As chief design officer for Daimler AG, Gorden Wagener has the complex task of directing the design for Mercedes, Smart, AMG, Maybach cars, among other brands within the group. Lately, he has been consumed with the new EQ electric sub-brand and with such experimental cars as the Vision AVTR. Here he explains his mission to me.
Earlier this month we took a vacation. We filled out the numerous government apps and forms and took our covid tests and flew out to another land. It had been eighteen months since I last left the UK. Before the global health crisis, typically I flew at least once a month. Mainly for work. But like so many, the pandemic has paralysed all movement. Usually one to pack the night before, I retrieved my compact suitcase from the loft a week before departure. I was beyond excited. And a little nervous. Travel and I had become strangers.
What a thrill to taxi across to Heathrow. My heart raced as we entered the terminal, passed security and boarded the plane. Up in the air, despite wearing masks, we almost forgot covid and the chaos and misery it has brought to the world. Flying through fluffy clouds and over mountains and water signified freedom from the worries of these past eighteen months.
On arrival in Spain, we were taken aback a little when the neglected passports experienced European travel post-Brexit. I shed a tear as we were ushered, like naughty kids, to a UK only line to have the passes stamped. The pinch vanished though as soon as we stepped outside the airport. To be on another land and hear the whispers of another language. The smells and sounds of another place. Pure joy.
Diving into the clear blue Mediterranean on arrival, I thought of all those months of experiencing art and design and people online. On a soulless screen. And I thought of how funny we are as humans. All this talk of a changed world and the fear of not being able to reconnect in the physical sphere. If anything, people seemed more social, more polite and full of gratitude. Every moment on the little island was a cherished moment. Every meal, the most unforgettable. Every swim…
Don’t get me wrong. I strongly believe the pandemic has presented a prime opportunity to redefine and rethink who we are. Instigate a little reset for humanity. This world can be a better place for all. Our societies can be hugely fairer. We can build more equitable cities. Provide decent health for everyone. Rethink education, offering the same standard so all children can have an equal start in life. It makes logical sense. And we need to be much much much kinder to our fragile planet. Reconsider our human-centric ways and see our interconnectivity to other species, living and non-living.
What this doesn’t mean though is a soulless world governed by AI and machine learning, Zoom classes and Skype meetings, online galleries and, the scariest of it all, virtual travel. One thing that has become clear from the experience of these eighteen months is that to be human, to be alive, is to have human connections, to explore and meet new people and have experiences in the physical world. And to travel.
