BMW influencing low-cost housing with GINA Concept?
The BMW GINA Light Visionary Model was not only about doing more with your car, it was about multiplying the concept of what kind of object a car could be. BMW's design chief ,Chris Bangle, the man behind the BMW GINA Concept, was a recent guest professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and brought the vision of GINA with him.
Bangle's challenge to the class was that they utilize the transformable skin from the concept car to create "futuristic housing concepts." The students came up with homes that almost act as foils for their owners – one "would give you more space, but only if you negotiated it with your neighbors." The idea of a house that can mutate along with us is a clever carryover of technology from concept auto to domicile. Even so, the idea of a house that chides us with "Go ask Bob next door if it's all right..." could take some getting used to. Thanks to everyone for the tips!
Gallery: BMW GINA Light Visionary Model
[Source: NY Times via BMW Blog]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
elpepe 6:40PM (1/23/2009)
very impractical and stupid idea, which at the same time is very original, cool and interesting.....
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elpepe 6:56PM (1/23/2009)
oh and I was talking only about the GINA concept car.... don't care so much for the tents....
Big Rocket 7:48PM (1/23/2009)
@elpepe: The GINA concept was hardly original. It simply copied some really old ideas from the aircraft industry, and applied them to a different (automotive) industry.
"World War 1 aircraft were sometimes referred to as 'flying coffins'... they were constructed out of plywood with stretched fabric skin, often taking the shape of wooden coffins."
http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/world_war_one_aircraft.asp
A construction technique that dates back to World War 1 is not what I would consider state-of-the-art. But the shape-shifting nature of the GINA counts for something, right? That is revolutionary, taking advantage of flexible fabric to change shape, until I thought of a previous invention:
"In 1899, the Wright brothers built an experimental kite to test their wing warping theory. They built the kite of pine and shellacked fabric."
http://www.vam.smv.org/Aircraft/wright_brothers.asp
The Wright brothers changed the shape of the wing to alter its aerodynamics in mid-flight. They did shape-shifting the same way BMW is doing it, except that the Wright brothers thought of it first, all the way back in 1899.
ken_aisin 11:05AM (1/25/2009)
Original or not, the Gina concept looks hideous, and the hood opens up like a **gina.... no wonder it's called Gina.
jdaman 6:53PM (1/23/2009)
Why don't you put some rods in side, and wrap it with clothes. Oh, wait, a tent :)
brilliant.
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Big Rocket 7:34PM (1/23/2009)
This story really speaks to me. What I hear is:
"Having ruined automotive beauty as much as one man possibly could, and seeing how his employer has started to wise up and tone down on his flame-surfacing fad, Chris Bangle has set his sights on a new target, as he corrupts young minds to do his bidding: the uglification of Everything."
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Sofa King Fast! 7:51PM (1/23/2009)
Hmm...gotta love a chat about 'ginas....
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Max 7:52PM (1/23/2009)
Lets see...they stretched fabric over a frame to create a living space.
How is this different than a tent?
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dallasward007 7:59PM (1/23/2009)
I immediately thought of tents before seeing the rendering.
As much as the Gina seems to be built like a WWI aircraft, those fabrics were stretched & coated to become fairly rigid.
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firstplace 8:46PM (1/23/2009)
o look its the 70's again...
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Brian 9:47PM (1/23/2009)
They are going to build one of these in Virginia. It will be known as VA GINA.
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aditya.goyal.0211189 10:40PM (1/23/2009)
how would i mount my tv on the wall?
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s13hybrid 11:03PM (1/23/2009)
Wow these homes (tents) are pretty stupid. Even the rendering is mediocre. And this is coming from the students at Harvard University Graduate School of Design?
Did they have to think and make something within a hour or something?
Sorry to be so critical, but I just find this to be "bleh".
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P.V. 10:59AM (1/24/2009)
Oooh, aaah, a tent! If Chris Bangle thought of this 9000 years ago, he'd probably still be a few hundred years late with the idea.
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ken_aisin 11:08AM (1/25/2009)
The houses are stupid too.... would anyone ever want to live in a house with irregular ceilings? I would rather live in an igloo. At least the ceiling of an igloo looks more harmonious.
Please Mr. Bangle, are you sensing that BMW will fire you soon, and you are planning a career change to become an architect? You are an inept car designer, and you'll be an inept architect. Instead, you should go get a job with Lockheed. Your design is perfect for stealth jet fighters. See below link if you don't know what stealth jet fighters looks like. Yes, they look exactly like your new design.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-117_Nighthawk
You have produced enough eyesores on our suburban roads.... please don't ruin our suburbs with your hideous houses..... Stick with stealth jet fighters that will fly under our radar.
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kballs 4:47PM (1/26/2009)
Though there is the similarity to a tent, it seems like these skins would be functionally more durable and more wind/weather resistant... however, they would still transmit sound like a tent, so unless you like living in a close-quarters camping ground 24x7, making a "tent condo" is a horrible idea.
On the other hand, an individual free-standing unit (off by itself) would be a nice economical option for a summer cabin. Bigger and more permanent than a tent, much cheaper (and possibly more portable) than a regular building... like a futuristic yurt.
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