Immerse yourself in a unique design process
At the beginning, there were mainly questions. How do we want to live in an urban environment? How can we make MINI part of our natural world? How can we create experiences for all senses? How can we completely reinvent the car? The result is the MINI Vision Urbanaut.
“Making Of” shows the development history of the vision vehicle. For the first time, the design team was faced with the task of creating a car that is not primarily intended for driving. The MINI Vision Urbanaut therefore became a car that should no longer be regarded purely as a means of transport, but as a space that can be used as an extended habitat. Creating moods, experiencing them together, and discovering a space that is made of sustainable materials and can be used as an urban retreat were the objectives of the design process.
From lockdown to virtual MINI
The extent to which the MINI Vision Urbanaut is a product of our time is highlighted by the fact that lockdown, which took place during the design process, had a direct influence on the design team’s end product. All of a sudden, everything had to proceed virtually and in mixed reality. That had a profound effect for the designers, who were focussing on feel, touch and experience worlds with the MINI Vision Urbanaut. However, they came up with a solution, and the vision of the next MINI started to take shape.
Today, the MINI Vision Urbanaut combines many disciplines in one car. Architecture, living room design, sustainability, user experience design and, obviously, automotive engineering. It invites us to rediscover automobility and to make it a new part of our lives – just as the design team behind the MINI Vision Urbanaut did.
