Lexus Design Award 2015. A guide for the senses  

Lexus is a brand of excellence in the luxury automotive sector which has always placed great emphasis on the sensory aspect of the driving experience. This has translated into a refined design with great attention to detail, not only on the outside, but even more so on the inside, with details that are often invisible, but capable of revolutionising pleasure on four wheels.

From these premises came the intuition of Philippe Nigro, a space designer who at the Lexus Design Award 2015 in Milan conceived the ‘Inside-Out’ design concept that allows visitors to experience beauty from every angle.

Artes Group International handled the set-up of the three exhibition areas related to the event, creating a wide and exciting Lexus-branded sensory experience.

The first area features the Lexus Concept Car, displayed to reinforce the link between the theme of the senses and the Lexus brand through a design composed of special mirrors around and inside the cocoon that reflect the car in unexpected ways, revealing lines that are hidden at first glance. Colour lighting adds another dimension to the experience, creating a flow of movement and colour which stimulates the imagination.

The second area, on the other hand, is dedicated to the Lexus Design Award, established in 2013 to promote design and support new generations of creators.

The third area, itself divided into three scenes, is the last stage of a journey through the senses in which visitors move through a series of latticework cocoons created by Philippe Nigro that accommodate the creations of chef Yoneda.

Inside the cocoon in the first scene, visitors experience the sight, sound and taste of life-giving rainwater which evokes the pleasure of a ride in a Lexus on a rainy day by receiving ‘raindrops’ made of sparkling candy and being ushered into a darkened room. Inside, chains of closely spaced spheres around the perimeter of the area light up to make the illusion of rain extraordinarily realistic, while the ‘drops’ dissolve sparkling and refreshing on the visitors’ palates whilst being lulled by the sound of falling rain.

The second scene evokes the beauty of nature from within, enveloping the visitor with the same sense of freedom and unity with nature that can be experienced from inside the Lexus cabin. The sounds of the forest gently accompany the scene fitted by Artes Group International. The idea of the ‘life force of a tree’ wrapped in cocoa butter, is given to visitors when they enter a completely white room that seems to limitlessly expand in all directions. Biting into the cocoa butter envelope, the fresh aroma floods their senses as they move across a floor decorated with concentric circles that resemble bark and realise that they are experiencing the beauty of a tree from the inside.

The third and final scene culminates the journey of the senses with an experience that reflects Lexus’ commitment to the future of our planet and its premium brand leadership in hybrid technology, environmental performance and sustainability.

In the centre of the room, a table glows and recalls the life force of the earth that visitors experience while tasting a bowl of ‘earth soup’ made by Chef Yoneda while looking at the Earth from the darkness of outer space and being enveloped by the sense of comfort and warmth that the planet gives us and the Lexus driver experiences while driving.

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