On Olympic Blvd in Santa Monica, California, a single-level white building sat back from the street. Simple and organized in appearance, with a matte white finish and black windowpanes, a subtle sign hinted at its purpose: DESIGNWORKS: A BMW Group Company. I looked for an entrance along the front, and finding none, I meandered down an alley alongside.
To my right, a colorful selection of BMW cars and SUVs populated a parking lot. Then, to my left, an entrance appeared: two glass doors, with a neon green scaffolding above that hinted at the creative energy inside.
I was there for a personal tour by Johannes Lampela, Director of Industrial Design at Designworks LA. Inside, I discovered a studio exploring the intersection of creativity, function, and sustainability.
High performance, low Impact: Inside Designworks’ moonshot approach to material innovation
Stepping inside, I first noticed the organized quality of everything: tables, laptops, and artwork. On one wall, an image of the Skai, a hydrogen-powered eVTOL aircraft showed the studio’s capabilities, while on another, three diagrams depicted BMW’s Visionary Materials program, which “envisions a world where vehicles are crafted entirely from secondary materials, designed from the outset for disassembly and optimal recycling.”
As we began, Johannes described a “moonshot” approach to design, where instead of gradual improvements, the organization looks for maximum impact. Part of that is using sustainable materials that not only save the planet but offer performance advantages. Case in point?
The BMW M Visionary Materials seat. Appearing a cross between an endurance racing seat and that of a luxury supercar, the seat had a chiseled, futuristic look, comprised of materials and manufacturing methods that greatly reduce consumption of energy and raw materials.
Entering a presentation room, a BMW M Visionary Materials seat appeared under the low light, and Johannes pointed out various details, including a web-like support mesh made from natural fibers. Highlights of the design included a 90-percent C02 footprint reduction, reduced parts for light weight, and alternative materials like algae-based polymers and leather alternatives.
With its combination of sustainable design, appearance, and function, the seat earned a 2024 Altair Enlighten Award in the Sustainable Process category.
The hidden workshop: A storm of ideas guided by purposeful, layered design
We then entered Designworks’ main work area, with designers at desks, and concept models of a vehicle, an aircraft suite, and a car interior. White surfaces and natural light created a comfortable, yet vibrant atmosphere. It was here I discovered the organization’s imagination at play, as Johannes described projects across industries, including Dreamstar luxury rail, BMW automotive, Starlux aircraft interiors, and LA public spaces.
I wanted to know what Johannes wants people to feel when encountering his designs. He said:
“Excitement. I mean, it all depends on what’s the end goal. Like in Starlux, you want people to feel appreciated. You’re like, okay, I might be paying a little extra to fly Starlux. And then you board the aircraft. And you want to feel that it is special. Like how do you make the passenger feel that it’s special? So it needs to feel different from what they have experienced before. So it’s that first impression that’s really important, because you will never get that back.”
Beyond that, he described a layered approach to design that draws users in, then retains them with usability and delight:
“We often talk about this approach, we call it first read, second read, third read, where the first read is the first impression from a distance. What is that impact? It needs to draw you in.”
“And then you get to the second one, and you start to orient yourself, and realizing, and feeling good about it. And then the third one is that you are feeling the delight when you are using it, and you are discovering something new.”
“A flat experience is you just glance at it, you are like, okay, good, nice, and then that’s it. But the layered one is that it keeps growing, and keeps evolving, and keeps surprising, and you discover something.”
Continuing on, Johannes pointed out the company’s prototyping capabilities, including a wood shop and printers, and the ability to create VR and AR environments to test out designs.
Beyond green: How carbon-negative pigments and smarter urban design shape the future
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the tour was exploring Designworks’ materials library, where Johannes showed a pigment that captured carbon from the air to create a black pigment. Think about that. Not a carbon-neutral material, but a carbon-negative material.
He showed me a jet black scale vehicle model, saying:
“So we have a library of materials and different experiments. This is part of the Visionary Materials. So we’re just looking at all kinds of interesting things. Carbon fiber was a hot thing at one time, and then everybody talks about carbon-neutral.“
“This one is an interesting one to look into. How can you make something carbon negative? So we are actually taking carbon out of the air and making it into a pigment. And this is carbon pigment. Carbon pigment coated.”
Throughout the tour, various projects showed the company’s focus on sustainable, responsible design. One example was a public bus stop, where Designworks partnered with Los Angeles and Tranzito on the STAP Program, “specifically seeking to provide shelter, shade, safety, comfort, and utilize emerging technologies to bring connectivity to Los Angeles bus riders.”
Los Angeles has over 1,000 bus stops, and Designworks’ solution uses modular architecture for a customizable build depending on location. The layout is user-centric, with the company sharing, “By looking at user context, potential pain points and opportunities to assist in discovering the city beyond the bus stop, Designworks was able to identify a number of opportunities that will make a near-term impact as well as guide our clients in future endeavors.”
Designworks LA: At the edge of what’s next
During the tour of Designworks LA, what struck me was the dynamic environment. The air had a feeling of a hurricane-force brainstorm, yet there was a quiet focus on getting things done. Technical capabilities like the Visionary Materials program, and AR, VR, and AI provided the tools to bring boundary-pushing designs to life. Many companies talk about sustainable design and materials, but here, I saw not only action, but also products with elevated performance. Because if our planet is to survive and thrive, what option is there besides a circular materials loop?
After the tour ended, I walked the Santa Monica Pier, inspired by what I’d seen, and wondered what Designworks had in store next. In the vibrant, disruptive world of LA, anything seems possible.
