RESEARCH
SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE AND CAR DESIGN
An Argument on Transdisciplinarity, Identity, and Mutability
This paper examines the relationship between architecture and design, questioning whether they can truly be considered separate disciplines. It offers a personal perspective on how this relationship has evolved within car design over the past decade. Various conceptual frameworks propose car design as a discipline grounded in architecture; however, identifying a distinct 'architectural' identity for cars remains challenging. This argument extends the discussion to encompass recent changes in autonomous mobility, viewing design as a medium for societal and urban morphological transformation, opening new epistemic perspectives. Notably, car design exists at the intersection of architectural research and advanced design studies, offering innovative ways to construct architectural and design knowledge for a driverless, autonomous future.
A Personal Perspective: Driving the Space
After earning a degree in architecture, I pursued car and transportation design, ultimately combining these disciplines in my research projects. Architecture, with its inherent interdisciplinarity, readily incorporates knowledge from fields like car design, particularly in urban contexts. My transition between these disciplines was seamless, rooted in a foundation of both rational and intuitive approaches. Architectural education, with its blend of technique and emotion, logic and creativity, has enriched my understanding of the world. Within this framework, I focus on future mobility, where architecture serves as the theoretical and practical cornerstone of my car design endeavors.
As an architect designing cars, I have encountered challenges stemming from the common tendency to view architecture and car design as distinct. However, both disciplines share a focus on space and spatial formations, albeit at different scales. In this sense, car designers are also architects, shaping a fundamental architectural unit that moves through various spaces. My approach not only involves designing cars but also examining them as architectural units and conceptual metaphors, reflecting various facets of humanity. In architecture, design is a foundational feature—a process that generates insights, knowledge, practices, and products through critical inquiry and creative exploration.
Architecture forms the basis of my studies on mobile and immobile structures in urban contexts. In hyper-connected future cities, exploring the symbiotic relationship between these structures and examining energy transitions as a unifying factor underpin my research. Over the past decade, significant developments have emerged, fostering innovative projects in this domain.
Navigating the Intersection of Disciplines
The greatest challenge in my work has been to find meaning and value in both architecture and car design, creating content that bridges the two fields. Historically, people often insisted on categorizing me as either an architect or a car designer, overlooking the profound unity these disciplines share. Today, this perception is shifting. Once seen as divergent, architecture and car design are now converging, with architects and car designers collaboratively shaping the future of mobility.
This evolution is evident in changes within design education. Renowned institutions offering car design programs are increasingly incorporating architectural principles, renaming their departments to reflect broader paradigms such as Intelligent Mobility or Future Mobility Design. Architects are now teaching in these programs, emphasizing architecture as a foundational component of car design education. Industry reports, conferences, and professional studies in this field are adopting transdisciplinary approaches, resulting in hybrid professional profiles. For instance, future car designers may also need expertise in architecture, urban design, programming, and systems engineering. Designing vehicles in isolation will likely become an untenable endeavor in the hyper-connected future.
These developments highlight the evolving roles of architects and car designers while underscoring the mobility- and speed-sensitive transformation of architecture. My education in car design finds its full significance in this context. The foresight that architects will need to design mobile structures—such as cars—and their interactions with urban infrastructure has guided my exploration of this intersection. Core themes such as space, sustainability, and energy transitions anchor this interdisciplinary inquiry.
The Integration of Architecture and Mobility
Car manufacturers are increasingly designing physical environments alongside vehicles. Renault’s Symbiosis concept, for example, presents a vision of the future where a car and an architectural unit (a house) interact symbiotically, transferring and recycling energy. This exemplifies the integration of mobile structures within architectural and urban contexts. Such initiatives underscore the importance of visionary architectural and urban research departments within car companies. Architects and car designers must collaborate to explore how vehicles and architectural units can transform and sustain space and energy.
Outcome
Architectural research operates within a broad societal and cultural context, bridging academia, practice, and car design. Clarifying this position can foster stronger theoretical and practice-based links between the two disciplines. Transdisciplinary research supports mobility paradigms and advances both fields, enabling future architects and car designers to establish foundational principles, conduct critical analyses, and propose innovative syntheses. These efforts encompass a wide range of outputs, including installations, experimental projects, models, and sustainable designs.
This paper highlights the intersection of architecture and car design, challenging the prevailing view of these disciplines as separate entities. Instead, it argues for a critical framework to bridge the ‘implementation gap’ between mobile and immobile structures. Recognizing the ontological and epistemological implications of architectural practice, education, and research is essential. At its core, this inquiry reflects a dialectical appreciation of human-machine interaction, emphasizing the spatial, experiential, and emotional dimensions of mobility in the human experience.
Ferdinand Porsche with his grandsons Ferdinand Piech and Ferdinand Alexander Porsche.