Competition to design a new tramway

In the context of the 10th Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne, the Metropolis of Saint-Etienne along with the Cité du design and the STAS (Saint-Etienne agglomeration’s urban transports company) have launched a contest called “a tramway named design” to make the complete covering of a new tramcar.

The tramway is a place of expression for design. The STAS has been the biennale’s partner for 10 years and contributes to the design dynamic throughout the STAS tickets, the new urban furniture, etc. After 130 years of tramway existence in Saint-Etienne, the 5th generation of vehicles with an innovative and neat profile will soon be in use. For this special occasion, a contest has been proposed to make the complete covering of a new tramcar. Students from years 4 and 5 from approximately 40 French design schools were invited to take part in the project. The jury composed of professionals has designated as the winner Lucas Marques-Lima, student in the 1st year of the Prospective Design Master’s degree of the Higher School of Art and Design of Saint-Etienne.

The student, originally from Rio de Janeiro, has worked on his models for a month to present a black and white bicolour tramway, following the biennale’s theme, namely “shifting work paradigms”. The result is surprising. “I have made some research on Saint-Etienne’s history and I have seen this mine and coal identity as something really original and rooted in the city, Lucas asserts. So I tried to use the black colour to show that work is done with raw material. So we will see a mosaic of basic geometrical forms. This is the sensation I want to provide”.