Chris Bangle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Christopher Edward Bangle (born October 14, 1956) is an American automobile designer. Bangle is known best for his work as Chief of Design for BMW Group, where he was responsible for the BMW,
MINI The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
and
Rolls-Royce motor cars Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a British luxury automobile maker which has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW AG since 2003 – as the exclusive manufacturer of ''Rolls-Royce''-branded motor cars. The company's administrative ...
.


Early life

Bangle was born in
Ravenna, Ohio Ravenna is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Akron. It was formed from portions of Ravenna Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 11,323 in the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Por ...
, and raised in
Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and ...
. After considering becoming a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
minister, Bangle attended the
Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...
in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...
, earning a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree.


Career


Opel

Bangle started his career at
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, where he worked from 1981 until 1985. The first work that he designed is the interior of the
Opel Junior The Opel Junior is a concept car designed and produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel. It was first shown to the public at the Frankfurt Motor Show#1983, 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1983. The small long three door supermini ...
concept car.


Fiat

He moved to
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 1985, to work on the second generation
Fiat Panda The Fiat Panda is a city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda (Mk 1: 1980–1986 & Mk2: 1986–2003), introduced in 1980, was a two-box, three-door hatchback designed b ...
(released 2003). From 1990 he worked as a chief designer of the
Fiat Coupé The Fiat Coupé, internally designated as the type 175, is a two-door, four-seat coupé manufactured and marketed by Fiat between 1993 and 2000 across a single generation. The Coupé was introduced at the Bologna Motor Show in December 1993 and ...
(released 1993). Still in Centro Stile Fiat he designed Alfa Romeo 145.


BMW

He became the first American chief of design of BMW on October 1, 1999, where he designed the Z9 Gran Turismo concept car. Bangle's designs are incorporated in the entire BMW lineup, including the
BMW Z4 The BMW Z models are a line of roadsters manufactured by German automaker BMW. The Z stands for ''zukunft'' (German for ''future''), and has been produced in four different series with six generations consisting of roadster, coupé, sports car, ...
, 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 series as well as the X3, X5, and X6 the newest design SUVs, and the concept car Gina. These span the automotive platforms E81 / E82 / E87 / E88, E90 / E91 / E92 / E93, E60 / E61, E63 / E64, E65 / E66 and E53. During the Bangle era, BMW overtook Mercedes as the global leader in premium car sales. He introduced a new BMW concept car, called GINA on June 10, 2008. On February 3, 2009, Bangle announced that he was to quit both his position at BMW and the auto industry altogether, to focus on his own design-related endeavours. He was replaced by
Adrian van Hooydonk Adrian van Hooydonk (born 21 June 1964 in Echt, Limburg), is a Dutch automobile designer and BMW Group's Design Director. He is based in Munich, Germany. Biography He studied at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where he rec ...
.


Post-BMW

Bangle now works for his own firm called ''Bangle and Associates'' based in
Clavesana Clavesana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 845 and an area of .All demographics and o ...
, Italy. In 2012, Bangle was hired by
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
.


Design philosophy

His styling themes have generated intense controversy among automotive designers, and have had a polarizing effect with respect to their visual cues. Bangle acknowledges that his designs do not look good in photographs, suggesting to critics that they should see the cars in real life before judging them on their looks. Bangle himself did not (as is commonly believed) coin the phrase "flame surfacing" to describe his work; this can be attributed to a motoring journalist, and is probably the first time
Deconstructivism Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry. ...
has been adapted to automotive design. The reason for this design was to use BMW's new technology of 3D panel pressing allowing a single press for compound curves, which had previously needed multiple pressings unless the panel was shaped by hand. This is further evidenced by the fact that Bangle has often pointed out architect
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...
's work as a major influence. The most controversial of Bangle and van Hooydonk's work was the E65 7 Series, a sharp contrast to the preceding E38 generation which was conservatively styled. In fact, van Hooydonk's original 1998 sketch for the E65 was a much more radical sleek fastback, but ending up the final design was toned down considerably to a more conventional
three-box The configuration of a car body is typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supporting pillars, designated from fron ...
sedan.
Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
named the E65 as one of the ''50 Worst Cars of All Time'' for its rear end styling and iDrive functionality, while there were several online petitions pressing BMW to sack Bangle. While the sales for the 2002 and 2003 models years were off 60% from the 2001, the E65 7 series became the best-selling 7 Series of all time. Bangle aggressively defended his designs against criticism. He was supported by the BMW board of directors, who wanted to move BMW's image into the future. He said it was necessary for product lines to follow a cycle of a revolutionary generation followed by an evolutionary generation followed by another revolutionary generation and so on. Indeed, he oversaw the conservative evolution of BMW designs with the redesign of the BMW 3 Series and the introduction of the BMW X5. For Bangle this marked the end of the evolution of BMW design and the revolution was witnessed with the 2002 introduction of the BMW E65. Bangle's successor as chief designer van Hooydonk has shepherded succeeding generations of BMW nameplates into the evolutionary phase of design while also reincorporating traditional BMW cues such as L-styled taillights and a strong family resemblance; for instance the contrast between the E60 and F10 iterations of the 5 Series. According to van Hooydonk, "BMW design has a tendency to periodically muscle in with big, bold, design statements – to knock down walls – and in the follow-up model, its stylists can move about a bit more in the clean air made possible by its predecessor". Some have criticized van Hooydonk's designs as too bland and conservative and lacking the Avant-garde styling of Bangle designs.


Peer comments

*
J Mays J Mays is an American industrial designer who served as Group Vice President of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford Motor Company, and is now Chief Design Officer at Whirlpool. His name is simply "J", named after his grandfather, S ...
,
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
's chief creative officer, dislikes Bangle's designs, but admits Bangle has been significant in reshaping modern cars. *
Marc Newson Marc Andrew Newson CBE RDI (born 20 October 1963) is an industrial designer who works in aircraft cabin design, product design, furniture design, jewellery, and clothing. His style uses smooth geometric lines, translucency, strength, tran ...
, an industrial designer and car enthusiast, described Bangle's
BMW Z4 (E85) The first generation of the BMW Z4 consists of the BMW E85 (roadster version) and BMW E86 (coupe version) sports cars. The E85/E86 generation was produced from 2002 to 2008. The E85/E86 replaced the Z3 and is the third model in the BMW Z Serie ...
as having been designed with a
machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
. *
Patrick le Quément Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...
, chief designer at
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
, said: " angle iscertainly the most talked about designer. His designs have a great deal of presence, and they're well proportioned. He's been highly influential. My only concern is his use of concave surfaces: they're hollow shapes and lack that tightly muscled look I feel helps design." *
Martin Smith Martin Smith may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Martin Seymour-Smith (1928–1998), British poet, literary critic, biographer and astrologer *Martin Cruz Smith (born 1942), American writer * Martin Smith (drummer) (1946–1997), British drummer ...
, head of design for Ford of Europe, describes Bangle as an instigator of the trend toward "surface entertainment" in cars; the
Ford Iosis The Ford Iosis is a four-door, four-seat saloon concept car developed by Ford Europe. It first was shown to the public at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show. Along with the Ford SAV (shown earlier that year at the Geneva Auto Show), it was designed ...
bears some resemblance to Bangle-styled BMWs but it was not criticized as much as Bangle's designs. *, BMW AG's Board Member for Development, said: "Christopher Bangle has had a lasting impact on the identity of BMW Group's brands. His contribution to the company's success has been decisive, and together with his teams he has mapped out a clear and aesthetic route into the future," *
Robert Cumberford Robert Wayne Cumberford (born August 4, 1935) is a former automotive designer for General Motors, author and design critic – widely known as Automotive Design Editor and outspoken columnist for ''Automobile'' magazine. Examples of ...
, former GM designer and Design Editor for ''Automobile'', wrote in 2004 that Bangle is "a man with the courage of his convictions and of solid character, and he is worthy of our admiration for that alone."


References


Further reading

*


External links


InFrame.tv: Chris Bangle talks car design"




— Chris Bangle explains his design philosophy for some key models.

An overview of automotive designers working for BMW. * ** TED Talk
Great cars are great art
(TED2002)
Interview with Chris Bangle on design and emotion

Chris Bangle Associates S.R.L.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangle, Christopher Edward 1956 births Living people University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni People from Ravenna, Ohio American automobile designers BMW designers Art Center College of Design alumni Compasso d'Oro Award recipients American expatriates in Germany