Agile 4525L Passenger Seat by Ufuk Bircan Özkan

Bronze Engineering · 2019

Agile 4525L Passenger Seat

by Ufuk Bircan Özkan

Bronze A' Design Award 2019 in Engineering
CLIENT: Inova Otomotiv
Estimated Number of Design Views: 36,340
Verification code FE3AB5BFB9 · Verify this award

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release

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About Agile 4525L Passenger Seat

Agile 4525L gives an impression of pace at short distances with dynamic lines flowing to front at sides and sweeping upwards at the back. The unique twist form at backrest creates an unconventional aesthetic perception, helps safety belts to work efficiently and prevents hunchbacks. Innovative height-adaptive belts that don’t need any adjustments can adapt to passengers in any height. Extended leg space obtained by a thinner backrest guarantees comfort. Metallic colors of accessories and buttons help visibility in low light while enhancing the perceived quality.

About the Bronze A' Design Award

Agile 4525L Passenger Seat is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Agile 4525L Passenger Seat is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Agile 4525L Passenger Seat splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.

Press Kit

Unique Properties: Agile 4525L is designed to tear down cliches among its ordinary rivals by giving an impression of pace at short distances with dynamic lines flowing forward at sides and sweeping upwards at the back. The twist form at backrest sides creates an extraordinary aesthetic perception, helps safety belts to work efficiently and prevents hunchbacks. Innovative height adaptive belts that don't need any adjustments can adapt to passengers in any height. Images show two upholstery styles: Standard&Comfort
Dimensions & Packaging: It has a modular construction system where backrest, seat and chassis are separate bodies. A two-seat configuration is 953mm in total width, 742mm in depth and 1140mm in height. It weights 34,5Kg.
Tags: Passenger, Seat, Bus, Minibus, Public, Transportation, Transport, Land, Vehicle, Commercial
Production Technology: Design was born on paper and digital sketches first. Then 3D data was created on CAD. Some parts were 3D-printed and vacuum-formed for prototyping and final design got its shape. The seat is produced by conventional mid-level production technologies. Seat foams are molded. Metal parts inside are first shaped by laser-cutting and molds, then welded both manually and by robots.
Design Challenge: The seat is designed especially for Turkish market but with a potential for exporting. Local market is very conservative and closed for innovations. This seat is one of the first steps of a change in future where seats will become more comfortable and technological. Design is one of the most important aspects of this change, where I also had to consider our customer company's design language used in their vehicles. Combining form and function together in twist form brought the success.
Research: User researches and market researches are done at the beginning of the project. We had participants at %5 and %95 percentile anthropometric range to test the safety and comfort levels of our seat belts. We prepared different 3-D printed prototypes for each stage of the research. Height-adaptive safety belt is a result of these user researches. Then we combined it with the twist form at the backrest and they became complementary features for each other.
Inspiration: The infinity symbol which we use in our company logo catches itself after a loop. This inspired me on combining front and side surfaces of conventional seats into one surface. This created functional advantages as well as a new aesthetic perception. The seat is designed for quick short distance transportations which led me to use flowing dynamic lines. Plastic side covers were highly inspired by road cars in means of form.
Project Duration: The project started in Bursa in January 2017 and finished in October 2018. First prototype was exhibited in October 2017 in Busworld Kortrijk. Finished product was announced in September 2018 in Hannover at IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018.
Operation Flow: Agile 4525L is a new generation travel-mate of short distance passengers. Its height-adaptive 3-point seat belt doesn't need any adjustments. It just fits everybody in any height. Dual-function button on the side panel activates both backrest reclining and lateral adjustment at the same time. Magazine net on rear side can hold magazines in A4 size. Passengers can place their mobile phones on the special mobile device pocket.
Patents: Patents (TurkPatent): 2017-09355 & 2017-08792, Inova Otomotiv, 2017.
Industrial design registrations (TurkPatent): 2017-02652, 2017-03381, 2017-04539, 2017-04540, 2017-04542, 2017-04543 & 2017-04544.
Image Credits: #1 Photographer Hasan Mutlu, Agile 4525L, 2018.
#2 Photographer Hasan Mutlu, Agile 4525L, 2018.
#3 Photographer Hasan Mutlu, Agile 4525L, 2018.
#4 Photographer Hasan Mutlu, Agile 4525L, 2018.
#5 Photographer Hasan Mutlu, Agile 4525L, 2018.