Vehicle Design at the Royal College of Art, London

By Robert Forrest.

Modern Movement: Vehicle Design at the Royal College of Art

The Royal College of Art is the World’s only wholly postgraduate college, and attracts many hopefuls applying for a place, and with good reason. Statistically, almost all those who graduate go into their chosen profession at the right level, and pretty promptly after their graduation. This is the kind of information handed out with every press release for every show for every course and to an extent is largely all that prospective students know before coming here. They may recognise the odd name in industry discovering that they too came here, and so think that this is the place to be, but even this fails to do justice to the institution.

Vehicle Design was well respected under its former head, Ken Greenley, providing the industry with many advanced stylists pursuing their own ambitions and realising their own potential. Direction of the course changed hands a few years ago and now lies in the hands of Dale Harrow. Under his command, the course has been restructured with different pathways introduced. These pathways allow students to specialise in branding, materials or urban transport. Gone are the days of single-mindedness, replaced by a regime of people more commercially aware with an eye on reviewing the infrastructure of the vehicle world, and not on just modifying the aesthetic. So far, the judgment of the results of Harrow’s directorship has been on Greenley’s terms: 'how does the car look?', which has led to criticism. Harrow, in his new role, aims to answer how the car is. Is it still a car? What is a car? What is its purpose? With each degree show that passes, the critics begin to realise his direction and his focus on context, and not just the stylistic concept.

This is Harrow’s intention, but how is it to be under his rule? Projects so far have been designed to encourage teamwork, corporate relationships, and creativity, all off which seem apt enough. To read these words on paper, it seems pretty standard stuff, but what is special is something that Harrow has pioneered at the start of 2004. At the beginning of the year, Harrow arranged a collaborative project with Fiat. The brief they proposed allowed the course to broaden its circle, enveloping members of other courses to participate in the design development of the vehicle. Within the College, Vehicle Design is seen as somewhat isolated from the rest of the place, churning out renderings that turn product designers green, but whereas they can do stuff from toasters to kidnapping simulations, vehicle designers are relatively limited in what they do. Harrow’s inclusion of other courses with the Fiat project was an excellent way to answer some of this criticism, with its success paving the way for future collaborative projects and shortening the peninsular that some see Vehicle Design currently existing upon.

This is only one side of the coin though. Life at the College is what its all about, and is what the prospectuses can never properly convey. Every course becomes supplementary to the 'Artbar'. This is not to imply that students seek regular saturation, but that this is where one meets others, chat about work, friends and life and really realise the world that they’ve entered. It isn’t about entering the car world, but about entering the design life. Graduates often say that the bar is the most important part of the College, and is where all their friends and contacts have been made. The student-run union gives the opportunity to travel and dress up for themed nights. Going to obscure private views of exhibitions will just cause an exponential growth in one’s social circle, leading to random house parties and greater familiarity with Ken Livingstone’s plans for night buses. It isn’t just the course that should appeal, but the life that acceptance onto it reveals.

To join the Vehicle Design course with the sole intent of designing some sports cars isn’t what its about. Go with the flow, and let the disparate experiences of the whole life here wash you towards something far more imaginative. This year’s show will include a glass car, a plastic scooter and a floating house. I hope that my work in next year's show will be just as creative, and a suitable culmination to what has so far been a real eye-opener. I sometimes fail to pick up every piece of advice from my tutors, but I can’t help but be influenced and inspired by the college.

Royal College of Art

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