Designing Spaces That Leave a Lasting Impression

2025: A YEAR AT Designworks Dedicated to Spatial Design Projects.

Spatial experiences shape how we feel, think, and connect with others as we move through different physical environments. In urban settings, successful spatial design doesn’t just happen by chance. It is thoughtfully and purposefully conceived and crafted, always keeping in mind the people who will actually inhabit the space. Why is this important?

Because effective spatial design intuitively “tells” people which way to go, how to make the most of a room, and even how to interact with furnishings and each other. The most complex environments can be rendered effortless by including small details, such as specific materials, signs or simply the arrangement of the furniture.

Especially when the setting involves a corporate space, every detail needs to reflect the brand’s values. When even the smallest touch feels intentional, consistent, and well-crafted, people sense the company’s dedication to quality, engendering a deeper trust in the brand. Spatial design becomes a form of storytelling.

Last but not least: People remember how a space makes them feel. Often, it’s the subtlest of details that create the most memorable experiences: the texture of a surface, a pleasing scent, the smooth transition between rooms, or how the shifting of natural light throughout the day changes the ambience. Moments like these inspire attachment and loyalty.

We spoke with designers from our Munich and Los Angeles studios to learn about what led their thinking over the past 12 months as they worked to create unique spatial experiences for BMW, MINI, and the BMW Museum.

MINI PAVILION: A BRAND Space for a Retail Event.

In early 2025, global brands MINI and DEUS EX MACHINA invited our Munich designers to join them as creative partners in a turbo-charged collaboration, where our team contributed impulses that enriched the spirit of their exhilarating joint project.

For IAA Mobility in September 2025, Designworks was tasked with creating the concept for the MINI showroom in central Munich, where the results of this adrenaline-fueled creative collaboration would be showcased.

Applying our concept, the MINI Pavilion was transformed into the “House of Racing,” an energetic playground in the heart of Munich, where MINI’s performance spirit was both commemorated and revitalized. Two brand-new MINI one-off cars were on-site for visitors to explore. Setting the stage for the DEUS apparel collection, the lineup also included an authentic MINI Bulldog race car, enhancing the sense of collaboration between these two global brands.

As Tithima Supavanichyanont, Director Design & Creative Consulting at our Munich Studio, explains: “The design of the MINI x DEUS custom one-offs showcased the brand’s racing legacy, newly energized through the lens of a youthful customization culture. This is also exactly the vibe we wanted to convey in the space at the MINI Pavilion. Our spatial concept transformed the venue into a convergence of design, craftsmanship, and counterculture.” 

With bold references to MINI’s racing history and in stark architectural contrast to its surroundings, the pavilion became the area’s graphic centerpiece. Amplifying the pavilion’s shape was a circular racetrack designed by the team. It staged the MINI Bulldog in front of a digital racetrack, with the two MINI x DEUS show cars positioned near the digital pit stop, appearing to race each other.

“Inspired by the graffiti that marks legendary racetracks and the rugged architecture of pit stops, we set out to transform MINI’s slogan for this collaboration, ‘You can be first after me,’ into a physical experience that would powerfully express MINI’s energy and racing heritage,” shares Mattias Granlund, who poured his passion into this project.

From the cars to the graphics to the curated lifestyle collections, every detail of the MINI Pavilion reinforced the energy, creativity, and racing spirit at the heart of this collaboration, making this space an authentic brand experience.

• Collaboration partners: MINI, DEUS EX MACHINA, BMW Group Designworks
• Design concept: BMW Group Designworks
• Execution: Meiré und Meiré

SALONE DEL MOBILE: A SPACE FOR EXPERIENCING BMW GROUP DESIGN FIRST-HAND.

For the 2025 Salone del Mobile design fair in Milan, BMW commissioned Designworks to create the concept for its Vibrant Transitions exhibition to be held in the historic Palazzo Borromeo d’Adda.

The colorful installation guided visitors on a sensory adventure, exploring the worlds of BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad. The exhibition showcased the BMW Group’s holistic design approach, spanning shape, light, sound, color, material, and the digital dimension. The three brand-themed tours invited visitors to embark on a journey of discovery, imagining the future of mobility, customization, and digital experiences.

“It was the first time all three brands were featured together at the Salone, so we set out to tell the story of the BMW Group as a design collective while highlighting each brand’s individual identity. Our concept needed to reflect both unity and distinction, which is why we worked to achieve a subtle balance between separateness and intentional overlap,“ explains Tim Winterhalter, a designer from our Munich Studio.

Maximilian Blank contributed to the project from the initial sketch to the final on-site adjustments in Milan: “We honored the history of Palazzo Borromeo while staging a modern, tech-infused brand world. Semi-transparent lamellas shaped the experience, playing with light, color, and shifting perceptions as visitors moved through the space. Mirroring the building’s arches, the lamellas seamlessly blended the historic architecture with contemporary design. I loved how the materials responded to the shifting light throughout the day: soft in the morning, warm and reflective in the afternoon, with rich shadows and beautiful blue reflections, and, in the evening, alive with intimate light, perfectly suited for events at the palazzo.”

The exhibition offered visitors an opportunity to pause, immerse themselves in the harmonious ambience and reflect. The thoughtfully conceived color scheme unobtrusively guided the entire experience, further enhancing the harmony between the contemporary products on display and the historic space in which they were housed. Great care was taken not to interfere with the Borromeo family’s daily life at the Palazzo, and we were pleasantly surprised to be told at the end of the event that our exhibition was welcome to remain a little longer. What better compliment could there be?!

• Client: BMW Italy; BMW Design Communication
• Concept: BMW Group Designworks

THE CLOUD: A Space for Experiential Dining.

Since its opening in June 2025 at BMW Welt in Munich, “THE CLOUD by Käfer” has ushered in a new era of experiential dining. In close collaboration with the gastronomy experts at Käfer, our Munich team reimagined the restaurant as a space where design and cuisine would seamlessly blend to create a unique sensory journey.

“Light, airy, and immersive, THE CLOUD unfolds as a spatial narrative built around seven elements we call the ‘Supersigns,’” explains Tithima Supavanichyanont, design lead for THE CLOUD project at Designworks. “Distinct design elements progressively guide guests through a series of different atmospheres, from the luminous Moon Island to the sculptural Biophilic Bar, culminating in a dining area defined by a floating cloud installation. Every detail, from textures and tableware to lighting and layout, reinforces the central idea of culinary nomadism, where stories, materials, and flavors from around the world come together.”

As the project (literally) took shape, luminaries from the international design community, including the Hildmann Wilke architectural studio, the innovative Jakob Schlaepfer textile company, and German lighting specialist Occhio, provided expertise, inspiration, and wide-ranging perspectives. This all came together to ensure a truly unforgettable result: a veritable symbiosis of gastronomy and design!

• Client: BMW Welt & the Munich-based gastronomy firm Käfer
• Concept: BMW Group Designworks

BMW MUSEUM RECHARGED:  A Space for Showcasing Modern Design.

The BMW Museum in Munich is one of Germany’s most popular cultural destinations. In 2024, it celebrated its most successful year yet, welcoming more than 840,000 visitors. Building on this momentum, Designworks was commissioned to visually breathe new life into the museum’s Design Atelier, a three-level, vertically connected space where visitors can explore the BMW Design team’s work and learn more about the design tools being used today.

In close collaboration with the BMW Museum and the BMW Design Communications team, Designworks redesigned the space, adopting a distinctly minimalist approach. This allows the vast range of exhibits to stand out even more, including sketches, next-generation materials, innovative technologies, and the BMW Vision Neue Klasse concept vehicle.

Marius Cramer, a designer from our Munich Studio, explains, “We wanted to create an airy space with an intentionally light atmosphere: one that encourages visitors to pause, reflect, and truly grasp the imagination of the designers. The warm and unexpectedly blue tones of the lighting concept draw visitors into the room, hinting at the very sensory-oriented and contemplative ambience of this part of the exhibition.”

To ensure a harmonious experience throughout the entire space, the team also developed a new lighting concept for the museum’s famous kinetic sculpture and the wall panels that stage kinetic movements in light.

Anna Schleypen, Curator of the BMW Museum, observes: “This space… has an almost gallery-like, museal serenity that can be felt the moment you step into it. Visitors respond to this with remarkable intensity. Many of them take their time as they enter, appreciating the quietness and immersing themselves in a calm, almost contemplative state of being. The Atelier has become a place to pause and experience a moment of stillness within the museum.”

• Client: BMW Museum
• Concept: BMW Group Designworks, BMW Design Communication