In co-operation with the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University, BMW unveiled their new 7 series vehicle on September 4th at the Chengdu Auto Show. This vehicle is not for sale, and only one version of it has been made.
The design team was led by Lu Xiaobo, the Dean of the Academy. Lu took charge of directing the patterns of the project and making core decisions. The project was implemented by Prof. Zhang Lei from the Industrial Design Department, who brought in a group of postgraduates to implement the project.
The Academy’s design team had visited several cities in China at the beginning of this project. Seeking for keywords indicating Oriental Beauty, the team researched craftsmen’s workshops and studied techniques of intangible cultural heritage.
“The ‘luxuries’ of art design is not just a stack of various precious materials, complex forms, gorgeous colors and intensive labor; instead, the integration of ideology, the artistic conception, and the taste and skills are the highest pursue of oriental aesthetics,” commented Lu Xiaobo.
Edited by Ruohan Zhao
Reviewed by John Olbrich
