THINK POSITIVE ABOUT THE FUTURE 1

One of the reasons why I love my job so much: I can create products and objects in my head and when I put them on paper, it can be a first glimpse into the future. Because we designers are nothing more than pioneers. But this also means that we have a great responsibility: With our designs, we ‘draw’ the world as it may one day look like, in which mankind has to find its way and in which the connection to nature must not be lost. We must accept this responsibility and influence our environment and products of the future through positive design.

In many Hollywood blockbusters, however, exactly the opposite happens: there, a bleak future is designed with an extremely aggressive design. Vehicles, airplanes, architecture or robots – all of this often seems inhuman and makes little desire to live in this ‘new’ world.

That’s not my personal approach. Mine is to make the future better.

We are partly right in the middle of this new world, especially when we look at the constantly growing mega-cities. One of the main issues is mobility. This is primarily about autonomous driving or being driven, about alternative means of transport such as high-speed trains or drones, but of course also about environmentally friendly drives. On the one hand, the structures in the cities have to be rethought and designed, but on the other hand the vehicles and means of transport themselves have to be rethought. Therein lies the challenge for designers and architects to find attractive, environmentally friendly and aesthetically acceptable solutions. Because generative, bionic design can make structures more beautiful, efficient and aesthetic. Generative design means finding efficient aesthetic solutions through technically designed structures similar to nature. Preferably with materials that are sustainable. And following the example of nature.

But let’s go back to the means of transport in the cities. Here, the discussion comes to a head in two areas: Already now, petrol and diesel-powered vehicles are increasingly being banned from inner cities, opening the door wide to alternatively powered vehicles. And due to the strong construction in two-dimensional space, a lot will move into the 3D area.

Mobility in cities was a topic that particularly fascinated me even during my studies, which is why I dedicated my diploma thesis “City Air Way” to it. ‘City Air Way’ is an urban cable car that uses 3D space. It is a noise-free, environmentally friendly way to transport people in cities. The cultural heritage of the cities can be seen through the view from above. So that the whole thing doesn’t resemble simple floating cabins from winter sports, in which one has the feeling of being ‘locked in’, I equipped the gondolas with large glass surfaces and developed a transparent, bright design accentuated with lots of light. If you now integrate the train stations and supports into cities in terms of design, that would be a solution for the mobility of the future.

My designs attracted a lot of attention back then and were also awarded prizes.

If you look at a lot of cities today, the construction of such a suspension railway is being discussed there. Another solution for the 3D space are air taxis. Here, too, it is important to work harmoniously in terms of design and not to become too aggressive. It makes a difference whether an air taxi acts like a war drone or a rescue helicopter or a dragonfly.

So we designers have it in our hands in many areas how our future will look like. Interresting is also the topic of self-driving cars and alternative drive systems.