ABSTRACT
Axel Thallemer was appointed to set up and head Festo Corporate Design in 1994. Trained as an architect, Thallemer moved into design engineering in his personal search to play an active role in the creation of truly innovative products. Previously he had worked at Porsche’s research and development centre, involved in the development of Group C/Formula 1 racing cars and the Porsche Boxter/911 Carrera sports car. In creating a new image for the Festo company the Corporate Design department has developed a range of innovative cutting edge prototype products that not only break new ground in terms of technology and performance but also play an important part in developing the public image of the company. The department’s ambition is to première at least one new design prototype each year and though all are based around the company’s core expertise of pneumatics, the range of applications is wide. In 1994 a pair of hot-air balloons began a tour of the world, unique in that though they were identical in appearance, one flew in an apparent ‘upside-down’ configuration. In 1995 the ‘Y’-shaped column that would form the basis for further work in ‘Airtecture’
was premièred, and in 1996 the completed exhibition hall made its first appearance. In 1997 they constructed the first inflatable hot-air balloon basket, in 1998 the first inflatable gas balloon basket. In 1998 they also announced the creation of a pneumatic muscle, which is a new type of hyperefficient pump that uses no moving parts and is therefore remarkably economic and reliable in use. 1999’s product is an inflatable flying wing aircraft that replaces conventional rigid aerofoil surfaces with a completely pneumatic structure (Fig. 4.1). The philosophy behind these products can best be described by Festo’s motto ‘Air in Air’, which encapsulates the idea that the air itself can be a powerful active force in the generation and operation of machines and structure.
