| Inside Nissan Design Europe |
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Nissan Design Europe opened its doors to the public for the first time last week since its inauguration some 6 years ago. The occasion was the Nissan East West exhibition which formed part of the 2009 London Design Festival. From September 23rd to the 25th, Nissan organised a series of tours of its West London facility enabling visitors to discover more about the automotive design process. Digital Group Leader David Harrison showed us around an exhibit that included a detailed third scale model of the Qazana SUV which, he said, is due to hit the market in 2010 - although the name is yet to be confirmed. The studio setting provided a viewing platform overlooking the clay-modelling facility which included a full-size plate as well as third-scale and quarter-scale set-ups. Watching the robotised arms carving away at the clay was quite hypnotic and the whole experience gave a fascinating insight into the key stages of vehicle design. The Paddington studio was set up in order to deliver designs more suited to European tastes and the results have really borne out the exercise. The Qashqai for example (designed completely in London), has smashed all expectations, selling well over 300,000 units per year. Scale models were supported with extensive design renderings and non-automotive products which provide influences to the designers - things like lightweight flasks, running shoes and backpacks. As well as the tour, a series of arts and design installations were exhibited by various artists under the theme of ‘East meets West: the cultural crossroads of creativity’. I say well done to NIssan for relaxing its usually watertight security to allow us a rare glimpse behind the scenes of designing and creating a car. Check out our gallery for more pictures from our visit to Nissan Design Europe.
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