Design Essay: Towards a new architecture

It’s a little while since the Geneva motor show, but as often happens, looking back on the event has lent some perspective to the huge number of interesting concept cars there. Many were interesting, some a little odd, some total fantasy.

But two were especially interesting – not because they were necessarily the sexiest or most exotic (Aston Martin’s Lagonda had that prize pretty much wrapped up), but because they spoke in the most unique voices about the future of cars.

The Renault EZ-GO. On-demand local transport for a new generation

These two concepts were the Renault EZ-GO and the Icona Nucleus – two vehicles with totally different briefs, but each with much to say about different facets of the car of tomorrow. But before reviewing each car in detail, it’s worth noting what they have in common.

The Icona Nucleus – premium autonomous personal transport

Both the EZ-GO and the Nucleus are monovolume, autonomous, electrically-powered vehicles. They look enormous in person, but in fact are about the same size as the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. Both also sit on large wheels, which add balance to their large bodies.

Chrysler Pacifica minivan- virtually the same size as both EZ-GO and Nucleus

Furthermore, both employ novel entry systems, with the EZ-GO sporting a front-hinged gullwing of sorts and the Nucleus utilising a pantograph door with a corresponding roof canopy that opens along with it.

The EZ-GO is accessed through an unusual gullwing door

Because both are planned for autonomous transport, the two vehicles employ lounge layouts to prioritise community over traditional seating arrangements, exterior views and interaction with the road.

The New Trolleybus?

Early horse-drawn trolley. Could the EZ-GO revive this transport type?

From there however, their respective briefs diverge completely. Renault’s concept, the EZ-GO, is an autonomous shared ‘robo-car’ with an accompanying transport ecosystem involving apps and a bespoke docking/calling station.

EZ-GO – an autonomous on-demand transport ecosystem

Essentially a hyperlocal transit system, the EZ-GO is a kind of driverless Uber or Lyft that can carry people to one or more destinations. The EZ-GO car itself is a trapezoidal monovolume that can carry up to six people and, Renault claims, is capable of adapting to ease accessibility for wheelchairs and baby strollers.

Passengers step into EZ-GO’s front end. Once in the car, they sit in a U-shaped seating lounge that aligns along the longitudinal axis of the car. Luggage shelves are located just inside the entry.

EZ-GO’s seating extends along the longitudinal axis

Renault’s research showed that potential users of the service preferred as much transparency and face-to-face contact as possible, as a deterrent to crime or misbehaviour on board; thus the idea of facing one another around the ‘U’ seemed the best interior arrangement.

Surrounding the passengers are large panels of glass, the better to see and be seen – again perceived as a deterrent to problems on board.

EZ-GO – lots of glass, and a bespoke docking station

The EZ-GO has an onboard ramp – or, more conveniently, a docking station – where one can order and wait for a car, as well as safely disembark at the end of a trip. Renault designed this dock with the help of in-house architect Tina Kentner (designer of the Renault Symbioz house).

EZ-GO docks at a bespoke docking station, and hailing kiosk

The station’s crisp, modern aesthetic has an elegant minimalism that would make Dieter Rams proud, and Renault deserves praise for recognising that such a service not only requires its own bespoke car and app/software, but its own infrastructure to interact with the surrounding city.

It’s a surprisingly urbane design statement, which deserves greater exploration.

Local Motors’ Olli – a rolling toaster, but very functional

The EZ-GO is certainly not the only monovolume shared-transport proposal we have seen in the last few years.

Olli, a toaster-shaped autonomous transporter by Local Motors, has been trundling around the CES and Los Angeles motor shows for a couple of years now. Speaking of CES, Toyota recently introduced their e-Palette transporter, which can be configured for a number of different uses, while the Rinspeed Snap is a modular monovolume with different shells that can be mounted onto an electric skateboard platform.

Toyota e-Palette – a transporter capable of multiple configurations

The Renault differs in its quality of conception, execution, and unique design; its trapezoidal shape makes it a more directional and vaguely car-like form.

So, is the EZ-GO the ‘jitney’ of tomorrow? It certainly projects a vision of an integrated and well-thought-out system, but there are many questions yet to be answered. Will a six-passenger vehicle work? Local van transport services typically carry 12 or more passengers now. Can the necessary infrastructure (ramp, docking station) be integrated into an existing city or suburb? Also, is the long narrow interior the best way to load, seat, and unload passengers?

EZ-GO - the trolley bus of tomorrow?

The EZ-GO leaves us with as many questions as it answers… but that is arguably one of the hallmarks of a good concept car. We hope that there may be an opportunity to provide more answers in a real-world setting in the near future.

A Personal Limousine

Nucleus – a new type of executive car

The Icona Nucleus has an entirely different brief. Conceived as a travelling executive class lounge, it envisions a premium travel experience in the autonomous vehicle of tomorrow.

The Nucleus – a sculptural monobox form

The Nucleus is not a slab-sided monolith, but a highly sculpted, flowing form. In his introduction, Icona’s design director Samuel Chuffart noted that the lines sweeping across the form are meant to be “a mark of elegance, not sport.” The sculpted body is aerodynamically tuned, with a drag Cd of 0.22 – remarkable for this size of vehicle.

The Nucleus rides on enormous, 27-inch wheels. As outrageous as that seems, they do set off the overall mass of the car, which would look as if it were riding on castors if the wheels were any smaller (see photo of the e-Palette above).

The Nucleus’ glass roof dome, part of which lifts up for easy entry

A large glass dome – ‘the protective bubble’ – sits over the passenger compartment, itself partially covered with a white, body-coloured frit-dot mesh that shades the interior and provides privacy for the occupants. Part of this roof, ‘the oyster opening’, rises as the door opens, allowing for a full-height entrance to the interior.

Nucleus – large pantograph door and ‘oyster opening’ roof canopy

The interior is an asymmetrical composition of flowing elements. Any traditional references to an automotive interior are limited to two seats; the rest is all flowing surfaces and structures. It’s the shock of the new, designed to jolt one out of automotive preconceptions and into a new conception of 21st-century travel.

The dramatic Nucleus interior – chaise lounge on the right

Though the Nucleus had side windows and a generous view through the dome up top, it is intensely interior-focused. Samuel Chuffart noted that the Nucleus interior is inspired by luxury jets and yachts.

Seating includes two bucket seats, a chaise longue that can double as a seat and a small jump seat at the rear, making six seats in total. A desktop (with bespoke prosecco bottles and flutes) is placed where the dashboard might have been, creating a rolling executive office.

Mercedes Luxury Vision – a rolling lounge, but note the dashboard and steering wheel

We have certainly seen this luxury lounge-on-wheels solution crop up elsewhere in recent years. Consider the Mercedes Luxury Vision 015 which, on the outside looks like a close cousin to the pearlescent Nucleus. Inside the Mercedes is a luxury lounge for four, but the Mercedes includes a retractable steering wheel and instrument panel, which limits both the interior space and the vision of autonomous travel.

The NIO EVE – another mobile lounge, but not Level 5 autonomy

More advanced, but with the same design issues, is the NIO EVE concept of last year. The lounge is highly developed and there is a retractable workspace, but there is also a ‘helicopter’ windscreen over two chairs at the front and a retractable steering wheel, enabling driving when necessary.

Volkswagen ID Vizzion – conventional layout anticipating autonomy

These are very different to the Volkswagen I.D. Vizzion concept shown in Geneva this year. Compared by some to a Tesla, but without a steering wheel, the Volkswagen has an otherwise conventional interior layout, yet anticipates autonomous drive and a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape.

The Nucleus is more radical, dispensing with any notions of driving. Chuffart notes that the interior is focused on the journey, not the road. Icona notes that the Nucleus is two generations away, making it a concept that looks far forwards indeed.

Seating diagram of the Nucleus – a new order

So, what can we conclude about the EZ-GO and the Nucleus? Are they successful as concepts? From the point of view of advancing the discussion about the future of the autonomous car, yes. Both project a vision of a mobile, communal environment. Each seems to have accomplished what was set out in its respective brief.

Nucleus – sculpted flanks, dramatic entry sequence

One can certainly disagree with said brief and its fundamental assumptions – and we certainly talked with some designers who did – but both concepts are sufficiently provocative and futuristic that they deserve further development.

It may be a decade before we see either car on the road, but if these are the calibre of vehicles that will meet us at that time, the late 2020s will be a time to look forward to indeed.