BMW’s new high design assembly line 26 May 2005
11 comments Latest by Samsung Design
At BMW, the Auto Assembly Line Meets High Design explores the company’s new plant in Leipzig (photo 1, photo 2, more photos).
Here Ms. Hadid [the architect] takes on this Modernist past directly and gives it a new twist. The free flow of information replaces the monotony of the assembly line; individual needs and tastes rule over bland repetition; and machines are at the service of man, not vice versa. It’s unclear where this vision will lead us, but for now, it’s pretty seductive.
The plant’s design offers flexibility and allows for some of the “less-mass” ideas discussed here (i.e. the importance of staying nimble and agile and operating just-in-time).
Today, a luxury car company like BMW will produce thousands of highly customized cars each week, a process that demands lots of tinkering and intervention. When a new step needs to be added to production, the line can be adjusted with minimal interruption.
11 comments so far (Jump to latest)
Wright 26 May 05
Betcha there are more than one Aeron chairs in that joint. Take a look at the ING Headquarters.
pb 26 May 05
Thank goodness Chris Bangle didn’t design it!!
arod 26 May 05
Thank goodness Chris Bangle didn�t design it!!
Ha ha. Poor Chris…
Nice Paul 27 May 05
now I know nothing about carf assembly, but especially in those photos of VW’s transparent factory there are almost no humans to be seen. Was this posed for the photos? Or is the *entire* assembly process automated from start to finish?
Nice Paul 27 May 05
carf? car, clearly…
Kim Siever 27 May 05
“FBI Needs a better designer:”
Ahhh…good ol Word web design.
Samsung Design 22 Oct 05
Samsung is a company name that has done quite well in recent times with design and their mobile phones. Take the Samsung Mobile for example Samsung, very good design.