04.08.2004 'Masters of Transportation Design' students at the 'Scuola Politecnica di Design', recently displayed the fruit of their Alfa Romeo sponsored project: interpreting a future Alfa 147

Established in Italy in 1954, the Scuola Politecnica di Design (SPD) is the first Italian School of Design. It was founded by Nino Di Salvatore, an artist belonging to the MAC (Movimento Arte Concreta).

SPD has trained thousands of designers and of professionals who have come from more than 40 different countries. 

For 50 years SPD has been designed around the human being. Its aim is not simply to promote good design, which may be able to communicate sensations, but to focus on human centred design, letting perceptions emerge from the knowledge of neurophysiological and ergonomic factors: the relations between objects and spaces.

MASTERS IN TRANSPORTATION DESIGN October 2003 – June 2004 (Project Work: Alfa Romeo)

The 2003-2004 Masters in Transportation Design marked a new step in the association between Scuola Politecnica di Design SPD and the Alfa Romeo Style Centre.

The recently presented results of the project involved students from France, Italy, Spain, Serbia, India, Mexico and South America, from Brazil to Venezuela.

The brief takes took its starting point a reflection by Mario Favilla (from the Alfa Style Centre) on the 147, which is currently the only vehicle represented by the Milan-based brand in the crowded C-segment. With the arrival of the new SUV, the Kamal, what future can be imagined for the 147?

The road identified by Marco Bonetto, head of the Masters, and the SPD students outlined a new car model, more compact than the previous one and able to give an original interpretation of Alfa Romeo's characteristics and personality.

It's was precise brief with a concrete value: the suggested cars work from the current carry-over of the 147 and keep its production chain.

The students individually designed both the exteriors and interiors of the car. They started with an analysis of Alfa Romeo's history and moved on to the first sketches and the plans for the mould to be made. Next was the modelling in Alias and then the construction of physical models on a 1:5 or 1:10 scale.

The outcome of this work identifies very different evolutions for the 147: from building on its sportiness by adopting models that are a take on racing cars with a central motor, to more city-based solutions.  

Wladimir Lasbugues (France) took up the theme of the 2+2 seat coupé again. His suggestion fited ideally into the roadster market by expressing sporting values alongside traditional ones. The car's lines are fluid, designed according to a dynamic line that runs all along the sides.

The extended front  is tapered towards the Alfa badge, the historic emblem of its past. The rear is cut like the prow of a boat. It is an aggressiveness that is underlined by the rear window, which is wedged like an eyebrow.

The  Superleggera by Bruno Prata (France) went in search of new style solutions. The general volume of the car doesn't vary - the rear cantilever is reduced by only 40 mm. The main effort has been centred on finding continuity of line with a resulting fluidity in order to create harmony between the different parts of the car.

This is because the car is an object in movement, all of whose sides we see in the space of a few seconds: the aggressive front that characterizes AlfaRomeo; the hollowed sides that make it sporty, and the rear outlined by the bumper that follows round the side towards the door.

As well as keeping the Alfa family feeling, the work of Carles Cortadas Guasch (Spain) perhaps represents the greatest evolution from the initial brief. His suggestion grafts a central motorization with rear-wheel drive onto the 147 chassis: this is a solution that Alfa Romeo has only rarely adopted, an exception made for some prototypes and racing cars.

In particular, the predecessor he has chosen as a benchmark is the 33 road model created by Alfa Romeo in 1967. The interiors though are a take on the GTV package, the brand's most sporty vehicle, to underline again the search for delight and gracefulness in driving.

The work of Thereza Christina de Altersberger (Brazil) and Pierre Emmanuel Som (France) has also concentrated particularly on the interiors: the former by creating a new solution for the LED display for the air-conditioning system; the latter with a very refined suggestion in the design, colours and materials that can match up to the youthful, sporty tastes of the person who drives a 147 in the city and in their free time.

Harmony, sportiness and aggressiveness are the words that overall characterize all sixteen suggestions that were presented to Mario Favilla and Fabrizio Giugiaro on the last day of the Masters in June. It was the conclusion of a long task that made clear how the study to achieve form isn't only inspiration but, above all, construction of a method.

Transportation Design SPD, Year: 2003-2004, Project Work: Alfa Romeo 147, Tutor: Marco Bonetto, In association with:  Alfa Romeo Style Centre, AlfaRomeo coordination: Mario Favilla,

Students: Thereza Christina De Altersberger (Brazil); Sebastian Benko (France); Carles Cortadas Guasch (Spain); Edgar Guillen (Mexico); Wladimir Lasbugues (France); Nicolò Licata (Italy); Camilo Pinzon Penuela (Columbia); Bruno Prata (France); Chetan Shedjale (India); Pierre Emmanule Som (France); Glauco Visidori (Italy); Francisco Javier Wacked Rodriguez (Columbia); Arturo Herrera (Venezuela); Marco Morandi (Italy); Jorge Lopez Morales (Venezuela); Alfredo Santillan (Mexico).