time span
2011
location
Singapore
role
designer
team
Florian Abendschein, Paul Bart, Marvin Bratke, Simon Rauchbart, Daniel Tudman
professor
Fritz Frenkler
ocassion
diploma thesis at chair of industrial design,
TUM departement of architecture
for TUM Create and NTU Singapore
task
concept car for tropical megacities
Singapore City
As low performance infrastructure is becoming the limiting factor of rapidly growing megacities, Gemini‘ introduces a whole product family, designed to fit the needs of future mobility. Developed by using the example of the compact, transport-oriented city state of Singapore, Gemini is bridging the gap in its future infrastructure plan - creating a complete integration of personal mobility in both the private home as well as Singapore‘s expanding public transport. By using Singapore‘s unique social foundation of central allocated housing by the Housing and Development Board as a new instrument of car sharing, Gemini‘ is bringing together the resource saving benefits of shared infrastructure with the amenities of personal property.
The User
The first step was to understand the Singaporean society and especially the potential customers for Gemini. Therefore, we profiled Singaporean user archetypes and classified aspects of the target audience:
- Socio-demographic target audience (age, sex, education)
- Target audience according to behavioural characteristics (first buyer group, intensive user)
- Target audience according to psychological features (forward thinking, safety oriented)
- Target audience according to media oriented characteristics (users of certain medias) + evaluation of key factors.
Concept Car
Gemini‘s main unit ,LA‘, an extremely reduced personal capsule for 2 persons is setting minimum space and weight requirements. It is strongly focusing on individual transport within the short range of the city center, where the lines of street levels and pedestrian zones are blurring due to high-density, vertical urbanism and slowed down, road pricing controlled traffic. By adding the modular-structured add-on ,GI‘, Gemini shifts its typology - offering a wider range of usages through improved stabilisation, a performance boost and an included range extender. Its plug-in based system of flexible storage permits the possibility of personalization and customization. Combining two ,LA‘ units back to back, Gemini can be used as a micro car for families. The interior rearranges itself to form a new space of communication and exchange between the passengers and a plus of storage, resulting in a flexible configuration that provides more than the sum of its parts.
formal aesthetics
The concept of Gemini is built upon our research of Singapore, regarding pop culture, society, urbanism and housing. The formal aesthetics of interior and exterior reflect the widespread cuteness craze as well as the clean artificiality of the city.
modelmaking
To showcase the ideas of the project in the best way, it was mandatory to build detailed exterior and interior models that demonstrate the vehicle configurations within the city.
We created the physical 3D models of Gemini’s interior and exterior with rapid prototyping. In particular, we used powder-based selective laser sintering followed by intensive sanding and varnishing as post-processing.
The model stand provides a clean and reflective surface for presentation and showcases three models in the scale of 1:5 and several others in 1:25 within a city setting. It is handcrafted and includes a printed documentation and an interactive display for additional information about the project and the underlying research.
Impact
The visible results created a lot of positive feedback. Regarding the early stage of the collaboration between the universities of Singapore and Munich at the time, Gemini was the perfect flagship to present TUM Create to the public. The research and conceptual ideas of our project helped to develop "EVA an electric taxi for tropical megacities" and they still influence the current project "TUM Create Phase 2 - Towards the ultimate public transport system".
Gemini attracts attention to the present day: in 2019, it was presented at "Simply Move – bayern design" at Munich Airport and the presentation model is still prominentely exhibited in the reception area of the TUM Create Tower in Singapore.
documentation
Project posters and documentation for the presentation of the diploma thesis. (file sizes: 2mb / 7mb / 35mb / 35mb)
Future Mobility Concept
