Architecture had already arrived at minimalism, but not in car design – Sir Paul Smith in conversation with Oliver Heilmer, head of MINI Design
MINI Strip and the MINI Recharged
In June 2022, during Milan’s Salone del Mobile, Sir Paul Smith presented two projects with the MINI design team: the MINI Strip and the MINI Recharged. Leaving behind the unnecessary, attention is shifted to details in design such as material origins, the makers, and the product’s afterlife, moving towards a circular economy. The cars’ bones, structures, and raw insides are displayed, motivating a reflection on how the market and general public view luxury products, and how this perspective can be changed in favor of longevity.
In the next page, a conversation between Sir Paul Smith – appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 2020 Birthday Honors for services to fashion – and Oliver Heilmer, head of MINI Design
PS About a year and a half ago I received a call from Oliver Heilmer at MINI asking if I wanted to work on another collaboration. The project was designed during Covid-19 limitations, therefore we had to rely on Post-its, written notes, and Zoom calls. I managed to travel to MINI’s headquarters in Munich once, where Oliver and his team had bags ready with different materials. The design has been given the nickname Strip because that is what I did. I’ve done other projects with Leica Camera, and Pinarello Bikes, and flown over to do a lecture at Apple Studio in California even though I don’t use a computer, that is what I would call ‘great lateral thinking’. I pride myself on a child-like approach to life. You can train yourself to ask questions that are not cluttered with reference points, education, travel, or experience.
OH Paul was asking a flow of questions, ‘Do we need this? Do we need that?’. This initiated a process. We need to keep our eyes open – some of our designers attend Salone del Mobile, as we are seeing more material technology and innovation. Previously it was all separate: interior, exterior, materials, and radio. Now we have seen a flip where the digital has overcome aesthetic, and the sections are beginning to merge. We always say that digital has to embrace the analog, and vice versa, technology is giving us that possibility to bring these features together.
PS The first MINI was all about being compact and getting around easily. I wanted to strip certain features out. The perception of luxury is strange sometimes. Not solely cars, but airplanes, restaurants, and homes; let’s cover the drainpipes because the drainpipes aren’t aesthetically pleasing. In the building where I work in London, behind a lot of boxing there were these Brooklyn bridge girders. The perception of luxury is thought-provoking, we strip it all back, we show the rawness of the inside.
OH You have to give the space to an object to add something that is personal. Architecture had already arrived at minimalism, but not in car design. In architecture perhaps it became too simple, these living spaces felt cold, therefore you need to find a medium.
PS There is a similar spirit to a rally car where anything not necessary is taken out to lighten the structure. There is still comfort in the MINI Strip design whereas a rally car has a specific function and objective. The functional features that are needed in a car, what can we make those out of? A steering wheel is necessary, but what material can be used that completes the circle? Aluminum was chosen in both cars because it can be bought already recycled, the same with the seat covers, knitted in recycled nylon, even the mats are recycled. A plexiglass roof which is recycled and recyclable. We love the use of cork because of its sustainable qual- ities, when you chop up the cork the sap of the tree comes out of the cork and that becomes the glue, therefore gluing itself together.
OH Compound materials are often found in the automotive industry, which are as problematic as whenever two or more materials are glued or fixed together this becomes hard to separate later and recycle. Therefore, using raw or single materials facilitates this aspect, to be able to replace or repair one part, there is no loss in quality.
PS There is no paint on the outside of the MINI Strip, there is a raw feel to it. There are visible marks left after the varnish, just like your favorite pair of jeans which become worn and ripped, or a suede jacket that only gets better over time and use.
OH As a brand, we are all about embracing these kinds of projects, because it is a way to preserve the past, we always say that MINI should grow with you.
PS It does not necessarily need to be a MINI to enjoy this feeling, it could be a car that you loved, your first car. There is something about being able to keep the original look, however not having to feel guilty for its carbon footprint or scarce availability of materials or parts. For the Salone del Mobile in Milan, we decided that we would bring both designs, along with the new-old design which I designed in 1998, though now it is fully electric.
The outside has the same vivid blue, introduced LED lighting without having to change the original lamp shape, we have the original badges, but the principle has remained the same. An electric car with a battery in the front and back so as to balance out the weight, not wasting any space. From leather seats, it now has recycled covers, there are recycled mats on the floor, instead of carpet you can see the spot welding and the rawness of the inside.
The cabling is all exposed, with direct access in case of damage or needing to replace. The speedometer is projected when the car is turned on. At the same time, we have to stay conscious of road safety regulations in other countries such as the USA and China. To become a worldwide brand all the safety features and requirements have to be up to date, which at times can be restricting as a designer.
OH It is hard to accomplish one hundred percent, both from a practical and financial point of view, but we do our best. In the UK, throughout the shops and offices, we have reusable energy, rainwater for the toilets, recyclable packaging, and our knitted goods are 94% organic.
Oliver Heilmer
Head of the Mini Design department, work together and recreate the 1998 Paul Smith Mini in an electric edition, the 2022 Mini Recharged edition.
Paul Smith
Sir Paul Smith, a pillar of the London design scene and a veteran designer, has built a global British brand that now has 12 lines
