The Chappo concept is unusual
because, unlike most concept cars, it isn't designed from the outside in, it
is designed from the inside out. So while this asymmetrical, compact,
tall-two-box city car has a uniquely innovative exterior shape, what's far
more important is what Nissan's designers have achieved inside - a new
approach to interior space.
The Chappo concept is designed
in anticipation of a future generation of young, sophisticated, city-car
users who want their car to be more than a means of transport. A generation
for which the car has also become a social space for people to gather: their
mobile space. It is a car with the space and equipment to become a
'living-room onwheels'.
Nissan Chappo Concept
- Click image for larger view
A place for one person to
relax in calm surroundings, to meet with friends, to work, to enjoy music or
videos, maybe to surf the we or to play interactive games.
The design theme of Chappo
shows clear signs of Nissan's Japanese roots, but interpreted in a
futuristic way. The Japanese have always been masters in using the reduced
available space in the most efficient way. To them there is no such thing as
a static, invariable arrangement of a room:
It is multi-functional and
transformable so it can be, at all time, adapted to the particular use
that is made of it.
Seat positions can be
changed, tables can be moved, futons are rolled out or stowed away.
Living, working, resting or sleeping: the flexibility of the Japanese
room allows it all.
Click image for larger
view
The project typifies a new energy in Nissan's creative
operations. It is a concept which breaks the bounds of convention, yet
retains an eye on reality. The Chappo concept is based on the idea of a
house over-looking a Zen garden. It is defined by Nissan's designers as
a 'room on wheels' and the garden can be anything from an urban
cityscape to a beautiful bay.
But it is by no means designed
to shut out the outer world. On the contrary, it is made so as to
communicate with the surrounding environment through ingeniously placed
windows, often circular, and through wide opening doors that allow a fluent
transition between inside and out. It is an accessible, inviting place where
relatives and friends are welcomed and honored.
This is the concept the Nissan designers
had in mind when they set out designing Chappo. The name Chappo also
picks up on Nissan's rich history of design as it is similar in name to
one of Nissan's pike cars, the Chapeau.
This is indicative of Nissan's
intention to innovate while making good use of one its core equities: its
rich heritage in design.
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