(Picture) Diahatsu Copen Teardrop. Courtesy Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd
Exhibition Review - Japan Car: Designs for the Crowded Globe at the Science Museum from November 29 2008 – April 19 2009.
When I found out I was being sent to Japan Car: Designs for the Crowded Globe at the Science Museum, I thought there had been a mistake.
As a non-driving technophobe whose overriding memory of cars was being told by her driving instructor that he didn’t want to risk teaching her anymore, it could only be a serious error of judgement.
Clutching my prejudices closely I found myself at the start of the exhibition in a room of live Bonsai trees. On closer inspection an intriguing display of small model cars was apparent, juxtaposed against the trees to take the place of the natural stones, which the Japanese often use at the base of each bonsai.
Hydrogen Power Station for the Honda FCX Clarity. Courtesy Honda R&D Co., Ltd
Luckily Andrew Nahum, the Science Museum’s Principle Curator of Technology was on hand to explain. “The Bonsai represent the aesthetics and culture that underpin Japanese car design and are a visible display of long-term care and concern for living things.”
The next room shows a film called ‘The View From There’ by WOW. Shot through a car windscreen from a nature-rich suburb into a big city, it’s an explosion of colour and sound.
I was tempted to watch it again and by now it was becoming clear to me that I should have left my preconceptions with my coat at the door.
Philosophy is a surprisingly significant aspect of Japanese car design. I was told that design reflects the 'soil and the spirit of Japan', shown through concept cars and special home market models.
Nissan PIVO2. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd
The co-curators of Japan Car are the high-concept Japanese graphic designer Kenya Hara, best known for his quietly understated work for Muji, and the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, famous for his cardboard houses and Nomadic Museum made from sea containers (and currently designing a new satellite gallery in Metz for Paris’ Pompidou Centre).
The exhibition is structured into three categories: Size, Environment and Moving Urban Cells, which makes the show far less intimidating, accessible and less like a car showroom.
In the Size section, small yet sophisticated vehicles and special kei cars are displayed which are both compact and technologically advanced. My first impression is of a sea of white shiny metal, but clear labelling and layout point out the defining features of each car.
I particularly liked the Copen Daihatsu, which was a mini-convertible with a sleek and witty exterior. Every single piece of the car was laid out individually – a nice exotic touch even though I had not a single clue what most of them were.
Japan Car Visual Sample
Venture further and you will discover the The I.Q. Toyota. Despite being as wide as an ordinary car it is less than three metres long with a turning radius of 3.9 metres. It’s all about condensation of design talent and I now see what they mean about designing for a cramped world.
The Cube Nissan, small to look at, is a surprisingly spacious people carrier and the label says that its ‘DNA’ comes from the ox cart of ancient Japan. It is also the first asymmetric car, which aids visibility from the driver’s seat, whilst its lack of internal partitioning makes for feelings of warmth and attachment.
Not just philosophy then, but emotion plays a large part in car design. A film shows the architect, John Boubly talking about cars as a ‘secure space and an extension of the human body’ and being very necessary in our exploration of the world.
By now I was actually enjoying myself as I walked into the next section: Environment- climate-conscious hybrids intended to reduce carbon and other emissions.
Nissan Pivo2 Dashboard. Courtesy Nissan Motor Co., Ltd
The Toyota Plug in HV, is a hybrid car that can run in urban areas purely on its overnight electric charge or swap to fuel if it is the more efficient option, but my attention fell on the revolutionary hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicle FCX Clarity Honda.
Mr. Nishigata introduced himself as the designer of the car and asked me if I have any questions. Flustered, I scraped a question together about the cost of making the cars.
Currently they are expensive (£70,000) and in fact there are only 200 vehicles in production at the moment. The cars are owned by a select few including governments and celebrities but most are loaned because of the cost.
Other problems at this moment in time are re-fuelling, although bigger cities in Japan are leading the way in trialling hydrogen station systems.
Despite the practical obstacles, it’s difficult not to be impressed by the potential of a car electricity generated by a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen and that leaves only water as a by-product.
Toyota/IReal. A car seat? A Car? Courtesy Toyota Motor Corporation.
A final section, Moving Urban Cells, looks at the future of transport as integrated systems rather than individual vehicles.
This is the most fun section for out-there design. The Toyota i-REAL is like a hypermodern wheelchair in aerodynamic curved lines.
The Nissan PIV02 is a state of the art bubble car, which uses electric signals instead of wires and shafts. It can turn 360 degrees in seconds, which would make troublesome parking a thing of the past.
The motors are in the four wheels and the compact lithium-ion battery is under the floor to give maximum space as well as stability.
However, the most interesting feature by far is the robot designed dashboard that maps your face for emotion to read your mood and then communicate with you to give driving support. I watch a demonstration and mentally add one to my Christmas wish list.
Japan, being both highly innovative and densely populated, is here shown to be the driving force behind transport solutions for twenty-first century cities.
This exhibition includes bold car design with iconic environmental solutions. I admit it, I had fun. I may even learn to drive.
