Student winners of Pininfarina's global design contest 'New Dreams for a New World' have been announced

Italian automobile and design company Pininfarina announced the winners of the global Design Competition “Pininfarina 90+1: New Dreams for a New World." The competition brief invited students from 15 prestigious international schools to reimage "what human experiences will be like in the New Normal."

The competition was initiated in October 2020 to celebrate the company and its 90th anniversary. With three category themes, students were asked to explore design proposals in Smart Individual Mobility, Smart Social Mobility, and Smart Spaces. 

*Two additional awards were presented to two students whose designs paid special detail to Pininfarina's design values.

Below are this year's category winners and their project descriptions.

SMART INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY WINNER

Student Designer: Yonghoon Lee, from the Hochschule München in Germany
Project: VISION ZERO

Description: The project "starts from the consideration that natural phenomena such as photosynthesis or convection can be used to make cars an environmentally friendly resting place in the city. “I want the vehicle to appear to the people in the city as an environmentally friendly resting place like nature - says Yonghoon Lee explaining the purpose behind his product. - I found a shape on traditional roof that made air flow easier. And this form can efficiently manage the temperature in a vehicle. Air ducts on the front and back of the roof keep the ideal temperature even without air conditioning. Thanks to the artificial photosynthetic structure on the roof, the owner can enjoy fresh oxygen-containing air in the city center at all times. Therefore, the front and back have created a straight feel and shape”. 

SMART SOCIAL MOBILITY WINNER

Student Designer: Tom Moreau, from Strate School of Design, France
Project: BENCH

Description: This project intended to "reduce the number of vehicles by sharing them. “The interest is to offer several modes of travel to customers according to their desires – explains Tom Moreau. – The customer can thus have a completely autonomous vehicle or a manual driving to make the most of his journey. Once the vehicle is no longer in use, it turns into street furniture and thus becomes an integral part of the city”. Tom’s projects rests on Acoustic Levitation, a method allowing objects to levitate without creating sound audible to the human ear using the pressure of radiation from sound waves intense.

SMART SPACES WINNER

Student Designer: Riccardo Grecu, from the Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Project: DINAMICO

Description: This project is a pavilion whose design "in draws inspiration from the principle of simplicity, although still being characterized by a strong visual identity. “The shape – says Riccardo Grecu - originates from a flat surface which, once bent, creates an enfolding and protective space. The pavilion is flexible and transformable: the user can configure and customize it according to the need and the occasion: it can be a fair pavilion, study hall, coworking office, meeting point, bike sharing station, charge hub for electric vehicles. Thanks to foldable furniture and a home automation system, the user is actively involved in the customization and reconfiguration of the space, moving, hiding and choosing the most suitable furniture”. Dinamico was conceived paying great attention to sustainability by employing eco-friendly material and building techniques aiming to reduce the environmental impact.

*SPECIAL CHAIRMAN AWARD

Student Designer: Nathan Groot from ISD Rubika, France
Project: VALENTINA

Description: The project "was aimed at creating two separated capsules, to offer to each of the two human beings a separated comfort zone, while making them feel together in the experience of the vehicle. The result is a very sculptural upper part. “On the exterior design job – explains Nathan Groot - I decided to inspire myself of three major elements of the Pininfarina history. Firstly I decided to copy the idea of the red line of the Modulo to mark a kind of belt giving a nice structural aspect to my rear part. This line gives a lot of stiffness to this part holding the batteries in the middle of a huge air diffuser. Secondly, this line is split up in the middle of the rear part. I loved the Battista tail light signature, and I wanted to keep the same idea. And finally I tried to do a detached front part with the logo, to stay once again in the same mood than the Battista front part”.

*DESIGN WANTED AWARD WINNER

Student Designer: Junu Kim, from the Coventry University, UK
Project: PAVILION–THE EGO GALLERY

Description: “Since 2000 - says Junu Kim - Serpentine pavilion is annually built in London’s Kensington Garden by selected one architect each year to show his pure vision and philosophy. Inspired by this project, I started with the idea to create open and empty space which can contain someone’s identity, desire, and personality in the mobility. To achieve this, overall exterior design has neutral and minimal design language to draw attention to the content in the frame”

Each category will also receive a 6-month internship with Pininfarina's design studio. To learn more about the Pininfarina click here.