All Photos By Gail
The renowned designer Alfredo Häberli has joined forces with BMW to create a compelling installation for Designmuseum that tackles the values of future mobility at a conceptual level. Following the BMW Design theme Precision & Poetry, the Zurich-based designer embarked on a thought journey that begins with childhood memories, sketches and formal studies. It ends with a large-scale model, and leads to a spatial installation that allows personal thoughts on future mobility to be experienced in the present.
Spheres Wooden Model in Courtyard Viewed from Museum Lobby
The focus of the exhibition is a wooden ribbed model ten meters long by four meters high (located in the museum’s front courtyard) that translates the theme of future mobility into an avant-garde form of impressive precision and dimension. With its diverse formats and dimension, the installation invites the observer on an individual journey into the mobile future. Häberli’s futuristic perspective on mobility was created for Milan’s major design event Salone del Mobile in 2015.
Spheres 3-D Model
Inside the exhibit gallery, Häberli shares the following insight into the project and his process:
“It all began with the request from BMW to develop a personal, completely free interpretation of the BMW Design philosophy “Precision & Poetry.” These two catch words swept me along, evoking a virtually infinite wealth of images and thoughts. It was soon clear to me that I didn’t want to create a single object, but rather do a study or a concept vehicle — by way of expressing my exploration of the topic [of] future mobility.
The most important thing seemed to me to illuminate the context more precisely. On the one hand, the BMW brand, its history and its future; and on the other the future-oriented image of the world that surrounds the vehicle. This gave rise to four conceptual elements:
The Sphere is the environment is which the vehicle moves. Future roads will effectively depict or visualize the immaterial connections in a community as we experience them in today’s communication world, like a three-dimensional Facebook, where encounters of a business or private nature become real.
The Dwell is the home. A house, a settlement, a town, a sanctuary. Its design is shaped by the occupants’ personal needs. Our future home will become much smaller, we will do less there, but what we do will become more concentrated and compartmentalized.
The Vessel is our means of moving around; an abstract idea that defies classification because it is a hybrid of an airplane, a boat and an automobile — with just one wheel. Based on the interior of a BMW from the 7 Series — which, as a BMW flagship, embodies luxurious traveling — a sculptural form was created that manifests the elegance and streamlined shape associated with gliding movement.
The Couch becomes a place of encounter, as only through autonomous driving do you create freedom in designing the interior. The front seats and cockpit are omitted, occupants look out through a panorama window, which enables a new kind of use. Travel is not only about rushing efficiently from A to B; travel time itself is to be regarded as something valuable, as the true luxury.”
In effect, the time that I have spent on this project and this exhibition has been food for my soul, and for that I would like to thank BMW most sincerely.”
— Alfredo Häberli, Desinger
Spheres will be on Exhibit Through August 21st, 2016 at Designmuseum Danmark, Located at Bredgade 68 / 1260 København K.
Spheres Installation View