How important is domestic taste in today’s passenger compartments? A lot, if you are to believe the burgeoning of wood surfaces and natural materials on the latest concepts. However, when it comes to the prototype that Losanga presented at Frankfurt 2017, the Symbioz, now on display at the Milan Design Week (16-22 April), this approach takes on a completely different dimension.
Here, from the start, the design intention was to indissolubly link car and home, in a, yes…. symbiotic way. That’s why the Symbioz, accommodated in the Dutch Pavilion at the Fuorisalone in homage to corporate design chief Laurens Van Den Acker, has been made the centre of a set-up which recontextualises Bloko upholstery fabrics on a large semi-circular lounge sofa, celebrating the osmosis between the two worlds.
Polish designer Aleksandra Gaca, who created weaves and graphics, explains: “I have been working with innovative fabrics for over twenty years, but this is the first time I have worked for a car manufacturer, so I am happy about that. It was a great challenge!”
The pieces designed to enrich the car’s convivial space are then the subject of another little exhibition, which outlines the creative process: from the ultra-refined inserts in authentic marble to the removable felt bag and the stuffed animal (really on sale as a toy) that is an integral part of the cockpit, everything is explained in detail.
And if every visitor is carried away by the futuristic aspects, it does not escape the more discerning that the Symbioz remains surprisingly faithful to the Renault canons, especially in its handling of daytime running lights and doors. “Playing with proportions and surfaces, we did everything we could to encapsulate innovation in a get-up that is in line with our design philosophy”, Van Den Acker explains with a smile.
