inaugural go to to designworks’ new shanghai studio
China’s affect on rising design developments and improvements is rising. Designworks, the enigmatic but constantly ground-breaking subsidy of the BMW Group, opened its expanded studio in Shanghai. In an exclusive visit, designboom stepped into the secretive studio to grasp its growing influence on the automotive producer, regional shoppers, and international consumer behaviors. Timed to coincide with the West Bund Art & Design truthful in November 2023, the studio’s strategic location within the artistic district underlines the workforce’s work because the proclaimed architects of the longer term, not solely in mobility but additionally throughout spatial and repair design.

Holger Hampf, Head of Designworks, provides designboom a tour of Designworks’ new Shanghai studio
Founded in 1972 after which totally acquired as a part of the BMW Group since 1995, Designworks has all the time strived to develop new design concepts. It is essential, although, that these concepts are numerous in fields and markets. With a portfolio of 300 initiatives yearly from all throughout the globe, half are designed for the BMW Group whereas the rest cater for a curated set of shoppers. The 130+ sturdy artistic workforce are strategically unfold throughout Shanghai, Munich, and Los Angeles, with the latter having relocated to a new site earlier in 2023. The places are interconnected however give distinctive views on design developments of their respective areas.
‘After 50 years, the founding principles of Designworks are very much still alive today: great people, great projects, and great fun. Our diverse team work together, integrate, share knowledge, and create collaborative projects across many disciplines. This is what really makes us a different kind of agency,’ begins Holger Hampf, Head of Designworks, to designboom on the opening of the brand new studio in Shanghai. ‘Designworks’ three places are a no brainer: China in Asia, Germany in Europe, and the West coast within the US. Our merchandise must be profitable throughout many various markets and clients. They are all equally vital. We observe customers around the globe, acquire completely different views, and feed this again to the BMW Group like an outside-in strategy. It is essential.’


the company has a 130+ sturdy artistic workforce which are strategically unfold throughout Shanghai, Munich, and Los Angeles
Designworks’ workforce has their fingers on the heartbeat, significantly famous in our go to in China. The new studio’s location within the coronary heart of China’s financial hub, nested inside Shanghai’s vibrant district for arts, tradition, and enterprise, surrounds its creatives in a melting level of fast and revolutionary concepts. This proximity additionally aligns the studio with the BMW Group’s analysis and growth heart within the metropolis, facilitating a swift trade of design and growth experience to enhance interdisciplinary creation all through the design course of, from conception by to manufacturing. The new dwelling – the third-generation studio in Shanghai since 2012 – underscores the workforce’s increasing significance and measurement as they tailor designs to fulfill particular wants of consumers in China and the broader Asian area.
‘Users in China are young, creative, disruptive, and less patient. They want progress even faster and even more visibly. This group of customers makes China valuable as not only an incubator but also pressure for our team to innovate. This, in turn, also challenges the BMW Group. The questions asked in Shanghai are then proposed to Germany and so on,’ provides Holger.


the studio’s location in china’s financial hub surrounds creatives in a melting level of fast and revolutionary concepts
Designworks constantly questions how future clients will outline premium high quality, with Chinese customers usually on the forefront of shaping these requirements. The dynamic nature of China’s market has led to evolving consumer behaviors, and the on-the-ground workforce has the power and agility to grasp the most recent social- and design-related phenomena. This contains understanding individuals’s altering wants when it comes to aesthetics, life-style, and expertise at an accelerated tempo, providing useful insights into the nation’s cultures and traditions. These insights are then translated into product concepts for each the native area and international stage.
‘There is a regular exchange between all our studios, through virtual tools. What we learn in one location can have a positive impact on a completely different project on the other side of the globe.‘ Holger continues to clarify, ‘it is a more useful experience to work, interaction, and share knowledge in-person. We have projects that utilize our personnel across different studios, such as when needing a US or Chinese perspective.’


sustainable supplies are developed with a creative strategy, like Zhangrong Velvet, Song Brocade, and Lacquer
‘When we talk about cars and their interiors, we want to create a wow-factor. It is then important to create meaning. Using sustainable materials, there are benefits to the user and planet without any negatives,’ explains the Head of Designworks.
A chief instance of this localized innovation is obvious within the design of the brand new BMW 5 Series, considerably influenced by the Designworks workforce in Shanghai. The automobile boasts an extended wheelbase, distinctive proportions, and a extra spacious rear compartment, tailor-made particularly for Chinese clients. Exclusive design components add extra luxurious. This strategy is predicted to increase to future fashions of the BMW Neue Klasse.


the studio influenced the design of the brand new BMW 5 sequence with a China-specific lengthy wheelbase model
Traditional Chinese craftsmanship is being reinterpreted as visionary, sustainable supplies that keep prime quality. These supplies embody Zhangrong Velvet, Song Brocade, and Lacquer, making a synthesis of extremely optical and haptic experiences for customers. This dedication to cultural sensitivity can also be mirrored globally within the BMW Group’s digital expertise, that includes the visualization of BMW IPA (clever private assistant), the MINI digital companion SPIKE, and particular pageant mode animations on management shows.
‘There is a false perception that China is not sustainable,‘ notes Holger Hampf, Head of Designworks. ‘The size of their cities present an even bigger challenge than elsewhere. Their market not only needs to be faster in developing alternative concepts of mobility, architecture and more, but at the same time, add more value to the customer. This takes on a more artistic application. It is important for individuals to have an emotional connection to their products, and so, our designers are trying to create this through sustainable materials, for example.’

the workforce crafted the end-to-end buyer expertise for Fotile’s smart-home family home equipment
Despite half of Designworks’ initiatives being solely associated to the BMW Group and its manufacturers, the opposite 50% are commissioned in parallel for a big, numerous variety of international shoppers. This deliberate curation gives a particular outside-in perspective, fostering an trade of information and understanding of recent developments that enrich BMW Group design. Collaborative ventures vary from designing the outside and inside of the brand new era of high-speed trains for CRRC – the world’s largest rolling inventory producer – to shaping the positioning and product design for Chinese e-bike producer Yadea. In a special sphere, the studio additionally crafted the end-to-end buyer expertise for Fotile, a luxurious kitchen producer specializing in smart-home family home equipment.
As architects of the longer term, it’s apt that Designworks’ affect extends past automotive design, shaping spatial and repair improvements across the globe. This, as seen on designboom’s go to to the opening, is a testomony to the brand new, expanded studio within the coronary heart of Shanghai’s artistic pulse.