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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]

BMW influencing low-cost housing with GINA Concept? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW GINA Light Visionary Model in motion

The automotive community has clearly been impressed with the GINA Light Visionary Model concept that BMW unveiled this week. The fabric-covered concept with its winking headlights, blinking gauges, mouth-like hood, and unique ability to shape shift by moving its metal-and-carbon-fiber skeleton via electro-hydraulic actuators is marvelously creative and practically ingenious at the same time. We around the Autoblog offices had a big discussion about the car after it was revealed and were amazed with the out-of-the-box ideas BMW is exploring, though some were doubtful that a fabric skin could ever be used for an actual production vehicle. While it was fun perusing the dozens and dozens of images that BMW handed out showing the GINA in various states of fold, the video above shows you exactly what the concept can do. Keep your eyes peeled for the headlight wink, disappearing gauges, pop-up head rests, a magic spoiler and much more. We reiterate, this thing is about as cool as concepts get. Thanks for the tip, Joe!

Gallery: BMW GINA Light Visionary Model


[Source: BMW]

VIDEO: Fabulous footage of fabric-covered BMW GINA Light Visionary Model originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The BMW GINA Light Visionary Model that was seen via video being installed in the BMW Museum in Munich last week has finally been revealed, and the futuristic design study shows how BMW designers are thinking outside of the box when it comes to the materials that make up a car and also how the car relates to the driver. GINA stands for "Geometry and Functions in 'N' Adaptations", which basically means that designers from both BMW and BMW Group DesignworksUSA were allowed to throw out the rulebook. This is most evident in the GINA Light Visionary Model's outer skin, which is made entirely out of textile fabric that's pulled taut around a frame of metal and carbon fiber wires. The skeleton of the car is controlled by electro-hydraulic devices and can actually move and change shape beneath the fabric skin. For instance, the headlights of the concept can be exposed or hidden by the car's skin just like blinking eyes, and the hood opens from the center as the fabric parts to expose the engine. This idea extends to the interior, where BMW designers have made visible only those instruments that are required at a certain time, while the rest of the time the same fabric interior "blinks" them out of view. The car itself looks somewhat like a Z4 Roadster, though after viewing the extensive gallery of high-res images below, you'll be amazed how much the outer skin looks like normal sheetmetal. Until, that is, you see how the doors open. They lift up in a semi-scissor fashion and since there are no exposed hinges, the fabric artfully binds up as the door swings open. While the design of the GINA Light Visionary Model is very Bangle-esque with concave and convex surfaces intermingling everywhere you look, it looks appropriate and natural here. The car is very much a concept, meant more to inspire BMW's own designers and engineers rather than excite the public, but now we're excited about shape-changin, fabric-covered cars, anyway.

UPDATE: In addition to the 84 images in our high-res gallery, we've also added a video of the GINA Light Visionary Model produced by BMW after the jump. We highly recommend watching it to understand how unique this concept is.

Gallery: BMW GINA Light Visionary Model


[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW GINA Light Visionary Model revealed

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model revealed originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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