Research on the Evolution of Automotive Interior as a Living Space: Drive-by-Wire Technology and New Spatial Solutions

Abstract

A complexity of cultural and socio-economic concerns has gradually diminished the pioneering spirit of democratic mobility first introduced by the motorcar a century ago, with the average speed on today’s congested road networks barely surpassing that of walking pace. As we are less enthralled by the car and more entrapped by it, our attention has turned inwards, the design attempt being to duplicate the feeling of our static dwelling place, the home. Nothing could be more substantiating of this statement than the rise of the Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) in the nineties. Even if predominantly present in the last 15 years, the MPV can hardly be considered a new concept. Its streamlined, aerodynamic monovolume (single-box) form can be traced back to Alfa Romeo di Castagna of 1913, Norman Bel Geddes’s teardrop-inspired vehicles of the 20s and Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion cars of the 30s, while the concept of the so-called voitures à vivre can well be found much earlier than the pioneering Renault Espace production car, in the 1949 VW camper van, the folding back-seat of the 1965 Renault 16 or in more conceptual microcosmic “living-rooms” on wheels, like Mario Bellini’s 1972 Kar-a-sutra. This conference paper, part of an extended PhD research on social issues in car design, attempts an in-depth investigation on the evolution of the automotive interior as a living space. Starting from flexible seating configuration systems, multi purpose storage spaces, retractable tables with cupholders, and moving to sophisticated on-board multimedia systems incorporating GPS, DVD and internet access, the concept of automotive interior livability has developed to now face a forthcoming revolution with latest drive-by-wire technology eliminating design constraints imposed by conventional driver controls and creating a whole new interface between man/machine, as well as new spatial solutions for the interior.