honour to be asked by London’s transport authority to take an integrated approach and design everything that you see and experience from the outside down to the tiniest details of the interior.’

Bob Scowen, Managing Director for Arriva London said: ‘Everyone involved with the running of route 38 is looking forward to testing the new bus and putting it through its paces.’

Dezeen Wire: architecture critics are having their say on plans unveiled yesterday by Foster + Partners and engineers Halcrow for a new transportation hub in the Thames estuary (see our story on Dezeen).

Writing in the Financial Times, architecture critic Edwin Heathcote claims the proposal is “a genuinely innovative and radical plan,” and describes the architect as “a tenacious and consistent innovator,” akin to the pioneering engineers and architects responsible for creating Britain’s urban infrastructure in the Victorian era.

The Guardian‘s architecture critic Jonathan Glancey says the plans are “bold” but expresses concern over whether the country is ambitious enough to implement Foster’s “big-spirited vision of Britain.”

Tom Banks of Design Week says that the proposal may initiate a “call to arms” within the design industry to be more ambitious, adding that it “has put the value of huge, design-led national infrastructure projects firmly in front of Government.”

The BBC reported that not everyone thinks the Thames Hub is a good idea, citing members of Medway council who say its proximity to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas terminals makes it “the daftest in a long list of pie-in-the-sky schemes.”

See our story on the Thames Hub here and all our previous stories about Foster + Partners here.

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If you’re not worried about where you go or how fast you get there, this enormous inflatable cloud is the mode of transport for you.

Predominant winds would determine the routes and speed of the hovering cloud, which would move from place to place without any fixed destinations.

Passengers would board the cloud using ladders and would simply sit on the surface during travel.

Inside the nylon-covered balloon, a steel skeleton like that of a zeppelin airship would support the object’s structure.

New York architect Tiago Barros proposed the design for a transport network of floating clouds in the sky to the Van Alen Institute and the Department of Cultural Affairs of New York City, who were expecting competition entries for a high-speed rail network.

We also published a story about a city on a cloud back in 2007 – see our earlier story here and see more projects that feature weather here.

If airships are your thing, see more of them here.

Here’s some more from the architect:

Passing Cloud

Passing Cloud is a recently submitted project for the international ideas competition: Life at the Speed of Rail, promoted by Van Alen Institute and the Department of Cultural affairs of New York City.

Although it wasn’t one of the winning proposals, Passing Cloud reveals a strong conceptual approach that is worth noting: It is a new vision on traveling, based on the old Zeppelins.

Nowadays, traveling is achieved with this idea of having a fixed destination and an estimated time of arrival. Passing Cloud completely inverts this system. A floating device is introduced that travels around the entire USA territory according to current predominant winds. It has no fixed time of arrival or place for arrival. The journey becomes the essence. Imagine traveling at wind speeds in a totally sustainable object that leaves no Human trace behind.

This project envisions a distinct approach towards moving around the United States being also a revival of the act of traveling. Why traveling at high speed? Why having the final destiny always defined? And why always departing and arriving on a tight schedule? Nowadays, everything is set and everyone is always running around. It is time to reconsider the act of traveling and start enjoying it accordingly.

The Passing Cloud is an innovative and environmentally friendly method of transportation that doesn’t require expensive steel tracks or concrete highways. It is made of a series of spherical balloons that form the shape of a cloud. Its inner stainless steel structure is covered with heavy weight tensile nylon fabric. During the journey, It moves according to prevailing winds speed and direction at the time of travel. Since it moves with the wind, no wind is ever felt during the trip, offering the passengers a full “floating sensation”.

It’s an unique journey. The feeling of floating in the atmosphere – on top of a cloud – with an open schedule and unknown final destiny. All National Ground would be potentially covered at virtually no cost and the help of the wind. The journey becomes your destiny.

Project data:

Promoters: Van Alen Institute and the Department of Cultural affairs of New York City
Competition: June 2011
Design Team: Tiago Barros
Location: USA

See also:

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The Cloud by Atelier Hapsitus	The Snow by Tokujin Yoshioka	Emergency Exit by Kurant & Wasilkowska