The world’s leading manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles, the BMW Group, has moved its design studio US headquarters to Santa Monica, California.
The design studio, known as Designworks, has been based out of New Bury Park since 1988. The studio has additional outlets in Shanghai and Munich.
The BMW group innovation office shifting news came even as the BMW Group celebrates 50 years of its design studio since Chuck Pelly founded it in 1972 as Designworks USA. In 1995 Designworks became a subsidiary of the BMW group. Designworks futuristic signs for several clients, including designing EVA Air’s business class cabins, David Letterman’s new BMW hybrid model car, and North Face’s futuristic camper concept.
The BMW design director, Adrian Van Hooydonk, justified the move as it would mean downsizing the US square footage of the company to 16,000 square feet from 70,000 square feet in the new location in response to the new work-life balance.
Referring to the notorious traffic snarl on the highway resulting in a parallel US 101 route between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Hooydonk said that the company was not forcing its employee to take the alternative route. He said that the company had put the infrastructure in place after a three-year covid induced home -office work, and now the people would want to stay and work together.
The new office opened Monday, and all 65 employees of Designworks have been encouraged to use the studio three times a week at least, according to a spokesperson.
The Hybrid Concept in New Space
The new setup in Santa Monica has adopted the minimalistic furniture style reflecting Scandinavian design. The chocolate brown, orange, and wood tones of the furniture, the black marble tables, modular sofas, and tall stools are all available in Knoll and Muuro. The new office space has a hybrid look with its group tables, small booths, and individual workstations with its standing or desk feature.
The large clay models usually found in automotive design are missing in this office which explains the smaller size of the office. Van Hooydonk says it is no longer necessary to set aside a huge space for clay modeling.
Strategic Production Plans
Van Hooydonk said that design work is typically done on computers. If any milling is required, it can be outsourced. The new office space is still large enough to put a car model inside and take to look for checking. The new office working style is more aligned with the studio in Munich- that it is more digital, and the studio footprints needed to reflect that.
The Munich-based BMW group had made multiple announcements before the news of its relocation. It announced on October 15 that it was shifting its production of electric MINIs to China from the UK, citing inefficiency. The company also invested $1.7 billion in its South Carolina manufacturing facilities to produce six new electric vehicles by 2030.
According to the company, Designworks will not be accessible to the public. However, some events can be opened to non-employees.
