Jun 03, 2005 – Students at Barcelona's Elisava University Masters Degree course in Transport Vehicle Design have presented BMW vehicle concepts as part of an architecture-inspired design project. With the aim of showing some of the most characteristic aspects of Barcelona's personality, the team Iniciativa BMW and the Barcelona Town Hall developed the project 'BCN in Motion', inspired by the emblematic buildings and spaces of Barcelona.

The presentation of the projects took place May 5, with each of the models displayed in front of the buildings they were based upon. 'BCN in Motion' invited the people of Barcelona to participate in the project by following the route created by the spaces that take part in the exhibition.

BMW 'Parc Güell'
Philippe Holthuizen

'Parc Güell' features stone structures and pottery, and is full of shapes that defy imagination. One of its main attractions is the Drac de Gaudí, one of the best known pieces of work from the Modernist movement, one of the symbols of the city and the source of inspiration of this car. The car floats on water using an innovative system that integrates suspension, transmission and steering. This system also allows the car to move with the fluidity of a reptile through the entangled streets of Barcelona. The main part of the vehicle, based on the shape of a water drop, evokes the body of the Drac, and embodies elements of BMW's design language.

BMW 'La Pedrera'
Nico Alonso

This three-seater vehicle is inspired by the wandering and imposing chimneys of 'La Pedrera'. Despite its apparently reduced dimensions, it stands out with an unusual and bold cabin form. It is part of an organic design, with ramps and waves, that brings the theme of the car closer to the world of architecture.

BMW 'La Sagrada Família'
David Torres and Ferran Esquius

Barcelona is filled with Gaudi's modernism, and the 'La Sagrada Família' concept is inspired by the spirit of this unique and imposing building style. 'La Sagrada Familia' is a luxury car addressed to a selected audience. Its large dimensions are compensated by the beauty and balance of its proportions. It also conveys strength and Mediterranean character through its shapes and surfaces, using light and shadow in a similar way to Gaudi's creations.

BMW 'Pavelló Mies van der Rohe'
Diego Salazar

In 1929, the Exposición Universal de Barcelona took place, and Germany was represented thanks to the design of the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. 'Pavelló Mies van der Rohe' is a luxury car inspired by geometric rigour, with angular and clear lines. The disposition and combination of materials of the pavilion, along with the geometric rigour and assembling accuracy, have been the source of inspiration of this concept car.

BMW 'Eixample'
Carlos Naveira and Israel Romero

'Eixample' features a skin form over the main structural form, and similar to the interior of 'l'Eixample' blocks of houses, it uses the wandering and bold lines of Catalan Modernism. Curves and volumes are emphasised through the use of bright materials that let the light change the colour of the car as it moves through the streets of the city.

BMW 'Torre Agbar'
Rodrigo Clavel

'Torre Agbar' takes advantage of a simple shape, a cylinder, and combines it with an exterior that simulates the glass cloak that covers the Torre and its thousands of tiny windows scattered asymmetrically over the building. The spirit of the vehicle is also seen in the shape of the windows, inspired by a second skin, a mask which confers a strong sports character.


Elisava University website: www.elisava.es