MINI presented a probing, thought-provoking and inspiring concept created by the Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings who explored the design of a MINI One by examining its composition down to the smallest details and, in so doing, dissecting the design process per se.

Scholten & Baijings peeled the MINI One like an onion, layer by layer, while analysing the car as such and its individual components. Applying their highly conceptual approach, the designers questioned virtually every aspect of design along the way, extracting the essence of each component, whether this was revealed at its core or during the dismantling process itself.

Scholten & Baijings introduced their familiar colours and materials to the stripped out parts, with typical graceful panache – the byproduct of “Art-Parts” (individual components taken from their usual environment and displayed as artworks) being particularly enlightening.

The upshot is a thought-provoking and inspiring new interpretation that draws on the familiar stylistic devices of Scholten & Baijings – colour and material – to query the rules of automotive design and shed new light on them.

The Path is the Goal: Automotive Design Redefined

Fascinated by the principle of concept cars, Stefan Scholten and Carole Baijings set about deconstructing the MINI One.

As MINI’s base model, the MINI One inherently and recognisably embodies all the hallmark attributes of the brand, thus presenting itself as the ideal vehicle for tackling fundamental issues concerning all aspects of MINI design.

The designers note that they use an ‘Atelier Way of Working’: from sketch to model-making and experimentation, with the final product evolving throughout.

“The design process is driven by intuition. the journey, the driving experience, the display of pride, the perception of the space, the interaction with the surroundings, and the feeling of speed are all elements presented.”

Scholten & Baijings peeled the MINI One like an onion, layer by layer, while analysing the car as such and its individual components. Applying their highly conceptual approach, the designers questioned virtually every aspect of design along the way, extracting the essence of each component, whether this was revealed at its core or during the dismantling process itself. The Dutch designers complemented the stripped parts with colour and texture in characteristic Scholten & Baijings fashion.

In close collaboration with the MINI design team, this not only gave rise to a very free interpretation of the frame, but also spawned so-called “Art Parts” – components that were extracted as a whole from the car and in their ensuing “autonomy” permit an entirely fresh perspective on car design.

Transparent tyres made of cast resin, which were produced in cooperation with industrial designer and polyester specialist Vincent de Rijk, who has already realised numerous projects for OMA, the architecture firm of Rem Koohlhaas.

In their presentation, Scholten & Baijings once again take up the theme of MINI’s racing heritage: Colour One for MINI by Scholten & Baijings is staged in a stylised racing workshop.

Since the process of lending shape to objects is the focus of this work, the exhibits are joined by showcases containing colour and material samples along with inspiring objects, images and snapshots from the creative process behind the installation.

In their deconstructed form, the seats and seat belts recall the brand’s rally heritage and have been lined with specially developed fabrics.

The doors have been taken out and are displayed separately from the car with three-dimensional golden textures or a matt porcelain paint finish developed jointly with MINI Design.

Bags integrated into the frame and a sun visor that doubles as a clutch augment the potential spectrum of aesthetic reinterpretation by Scholten & Baijings.

Not least of all, the landscape views displayed in the exhibited windows open up a rather special perspective on mobility: depending on whether look to the back, the side or the front, you find yourself looking at the past, present or future

Freedom of Scope for Fresh Thinking at MINI Design

For a long time now, the MINI design team has been cultivating dialogue with external designers and creative professionals.

In addition to fostering creative exchange, the aim is also to discover new aspects of design that go beyond conventional automotive design.

“The BMW Group has for many years collaborated with creative people from a wide and varying range of fields,” said Anders Warming, Head of MINI Design.

Indeed, the new functions that Stefan Scholten and Carole Baijings have thought up and the way in which they approach materials makes for a vast reservoir of ideas that has inspired our work from day one.’ MINI design team

The seats and seatbelts recall the brand’s rally heritage and have been lined with specially developed fabrics. The doors have been taken out and are displayed separately from the car with three-dimensional golden textures or a matt porcelain paint finish developed jointly with MINI Design.

‘In Scholten & Baijings we have managed to enlist a design duo who are known worldwide for their eclectic creations and who work at the interface between design and art. Their completely untrammelled view of our design, free of any conventions, is an immense source of inspiration for the entire MINI design team.