INTERVIEW
Walter De Silva.
Walter Maria de Silva is an Italian automotive designer. Until the end of 2015, de Silva was responsible for the design at Volkswagen.
Can you remember a day when you didn’t see any of your designs on the street?
If I’m honest, I really don’t remember. I think that at least in the last 30 years, I’ve always happened to see one of “my” cars driving around the streets of the world.
How would you define the recipe for a successful automotive design?
Without a doubt, I would define it as “Timeless.” A car has to resist the test of time before it can be deemed a successful design.
Looking back: which of your designs best reflects your design philosophy?
All designs are the result of thorough research inspired by the same philosophy. However, there are some cars that perfectly represent it: the ALFA ROMEO 156 and the AUDI A5, certainly the most beautiful I have ever designed.
„Without a doubt, I would define it as “Timeless.” A car has to resist the test of time before it can be deemed a successful design.“
Looking back, do you regret any design decisions?
I have never regretted what I have done, but I am aware that on some occasions, more and much better could have been done. There are many factors in play upon the design freeze, sometimes too many for the most satisfactory result from a designer’s perspective.
The Audi TT you designed is considered one of your most distinctive designs. What makes it an icon?
As far as I’m concerned, I designed the TT2/3. I just tried to interpret the first TT, which was a true aesthetic revolution. But what was most important to me and allowed it to remain so distinctive, are its proportions. When the engineers gave me the first package to work on, the proportions were completely off and I knew the TT would lose its appeal. For the next meeting, I had a 1:1 cardboard version of the beautiful Marilyn Monroe printed. I arrived at the meeting and asked the engineers what they thought was Monroe’s height. 175! 180! 176! 178
None of them went below the 175 mark. I then pulled out the 162cm high Marilyn cardboard and wrapped her under my arm. I explained to them that her perfect proportions make her look taller than she is.
After that meeting, they shortened the TT for me.
Did you have clear professional goals you wanted to pursue before entering the automotive industry?
I have always loved drawing and I do not deny having had a wild passion for cars, so much so that like many kids, I played with toy cars. I had many models and I still remember with great emotion the first one: a 1:43 scale Aston Martin from Dinky Toys. I would say that my childhood dream came true.
Could you tell us more about the unusual Bugatti concept? What was the basic concept of this study?
I have always been convinced that the historical reinterpretation in an ultramodern key, especially when it comes to sports cars, is the right interpretation of the future, through tradition. What I define as the „future in the classic.“ The basic concept for Bugatti was to retrace its history of aesthetic functionality, through some aesthetic citations that are unique and iconic. I always try however, never to fall in the retro-mod.
„What would I
like to design?
Obviously the
next car!“
Besides cars, what other products excite you?
The answer is simple: the discipline of Design. In short, I am excited by everything that concerns „the organization of the visible,“ inspired by the thought of Peter Behrens, which is the basis of the concept of coordinated image.
Cars, furniture, cameras, armchairs, pasta: which product would you like to design in the future?
I love Design in general, but my passion is cars, among which I have spent my whole life. What would I like to design? Obviously the next car!
Why did you choose, as an Italian designer, to work mainly in Germany?
There are many reasons. First of all, for the mentality and organization that is completely different from the Italian one. They are two different ways of dealing with things. In Germany, there is a corporate culture and a conscious general attitude,
made up of mutual professional respect in all functions, both corporate and in the infinite supply chain, with the aim of doing things right the first time to satisfy the customer.
In Italy, it is different, at least as I have experienced it. There is a lot of passion, but also much more politics. However, I do not want to say that one way is better than the other. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, I have not simply worked for a German Group, but I have exported Made in Italy and Italian design. There are also other personal reasons that have kept me in Munich.
How do you create a distinctive brand face, such as the single-frame grille?
The Audi “Single Frame” is not an invention per se. Rather, it is a reinvention of the classic radiator. An iconographic synthesis of the history of the automobile but also the great intuition of using Design as an element of Brand communication from INGOLSTADT.
