Aston Martin Design Studio

The past decade has seen Aston Martin's engineering division grow from 30 people to 300. The Design Studio will provide a similar boost to the integration of the design process into the company. “In the past, the most wonderful cars came from Italian design houses,” explains Dr Bez, “bodies were even made in Italy.” To bring these skills in house, with their own dedicated facility, places Aston Martin in a position of considerable strength. “Finally, we own design,” says Dr Bez, explaining that “in order to build something that is beautifully designed, the key is to have the intelligence to do these things and not just have craft skills. You have to have them both. If we don't design it properly then we cannot build it.” The design department ensures Aston Martin's celebrated craft skills have a place in an ultra-modern car. “Even though we have incredible craftsmanship skills, without design intelligence we cannot use those skills to their best advantage,” says Bez.

The 2700m2 studio provides space for the design team, colour development work and a specialist trimmer. One side of the new building is faced entirely in glass, braced with glass beams, to help maximise the feeling of transparency, flooding the studio floor with natural light. Flush light fittings provide hidden ambient light, supplemented and enhanced by the customised and highly adjustable lighting rigs used to develop the clay surfaces. “A studio has to have the ability to allow you to view the cars from all angles,” Reichman says, “so the building design takes this into account.” There are also five full-size ‘plates’ on the studio floor for the creation of full-scale models, along with a viewing garden, screened from the rest of the facility by a hand laid stone wall.

“The new Design Studio is a commitment from the new shareholders of how important the design of new models is to the company’s future,” says Dr Bez, “It also demonstrates the pace at which the company is capable of moving and brings one of our core competencies to Gaydon for the first time. From conception to realisation in just 12 months is a fantastic achievement by everyone involved.”

The Gaydon factory manufactures the recently unveiled flagship DBS, V8 Vantage, V8 Vantage Roadster, DB9 and DB9 Volante models. Aston Martin has become synonymous with design excellence, and the creation of the new design studio will provide a fitting environment for the development of the next generation of production cars. The company was recently voted the Coolest Brand for an unprecedented second year running.

Date : 12 Dec 2007 04:54:44 Source: Aston Martin

Date : 12 Dec 2007 04:54:44
Source: Aston Martin