A rectangle moving through the tangled web of city traffic: this is the image which inspired Mario and Sandro Vernacchia, Director and Chief Designer of the Transport Division of the Turin-based company Tesco in their work on the new intercity bus for BredaMenarinibus, which was presented last November at the international show in Verona, and is currently in production and due to be launched in the autumn.
With their common experience, gained in over twenty years’ work in the design field, the Vernacchia brothers began working on the project in June 2003, starting out with in-depth research into the needs of the individual, viewed both in terms of external observer and service user. “The low belt-line”, explains Mario Vernacchia, “together with the continuous flow of the glazing and sweeping windscreen, enabled us to create predominantly transparent areas on the sides of the bus, which lightens the visual impact of the vehicle and means great light inside.”
The central BredaMenarinibus logo is surrounded by the beautifully designed lighting clusters, accentuated by an oblique cut which slims down the rounded shape of the surrounding bodywork, without altering the continuity of the design, as Vernacchia points out: ”We wanted to create an overall sense of balance, both with the exteriors and passenger area, with great attention to colour, as well as trims, in order to convey a quality feel, in an area which many people are going to be looking at over a brief period. The paintwork colours match the seats, but are also recalled, with the feel of the materials, by aluminium-look surfaces which create a general feeling of class”.
The article continues in Auto & Design no. 147
