Umeå universitets logga

How the urban transportation should be organisedhas been one of the fastest growing topics nowadays.With many rule breakers like autonomous driving orshared e-scooters coming in, people’s opinions on howour cities should welcome them, or adapt to them havebeen drastically divided.In my thesis project, I aim to create a new type ofshareable, open-air, slow-moving vehicle that co-liveswell with the pedestrians in slow cities, enabling a moredynamic and vibrant lifestyle.Throughout my research, I have discovered that manypeople and organisations are working towards the shiftto non-motorised modes of transportation in urbanareas, and all the possible new forms of commerce,social activities enabled by it.Therefore, I started my research with how tobuild pleasant public spaces instead of car-relatedinformation right away. In order to picture a futureslow city feasibly, I combined my own experience andunderstandings of how cities in different countries arebuilt with the visions of car companies like Toyota onfuture urban life.During the process of design, I also didn’t start withtraditional sketches from the beginning. Instead, Ifound it very helpful to collect the behaviours that thecitizens already have, and try to combine them with myproduct, which in the end creates a new lifestyle. Theinspirations were not only from cars but also furniture,architecture, public space, game, and product design.I explored combinations of soft and transparent materials to build trust between user and pedestrians.At the same time, ideas of usages when the vehicle isparked were also explored. It was important how thevehicle blends into the functions of a near future citylife in an ideal way.Aesthetically, I intended to celebrate the combinationof different materials in a simple but unique shape,looking for a balance between automotive dynamicform and producty friendly structure which fits wellwith MINI mentality.The final outcome has a human-like interface. It’salmost like a companion in the city that lives with us.We can not only move around with it, but also benefitfrom the functions offered while it’s parked.