Alstom and IED launch a design competition on the theme of urban transport

Alstom Transport and the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) have launched on 23 July a design competition on the theme of the future of urban transport in connection. The competition is a part of the curriculum for students at three IED schools in Turin, Milan and Rome. With the exception of restrictions inherent to the design of rolling stock, the students have carte blanche to develop a tramway project meeting the characteristics and needs the three Italian cities are projected to have in 2018. At the end of the school year, three projects will be selected (one for each city) based on originality and innovation as well as the project's suitability for the history and culture of the city. A 1/10 scale model of each project will be exhibited and evaluated by a jury, which will announce the winning projects at an autumn 2008 awards ceremony in Turin. The winners will take part in a 3-month internship at Alstom Transport's Design&Styling office in Paris.

This competition is an opportunity for Alstom to reaffirm its commitment to the design of its products, particularly tramways which are the true symbol of urban transport. To date, over 1,100 Citadis trams have been ordered by 28 cities worldwide, some of them requesting that Alstom Transport's Design&Styling team work with renowned designers to create their tramways. In Montpellier, noted designers Garouste and Bonetti came up with decorative themes reflecting the vitality and lightheartedness of the Hérault regional city: swallows for the passengers on Line 1 and flowers for those on Line 2. Ruedi Bauer’s artistic concept, which pushes colour to the extreme, adorns the Reims tramway. Each carriage is a "monochromatic mobile object" – a bubble of colour which even includes the tinted windows. A tribute to the city's technological leadership, the interior and exterior design of the Toulouse Citadis was created by designers at both Alstom and Airbus: modernity and mobility combined, both on the ground and in the skies

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