5 second sketch 04

Out of a very small freehand sketch (4 centimeteres wide)...

Alfa Romeo SZ

I couldn't resist to reinterpret the design of one of my all-time favourites, the Alfa Romeo SZ -- The Monster that disappointed almost every car design critic but managed to shape Alfa Romeo's design guidelines so strongly that its influence can still be detected to this day.

So let me share my first sketch of my SZ with you. Hope you like it! :)

Seat IB roadster

Here is the  ^ibroadster, my latest project.

What started out as a mere sketch excercise became a stand-alone design with its own process.

The IBr is a two-seater with agressive/dynamic lines. Some of the design features are consistent with Seat's attitude, like the arrowface and the dynamic line. The triangular shaped headlights with a divided solid are inspired by the IBe Concept.
The top has a black glossy finish to accentuate the body's stance.

The rear also reveals some Seat features -- the design of the taillights are a reinterpretation of that of the Ibiza's and the IBZ concept. The Arrowface feature is repeated, giving shape to the rear bumper.

 

a teaser

this is a little something I'm working on. More to come very soon. ;)

5 second sketch 03

2006 - The Far Star

"It was not the size that was impressive - for it was rather small. It was designed for maneuverability and speed, for totally gravitic engines, and most of all for advanced computerization. It didn't need size-size would have defeated its purpose. It was a one-man device that could replace, with advantage, the older ships that required a crew of a dozen or more. With a second or even a third person to establish shifts of duty, one such ship could fight off a flotilla of much larger non-Foundation ships. In addition, it could outspeed and escape from any other ship in existence. There was a sleekness about it - not a wasted line, not a superfluous curve inside or out. Every cubic meter of volume was used to its maximum, so as to leave a paradoxical aura of spaciousness within. Nothing the Mayor might have said about the importance of his mission could have impressed Trevize more than the ship with which he was asked to perform it."
in Foundation's Edge, Isaac Asimov


Theme: Science Fiction


Inspired by Isaac Asimov's spaceship, piloted by Golan Trevize in a mission for to find planet Earth, lost in a galaxy full of inhabited planets for thousands of years, the design of the Far Star - named after the Foundation's ground-breaking spaceship - is the result os a search for less orthodox shapes, precisely because of the context of this Design exercise with a theme in the realm of Science Fiction.
Angular lines define the shape of a body divided in two main materials - plastic in the lower section and metal in the upper section, making the Far Star lookagressive and elegant at the same time.

The drivetrain is also unconventional - three wheels with rear wheel drive - and is a conceptual basis for the whole body as well. Consequently, the Far Star has a long and narrow front and a powerful rear, balanced by the two front wheel volumes.

2005 - Seat Muxía 4WD

1st Seat/Automagazine Design Contest - 3rd Prize
Theme: "auto-emoción"

 

Located in northern Spain, in the region of Galicia, the city of Muxía has an environment that can be best described as rough. The landscape, dominated by the rock formation, called “Costa da Morte” (the “Coast of Death”), exhales an inhospitable and yet majestic ambiance, hence its nickname “The Wind’s Girlfriend”.

The Seat Muxía 4WD is autochthonous creature, moulded by the harshness of its own environment. The raw and coarse way with which it moves, balanced by lightness and ease, makes it an animal perfectly adapted to its habitat.

To meet its attitude, the new Seat Muxía 4WD has been drawn with strong and simple lines, yet melted into fluent form.

The windshield stretches from the middle to the nose of the vehicle, allowing its two occupants to have a panoramic and intimate view of the road ahead.

Access to the inside is made rotating the whole front section of the body.
The engine is located in the back and delivers power to an all-wheel drivetrain.

Award Ceremony

The Award Ceremony took place at a dinner party during the Moda Lisboa, in which we had a chance to chat with Luc Donckerwolke, then a recent adition to Seat, leaving behind Lamborghini and his beautiful creation, the Gallardo.

In the first photo - Marcelo Aguiar, Ricardo Figueiroa (the winner) e Nelson Simões (2nd prize), who won the next Seat/Automagazine contest.

2nd photo, me receving the award from Luc Donckerwolke. A great moment.

(photos taken from Automagazine, n.º 163 Dez. 2005)