BMW Group working with MCBW: interactive dialogue formats focus on social upheavals

Munich. Ever since the Munich Creative Business Week (MCBW) was founded in 2012, the BMW Group has been a committed cooperation partner of Germany’s largest design event, which will be taking place from 14 to 22 May. More than 100 exhibitions, streams, workshops and conferences shape this international showcase of Bavaria’s creative and design industries. As Munich’s largest employer and driver in the field of design, creative exchange with the public and the professional audience is particularly important for the BMW Group, which is why it will also be represented this year with innovative formats. 

This year’s MCBW theme of “Moving Horizons” captures the core of the BMW Group’s design philosophy: “The horizon is an ever-changing reference point on our path, promising us more sustainability, more digitality and more personal experiences,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design. “We are embracing this path to the future of mobility with courage, confidence and optimism.” The Munich Creative Business Week is the ideal platform for creative exchange, discussion and inspiration.

How do you give form to social transformation?
In the “New Modes” panel, futurist Anab Jain, Superflux Designstudio, art historian Dr Angelika Nollert, Director of Die Neue Sammlung, and Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, will discuss design pieces from the recently opened X-D-E-P-O-T of Die Neue Sammlung (The New Collection) – The Design Museum. The pieces give the conversation a tangible element – design is not merely discussed but also engaged with. In this way, they explain how new forms demonstrate social change.

“WORK Moment” inspired by the MINI Vision Urbanaut
Design should not only be appealing, but ideally promote creative collaboration between people. What does an innovative, flexible working environment inspired by the MINI Vision Urbanaut space really look like? Steelcase, an expert in innovative work environments, took this challenge on and presents various concepts to illustrate this during this year’s MCBW. Michael Held, Director of Design Global Furniture at Steelcase and Christian Bauer, Head of MINI Interior Design talk about how they design spaces to make these more liveable.

Will the steering wheel of the future be a cuddly toy?
MINI and the ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne have set themselves the task of reinventing the wheel, so to speak. In a spectacular design study, they explored the question of what the steering wheel of the future will look like. From voice recognition and a cuddly toy look to pizza boxes, the “Rethinking the Wheel” exhibition has many intriguing answers in store.

“Design follows Function” becomes “Design follows Experience”.
Participants can then design and create for themselves in the MakerSpace. BMW Group Design invites visitors to the Rube-Goldberg Workshop at Munich Urban Colab. A place where ideas and innovations are brought to life with tools, software and machines in the form of prototypes and small series. “Design must manage to be relevant, as the fulfilment of an experience that has meaning,” explains Werner Haumayr, Vice President of BMW Group Design Concept and Integration and New Cluster Architecture Experience.

Breaking up traditional ways of seeing in the urban space.
Designworks, the BMW Group’s innovation studio, is exploring the theme of “Moving and Arriving in Urban Space” at an evening event in the Schwabing studio. Here, the team explores the question of what we are looking for in the urban environment, the places where we like to settle and the things that anchor us so that we do not get lost in urban space. For the first time, an innovative collection of seating and lighting solutions is presented for the urban environment that challenges conventional ways of seeing street furniture and breaks down traditional perceptions by shifting our visual horizons in the city.

Metaverse: The future of human interaction.
BMW Welt presents the FUTURE FORUM as part of MCBW with exciting talks including on the metaverse – The Future of Human Interaction, which can be attended physically or virtually. Experts including Anika Meier, columnist, Christian Mio Loclair, Managing Director / & Creative at Waltz & Binaire, Susanne Päch, author, Corinna Exner, User Interface Design, BMW Group, and other guests will share their knowledge about the metaverse and discuss how companies can use this virtual world to offer customers a new means to experience and interact with products.

Circularity and sustainability at the BMW Group
Visitors to RE:BMW Circular Lab can also immerse themselves in the topic of “circularity” at BMW Welt in a whole new way and gain an authentic insight into how the BMW Group is moving towards holistic sustainability. In the process, they get to know the innovation icons of Circular Design at BMW: the new CIRCULAR HEROES are exhibited on site as exclusive sculptures.

The BMW Museum’s sustainability exhibition Re:Imagine is dedicated to the milestones and visions of sustainable mobility of the BMW Group. Thirty exhibits over 1,000 square metres of exhibition space address the trends, challenges and opportunities of the future of mobility. 

The events at a glance:
Rethinking the Wheel: Exhibition
Where? MINI Pavillon, Lenbachplatz 7A
Sat 14 May/Sat 21 May, 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Mon 16 May – Fri 20 May, 10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
What will the steering wheel of the future look like? MINI and the ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne have found intriguing answers to this question in a spectacular design study.
Event information here

Guided tour of the Re:Imagine sustainability exhibition
Where? BMW Museum, Am Olympiapark 2
Sat 14 May – Sun 22 May (except 16 May), 5:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
The new exhibition entitled “RE:IMAGINE. We make BMW sustainable.” is dedicated to the milestones and visions of sustainable mobility of the BMW Group.
Register here

Steelcase x MINI Design – the MINI Vision Urbanaut goes WORK Moment
Where? Steelcase AG, Brienner Str. 42
Mon 16 May – Fri 20 May (except 17 May), 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
“Good Morning Cappuccino” campaign: what do you think an innovative, flexible working environment – inspired by the MINI Vision Urbanaut space – looks like? Steelcase invites you to this event together with experts from MINI Design and presents various concepts.
Register here

RE:BMW Circular Lab @ Campus BMW Welt: Experience circularity sustainably
Where? BMW Welt, Am Olympiapark 1
Mon 16 May – Tue 17 May, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
RE:THINK. RE:USE. RE:DUCE. RE:CYCLE: Experience four sustainable principles of the future!
Event information here

What is the metaverse – the beginning of a new era?
Where? FUTURE FORUM of BMW Welt, Am Olympiapark 1
Mon 16 May, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Although authors and thought leaders first conceptualised a metaverse decades ago, we are now only at the beginning. But it is coming on in leaps and bounds. Live panel and livestreamed here

Get metaversed – follow us into a digital new world!
Where? FUTURE FORUM of BMW Welt, Am Olympiapark 1
Tue 17 May, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Immersive art and design experiences are among the major trends of recent years – thanks to the fusion of the real and virtual worlds. Live panel and livestreamed here

Panel discussion: New Modes – inspired by Die Neue Sammlung and BMW Group Design
Where? Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Türkenstr. 15
Tue 17 May, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Anab Jain, Dr. Angelika Nollert and Adrian van Hooydonk reveal the possibilities of design to give form to social transformations, in dialogue with exhibits from Die Neue Sammlung.
Register here

Steelcase: Design talk “Clever use of space”
Where? Steelcase AG, Brienner Str. 42
Wed 18 May, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Michael Held (Director of Design Global Furniture, Steelcase) and Christian Bauer (Head of MINI Interior Design)
Register here

Rethinking the Wheel: Event
Where? MINI Pavillon, Lenbachplatz 7A
Thu 19 May, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Christian Bauer, Head of Interior Design MINI, and Alexis Georgacopoulos, Director of ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, address how we will interact with our cars in the future and how we will steer them.
Register here

Typology: unexpected urban experiences
Where? BMW Group Designworks, Infanteriestrasse 11A
Thu 19 May, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
An evening on the topic of “New Experiences in Urban Space” and presentation of a collection of seating and lighting solutions for the urban environment that challenges conventional ways of thinking about street furniture.
Register here

Rube-Goldberg workshop in the MakerSpace
Where? MakerSpace at Munich Urban Colab, Freddie-Mercury-Str. 5
Sat 21 May, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
BMW Group invites you along: “Design follows function” becomes “Design follows experience”. Create, invent and see how everything is interdependent – and in the end leads to new experiences – RE:THINK.
Register here

If you have any questions, please contact:

Corporate Communications

Michaela Martinus, BMW Group Design Press Officer

Telephone: +49 89 382 21163

E-mail: Michaela.Martinus@bmwgroup.com

Almut Stollberg, Head of Communication Innovation, Design, Technology, Digital Car

Telephone: +49 89 382 96543

Email: Almut.Stollberg@bmw.de

Internet: https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global

Email: presse@bmwgroup.com

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles with its BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad brands, and a provider of premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly plants in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network with representatives in over 140 countries.

The BMW Group achieved global sales of more than 2.5 million automobiles and over 194,000 motorcycles in 2021. Earnings before tax in the 2021 financial year amounted to EUR 16.1 billion and turnover was EUR 111.2 billion. The company employed 118,909 people worldwide as at 31 December 2021.

Long-term thinking and responsible action have always been at the heart of the BMW Group’s economic success. The company set its course for the future very early on and consistently places sustainability and resource conservation at the centre of its approach – from the supply chain and production right up to the end of the use phase of all its products.

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