| Barcelona, a sophisticated and stylish city in Spain, is | | | | end came from here," Ancona divulged. "The rest |
| more than just a tourist attraction. The warmth, | | | | just skewed too young," he added, illustrating why it |
| culture and feisty ambience of the city made every | | | | takes a village to raise a Volvo. "Designs always end |
| visitor long for a return. The Picasso Museum in honor | | | | up a blend. The senior managers all get together and |
| of a famous artist could be influential to some | | | | do a walk-around, looking very serious. We have |
| especially to his fellow artists. Barcelona's elegance | | | | been fairly successful the last couple of years. Part |
| and artistic dexterity have attracted Volvo's | | | | of our job is to supply management with enough |
| designers to come up with fabulous lineup that | | | | things in the cookie jar that they can make a |
| mirrors future auto design. | | | | business case." |
| Barcelona is without doubt one of the most popular | | | | Ancona admitted that the Barcelona office is |
| and exciting cities in the Mediterranean. It boasts | | | | "extremely influential. "Our success has been in |
| enticing beaches, rich history and culture that could | | | | inverted proportion to our size." Ancona added, "The |
| be reckoned back over 2,000 years. Everyone | | | | process starts with a designer searching for an |
| deserves to see the beauty and grandeur of this | | | | emotional hook and hand drawing, which to anyone |
| city. This is the inspiration that Volvo wants to | | | | with some life drawing background would look much |
| achieve so the pool of design experts of the | | | | like gesture sketches - quick, rough and spontaneous. |
| automaker imbibed the artistic and inspiring features | | | | They are exaggerated, then we begin to bring it into |
| of the city to its vehicle lineup. | | | | realistic proportions." |
| David Ancona, chief designer at Volvo's Design | | | | He continued, "From there, a design is worked into |
| Centre in Barcelona, first visited the country in 1992 | | | | Photoshop, then goes to Alias modellers who work |
| as a consultant with Seat. According to him Barcelona | | | | with the 3D design software. Then, to Bunkspeed, a |
| offers the kind of bustling pace, diverse culture and | | | | visualization tool that takes an Alias model and |
| nurturing of creativity that designers need to fuel | | | | assesses its proportions, highlights, etc., and is |
| their passion. | | | | managed by a Playstation controller. Designers can |
| Ancona and his staff spend their days in an | | | | use Bunkspeed (which loads an Alias design in about |
| awe-inspiring building in an astonishing city that takes | | | | 30 seconds) to change colors, virtually "drive" the |
| design seriously, from the architecture to the large | | | | vehicle, change light sources to check out shadows, |
| limited-run furniture industry to the mounting respect | | | | etc. Before Bunkspeed, it was ridiculous to me that |
| for its fashion industry and designers like the | | | | within the industry visualization tools weren't up to |
| world-renowned Balenciaga. | | | | par with what you could do in your own living room." |
| Ancona said, "It helps, even when your employer is a | | | | Among the three Volvo design studios in Barcelona is |
| couple of thousand miles away, has a very different | | | | a "certain competitiveness, but we're all in the same |
| culture, a different climate and a different aesthetic -- | | | | game. The end product is the thing. We've all got |
| Swedish automaker Volvo. I was here both to visit | | | | enough confidence in senior management to make |
| the design centre and to try the new C30, a coupe | | | | the right decision. You win some, you lose some." |
| Ancona describes as an "unapologetic" three-door | | | | When asked whether Barcelona's influence is a liability, |
| car." | | | | the Volvo designer answered on the negative. |
| Ancona thought the Mini and the A3 are beginning to | | | | "Particularly with prestige brands there is a strong |
| suffer from overexposure, perfectly positioning the | | | | brand identity and our designs have to have that. Our |
| Volvo C30. So there has to be something to divert | | | | cars have that short-nose, long-tail feel of the S60, |
| the bandwagon and it has something to do with | | | | but we're here to give our take on things, so there |
| transforming the aging Volvo 960 parts into | | | | has to be some leeway." After a car design has |
| something fabulous in the present time. | | | | passed design feasibility, heavy engineering becomes |
| "The Volvos you see on the road are an amalgam of | | | | crucial. |
| designs that originate here, in California and in | | | | After the Volvo C30 is seen on the roads, Ancona |
| Goteborg, Sweden. The original design, interiors and | | | | said Volvo may consider producing a sports car - a la |
| colour for the company's VCC concept originated | | | | the RX8 or a sports car like the Volvo P1800. These |
| here, as did the first sketches for the C70. The front | | | | future vehicles could just popped up out of nowhere. |