LUIGI COLANI 1928 Born in Berlin Studies at ... - bangertinternational

LUIGI COLANI 

1928 

Born in Berlin 

Studies at the Berlin Academy of Art 

1947 

Paris: illustrations for automobile magazines 

1952 

Publication of a turbine motorcycle in the French magazine ‘Motocycles’ 

1953 

Studies aerodynamics at the Sorbonne 

Works at Douglas in the department for new materials 

Works on the first Simca Coupé with an entirely synthetic body; 

works for the Baron du Bouget on various Le Mans vehicles, 

1-in-5 streamlined models for Deutsch et Bonnet 

1954 

Paris fashion prize for the invention of his elevator shoes 

1955 

Works for carbody builder Rometsch as well as Erdmann & Rossi in Berlin 

1957 

Speed record with Colani Abarth Alfa at the Nürburgring 

1958 

First entirely synthetic monocoque for a small sportscar based on a BMW 700; as of 

1958: kit for Colani GT’s based on VW 

1965 

Introduction of Colani GT with winged doors based on a VW Beetle 

First Pop furniture appears at Kusch + Co, Germany 

1967 

Patent for a wing-like auto body design for thrust production 

1968 

First high-speed record for a propeller aircraft with a Wankel engine 

1969 

Completion of the design for a spherical kitchen

1970 

Alternative proposal for Mercedes C 111 

1971 

Aerodynamic consultant for the Eiffelland Grand Prix racing team 

Tear-drop shaped tea service for Rosenthal 

Colani joins the ranks of anti-culture pamphlets with the publication of the YLEM 

Manifesto by Archigram (GB), Superstudio (I) and Sottsass (I) 

1972-1981 

Design factory at Harkotten Castle in Central Germany 

1973 

First collection of sanitary ceramics for Villeroy & Boch with flowing ergonomic 

designs 

Influenced by the oil crisis, Colani presses ahead with the development of energysaving 

transport systems (experiments with fuel-saving propellers, trucks and compact 

cars) 

Begins studies of large gliders 

1974 

Bathroom fittings based on hydrodynamic insights for Grohe 

Development of a ‘grand style’ for Le Mans on the basis of the Colani C-shape 

Development work on light motorized vehicles for commuters 

1975 

First vintage roadster as a retro-design 

1976 

VW Spar-Polo using 1.2 liters less fuel yet increasing the maximum speed by 12 

km/h 

Introduction of a record-breaking Colani racing Polo 

New types of helicopters, hovercrafts, hydrofoils and high sea yachts 

which are harbingers of a new bio-design 

Further development of the Ford GT40 as ‘grand style’ for Le Mans in Colani’s C 

form 

First flight of the VFW Fokker FAN Liner streamlined by Colani

1977 

Development of a successor to the Beetle for VW – positioned between Polo and 

Golf 

Newsweek reports on the ‘Lord of the Castle’ 

Presentation of the first streamlined trucks at the IAA in Frankfurt 

1978 

Concept for mega-transport aircraft according to the wing-in-ground (WIG) effect 

Lecture to Boeing engineers in Seattle 

First utopian designs for a future generation of Mach 1+ transport aircraft 

Aerodynamic concepts for the development of a magnetic levitation railway 

for Thyssen/Henschel 

Publication of the first critical summary of Colani’s work: 

Luigi Colani – Designing Tomorrow, Car Styling in Tokyo 

1981-1984 

Work in Japan 

1981 

Fuel saving record with streamlined 2CV at the Contidrom 

in Hanover (1.7 liters for 100km) 

Publication of a follow-up critical summary of Colani’s work: Luigi Colani – 

for a Brighter Tomorrow, Car Styling in Tokyo 

Alternative proposal for Guigiaro’s BMW M1 for the Le Mans race driver, Jean 

Rondeau 

1982 

Major Colani exhibition at the Futurama in Winterthur, Switzerland 

First Colani eye-glasses with new type of side piece 

Designer of the year in Japan 

Start of a designer exhibition tour through the department store chain Takashimaya 

1983 

SLR T90 camera for Canon comes out, a trailblazing model 

Prediction of digital camera 

Peter Ustinov presents a Colani show on US TV network NBC

1983 

Development of the scientific Biocity in human form 

Shogakukan publishers in Tokyo bring out the book The Colani Line 

1984 

Publication of a third critical summary of Colani’s work: Luigi Colani – 

Biodesign of Tomorrow, Car Styling in Tokyo 

Miniature Cobra headset for Sony in biomorphic design 

Shell-shaped performance stage in Otaru, Japan 

Colani designs a shoe and sports fashion collection for Adidas 

Start of the construction of the life-size model of the Hexaplan with solar wings 

1986 

Designs uniforms for Swissair 

1988 

Collaboration with the Russian national institute, Nami 

Honorary professorship at the Bremen Academy of Arts, Germany 

1989 

Roadster with a 4 cylinder BMW motorcycle engine 

Colani Corvette Charisma 

Automorrow project as a major road-show and lecture tour through the USA with 14 

record-making vehicles 

1991 

Speed record (365.552 km/h) certified by the Fédération Internationale 

de l’Automobile with Coloni Lotec Ferrari at the Utah Salt Flats in Bonneville together 

with the Strasburg racing team 

First water bottle with an asymmetrical design for Valser, Switzerland 

Colani exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France 

(Kormoran, Le Mans Study 1991, Camera Prototypes, Loudspeakers Shaped like 

Ears) 

1992 

Airbus cockpit in new ergonomic form 

Ph.D. thesis by Peter Dunas: ‘Colani and Organic-Dynamic Design 

since Art Nouveau’ 

Exhibition at Westfalenpark, Dortmund, Germany

1993 

First organic computer design in the world for Vobis, Germany 

Colani exhibition in the Transport Museum, Dresden, Germany 

1994 

Centre Pompidou makes Colani pieces part of their permanent design collection 

1995 

Honorary professorship at Tongji University, Shanghai, China 

1996 

Design of a Horch luxury automobile for the revival of the great tradition of the East 

German automobiles 

Gorbi all-terrain vehicle for desert rallies based on a Lada platform 

2000 

DAF Colani truck 

Opening of a design development studio in Karlsruhe 

2001 

Redesign of the East German design icon, Trabant 

2002 

Colani’s large sculptures in the Neue Sammlung, 

Design in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich 

Colani completes his 7th streamlined truck, an aerodynamic bulk tanker truck 

2003 

Design of a health center with sanatoriums and spa 

Realization of a ready-to-drive Opel speedster 

Die Neue Sammlung, Staatliches Museum für angewandte Kunst purchases Colani’s 

1973 motorcycle study for the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich 

2004 

Lecture at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland 

Opening of the permanent exhibition “Colani _ The Oeuvre” across 4,000 square 

meters 

of show space at the Nancyhalle in Karlsruhe, Southern Germany. 

Publication of the book: Colani – The Art of Shaping the Future, which the journal 

Wallpaper votes “best design book of 2004” 

Completion of a life-size rotor house – a residential unit with a swivel rotor for the 

bath, bedroom and kitchen.

2005 

Completion of a Colani Supertruck with extreme streamlining 

Design study for a passenger airplane with 1,000 seats 

Study for a robot shaped like a baby 

Completion of a series of 140 sculptures of athletes for the Olymic Games in Beijing 

Participation in the “Germany in Japan 2005-6” event in the form of the “Colani Back 

in Japan” exhibition in the Museum for Kunst and Design attached to the Kyoto 

Institute of Technology

LUIGI COLANI 1928 Born in Berlin Studies at ... - bangertinternational

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