Keeping Gaudí’s creative spirit alive

Barcelona, widely known as Spain’s creative hub, is also home to practical cars that are charged with “auto emoción”. Two new development facilities – the SEAT Design Center and the Prototype Center of Development (CPD) – convey a winning combination of aesthetics and functionality, both through their own architectural design and the production of fascinating automobiles.

For over 100 years, the Catalan city of Barcelona has been synonymous with exciting design, avant-garde forms and inventive color compositions. Much of this reputation is owed to the influence of architect and designer Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). His unique creations – the Sagrada Familia cathedral, Park Güell and Casa Batlló – continue to captivate visitors from all over the world.

Today, Gaudí’s heirs in the Volkswagen Group are designing cars at the SEAT plant in Martorell, a mere 45-minute drive from Barcelona. The setting for their work is a Design Center which, although only in operation since October 2007, is already a magnet for creative minds in search of inspiration. Developed by designers for designers, the Center is the most modern and innovative of its kind in the world. 

INSPIRING DESIGN IN CLOISTERED SECLUSION

Michele D’Alessandro, who runs the Design Center, explains the center’s creative potential: “In this building, our designers can map out their entire production process independently – from the blueprint on the drawing board through virtual studies on the computer to the finished, fully painted model. You won’t find this anywhere else in the world.”

THE TRIBU FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE CONCEPT CAR: symbolizes the shape of future Seat models

Situated on a hill and completely closed to the outside world, the Design Center could almost be said to be a kind of stronghold. A fitting description, since hardly anything in the automotive world is treated as protectively as designs and prototypes. However, the closer one gets to the building, the more it resembles a monastery. This is because the interior view, with a kind of modern cloister and a light-flooded inner courtyard, conveys a wondrous sense of transparency – a bright, clear and logical space for aesthetic ideas to flourish. Taking pride of place in the center is the Tribu four-wheel drive concept car, created by Chief Designer Luc Donckerwolke. This car visualizes the design world of future SEAT models and gives an indication where the brand wishes to go. 

There may well be larger design centers, but in terms of efficiency, this one is second to none: after all, the 100 or so employees – from ten different countries – can see directly, in each stage of development, whether their ideas can be implemented in practice. This speeds up processes enormously, thus bringing about a marked reduction in costs. The visionary architecture also facilitates interaction between different divisions, which in turn brings a lasting improvement in efficiency. Because of this, the Design Center sees itself as a “company within a company”. 

MATURE IDEAS PASS TO SERIES PRODUCTION

“This gives a great boost to motivation and significantly improves the way we communicate with one another”, enthuses Donckerwolke, “because we see this working environment as a feeding ground for ideas and innovations – and these thrive under ideal conditions such as these. In this way, we aim to expand our product portfolio permanently, so that we can reach our target of selling approximately 800,000 vehicles by 2018.”

AFTER THE DESIGN COMES THE PROTOTYPE

The Centro de Prototipos de Desarrollo (CPD) began operations in January 2007. The CPD is the technological heart of the entire plant – not only due to its central location, but also because it combines development with series production, i.e. it unites product and process directly. “The idea behind this preproduction center was to combine the functions of prototyping, modeling, pilot product development and series analysis under a single roof”, explains Dr. Oliver Blume, who is in charge of Brand Planning. “It was particularly important for us to have lean work processes and, above all, to have optimum working conditions for our 300 experts”.

“COST SAVINGS IN THE REGION OF 15 PERCENT“

The unique selling point of the building is that the relevant pressing, body construction, assembly and quality analysis specialists are all based around the communication center located at the heart of the complex. This integrated structure allows the production start-up to begin as early as the first prototype stage and to benefit from feedback from the current series production. “This speeds up the quality processes considerably”, explains Javier Diaz, head of the preproduction center. “In addition, we expect cost savings in the region of 15 percent in prototyping alone. When this is added to savings in equipment, the Center will have paid for itself in two years.”

A particularly appealing aspect of the preproduction center concept is how virtual technology is integrated for data control models and prototypes: in this early stage of the project, all surface and construction data is simulated in the form of a model, before being transferred to the real vehicle. In addition, virtual technology offers considerable advantages in analysing and implementing quality improvements in preproduction vehicles: a number of alternative solutions are run through the computer and subsequently tried out on the production floor. Virtual simulation is also used for the later stages of the production process, from pressing to assembly. This procedure irons out potential problems long before series production begins. An invaluable advantage from which SEAT drivers also benefit – in the form of ever-improving quality and reliability.