Grand day out

Great day out visiting the EBAC factory. Thanks to product graduate and Senior Design Engineer at the company, Clyde Pittaway, for arranging what was an immensely enjoyable and detailed tour of their fascinating plant .

Barcelona and a bit of F1 testing

Earlier this month Product Design students went on a study visit to Barcelona. Despite the weather we had a great time. One of the main visits of the trip was the F1 testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. What an amazing experience and the sounds were just awesome. Other visits included a guided tour of the Seat factory, the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona (Design Museum) and the unfinished Sagrada Familia designed by Antoni Gaudi.

Day trip to Berghaus…

Product Design students visited the Berghaus Design Centre to present their interim concepts for trail running, walking shoes.   After a tour of the facility, the students presented their work to apparel designer, Margot Gandelin and Footwear designer, Joe O’connell (pictured right)   The tour gave students a fantastic insight into Berghaus trend forecasting, design process and garment testing procedures.   We look forward to presenting the final designs to the company in early May.

 

We Love Berlin

Earlier this month Product Design students visited the German capital, Berlin. The main part of the study visit was a day trip to the truly wonderful VW Autostadt in Wolfsburg, probably the world’s first automobile theme park, with its beautifully designed pavilions and of course the cars.

Other visits included the Reichstag, with the large glass dome designed by British Architect Norman Foster, the Vandenberg gate, the Bode Museum and trip to the top of the magnificent 368m tall Fernsehturm Tower with its incredible views of the whole city.

We Love Amsterdam

Following on from last year’s epic trip to Italy, the delights of Milan and visits to Ferrari and Lamborghini, Product Design students recently returned from this year’s International Study Trip to Amsterdam!

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I thought it would be difficult to top Italy, but what a fantastic city to visit.

The highlight for me was our visit to the Philips Museum in Eindhoven where we had a private escorted tour and learned about the history of this, most iconic of companies, from its early beginnings as a manufacturer of light bulbs to today’s global force in design innovation.

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Our hotel was in the heart of the Museums Quarter and we, of course, visited the world-class Van Gogh, Stedelijk and Ryjks museums.   Well… it would have been rude not to!   Nothing quite compares to seeing the great works of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Kandinsky, Monet, I could go on “up close and personal”.   You get a real sense of “feeling” and how the artists worked in a way you can never quite appreciate from a screen or book.

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The Stedelijk Museum has a stunning permanent exhibition of 20th Century Design Classics that is a must see!IMG_0156

There was also plenty of free time for the students to take in some culture, including cutting gem stones in the diamond quarter, “designer” shopping, the flower markets and Amsterdam’s vibrant night life to name a few.

And…, we are already thinking about next year’s trip.   High on the list is a return visit to Berlin in 2017, the VW Autostadt and Bauhaus.   We’ll have more information at the start of term in October.

Grazie Italia… We’ll be back!

Product design students recently returned from an epic study trip to Italy and we thought we’d share a few moments with you.

Arriving in the Italian style capital, you can’t fail to be impressed by Milan.

Day 1 started with a trip to the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci”… The Science Museum to the likes of me and you!   This is where I caught this lovely snap of our students in the Da Vinci Gallery which had intricate models of the great man’s many inventions.   The Science museum is on my must see list.

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We then headed to the city centre for lunch and the Duomo di Milano (the cathedral).   What a building!

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It’s difficult to believe that they started building it in 1386 and only finished construction in 1965!… and now they are having to renovate the old bits! :-/

Having been awestruck by the interior, many of us climbed the all too many steps to the roof.   Another photo opportunity amongst the spires of white and pale pastel marble.   You can see the mix of old and new.   The views were spectacular.

And afterwards, a walk around the designer fashion shops in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II followed by a beer (or two) in the city centre overlooking the Duomo.   And yes…, those are 1 litre glasses (just don’t ask the price!)

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Day 2 and we headed south to the Ferrari factory and museum.

We started the day with an escorted tour of the Ferrari test track and factory before visiting the museum.

The whole experience was fascinating from some of Ferrari’s classic racing cars to the stunning La Ferrari and of course, a Ferrari simulator!   The students took a group Selfie but I quite like my perspective on it.

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After Ferrari, we spent the evening in Bologna, a walk around the old town piazzas followed by some great, authentic Italian food.   We took over the entire restaurant!

Day 3 saw us head for the Museo Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Museum director, Fabio Lamborghini, nephew of Ferruccio, gave us a personal tour of the museum.

Fabio had some great anecdotes about his uncle.   Our thanks to Fabio for bringing the entire Lamborghini story so vividly and passionately to life.

From tractors, to air conditioning, the “Popemobile” to the very beautiful Miura we heard all about the ground breaking innovations and the “genius of Ferruccio”

 

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It was quite a road trip.   An unforgettable and inspirational experience for all.

I am reminded that Enzo Ferarri once said “If you can dream it, you can do it”

At Teesside, we believe that too….

Ich bin ein Berliner…

Last week 1st and 2nd year Product Design students could be found in the German capital, Berlin. The main part of the study visit was a day trip to the truly wonderful VW Autostadt in Wolfsburg, probably the world’s first automobile theme park, with its beautifully designed pavilions and of course the cars.

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Other visits included the Reichstag, with the large glass dome designed by British Architect Norman Foster, the Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design, with its extensive collection art pieces relating to one of the most influential art and design schools of the 20th century and the magnificent 368m tall Fernsehturm Tower with its incredible views of the whole city.

DSCF0437 DSCF0486 P1100323 Overall it was an excellent few days with lots to see and do. Watch out for more posts from the trip.P1100460