Nissan opens new North American design studio

Wed, 30 Mar 2005

Nissan Design America Inc. has opened a new design studio in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on the grounds of Nissan Technical Center North America. The $14 million investment represents an expansion of Nissan's design capabilities in Farmington Hills as well as a shift in design capabilities. The new studio comprises an open floor-plan studio space of 50,912 sq feet, a 15,000 sq foot viewing courtyard known as 'The Egg' for viewing designs in optimal light and an 8x4 ft Power Wall for viewing large size digital presentations.

Once a small studio of 12 designers with a focus on final production design, the new studio has grown to more than 30 full-time employees, under Keisuke Otsuki, new director of design, with capabilities to accommodate a team of 45. The facility will act as a sister studio to Nissan Design America, Inc. in San Diego and will complement Nissan's wordwide design activities under the direction of Shiro Nakamura, senior vice president, design, Nissan Motor Co, and president, Nissan Design America. The Farmington Hills studio recently saw the birth of its first concept car - the Azeal sports coupe - at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"NDA's role has been more than a concept studio" said Bruce Campbell, vice president, design, Nissan Design America. "The main diet of work is production cars and trucks. The Farmington Hills studio is a natural extension of this mission. The close proximity of the major suppliers and Nissan's North American engineering and manufacturing facilities is important to conceive and execute industry-leading design."

Great effort was made to incorporate recycled and recyclable materials wherever possible within the studio's design. Aluminium panels in the loggia are recycled automotive bodies; the rubber seen in the loggia's doors and windows comes from recycled tyres; and the felt covering portions of the studio's walls and ceilings is made out of wool from recycled sweaters. The Power Wall room features a 35 foot wide, 20 foot tall sliding California Redwood clad door, and the interior surfaces of the room are lined with bleached oak, indigenous to the Michigan landscape, to represent the locations of NDA's two studios. Nissan's global design growth plans also include an expansion to the San Diego studio, a new studio in central London, and new facilities under construction in Atsugi, Japan.