NORI Design Study (Japan, 2010)

The NORI concept addresses fuel economy, emissions, green materials, new design and manufactured technology, and transforms these issues into an appealing design solution.

For the NORI concept, body and chassis are one as a PODULAR form, designed to be strong, light and beautiful. Bioplastics technology is created using “nori” (the Japanese word for seaweed) combined with a carbon fiber weave. Woven into the PODULAR form are solar cells that capture and generate supplemental solar energy. As a holistic solution and new design aesthetic, NORI reduces weight and the number of parts while capturing and generating energy.

At the onset of the DESIGN process for each PODULAR form is a collaboration between designers and engineers, utilizing a “real time” design envelope to ensure the perfect balance of strength, light weight and design aesthetics. This process eliminates traditional design and engineering conflicts of form vs. function, and allows...