CAR Design Podcast - ALFONSO ALBAISA | Crown Unfiltered Ep #95

VIDEO VERSION OF THIS:

https://youtu.be/pxmHV8T7Igo

ABOUT ALFONSO:

Let me just say that this episode was packed with anecdotal surprises that I never could have anticipated.

Alfonso Albaisa is the Senior Vice President for Global Design for Nissan, but he is also the son of immigrants that fled horrific circumstances in Cuba after the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

His parents arrived in the U.S. penniless after bribing their way out of Cuba. His father, a qualified architect, worked odd jobs to make ends meet and eventually established his own architectural firm. This was done within 8 years of their arrival and within that time, he designed the house of President Nixon.

Alfonso was born in Miami and grew up in idyllic Coconut Grove where spent a free and feral childhood surrounded by water, sun, and art.

He was deeply inspired by his father and was fed Michelangelo books by his mother, both of whom nurtured his artistic side. By the time he finished school he was enamored with Car Design, but opted to study Fine Art at Pratt Institute in New York. He immersed himself in the program as well as the Dance Music scene in the City, which he described as theatrical.

Halfway through his studies, his mom called him to say that she had found a school in Detroit where he could study Car Design and she encouraged him to go. Albaisa transferred to CCS for a year, where he lived in a dorm with kids that he says were eating and breathing cars. There he developed an impressive ability to draw, which he took with him back to New York.

‘I was always working. In fact, I was Mr. All-nighter. I was making helicopters for the guy in Detroit, furniture for my teachers, and flashlights for the Koreans. I would do this till 2 or 3 AM and then go to ‘Save the Robots’ (underground after-hours club in New York City's East Village neighborhood), come back at 9 AM, and go to school. Sleep at lunch.’ *laughs

Alfonso appeared to have made the decision to pursue Fine Art in an almost wispy fashion without much concern about where it would lead. When prompted on this, he said that he had the best parents in the world in that they never put the weight of their sacrifices and traumatic past on his shoulders when deciding what to do with his future.

‘I had all this context (referring to his parents and his environment) and so it was easy to imagine that when you’re making things and working hard, some way things will work out.’

Needless to say, it more than worked out!

FIND ALFONSO HERE:

https://www.instagram.com/alfonsoalbaisa/

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ABOUT ME:

I am a South African Designer, Digital Modeller and the host of Crown Unfiltered. I will be talking to a cross section of people that work in the Car Design Industry.

These will include designers, digital and clay modellers, vis artists and colour & material designers. The focus of our conversations will be centered around personal processes and experiences within the business. My aim is to demystify some of the preconceptions about this industry and give people an unadulterated glimpse into the business.

I also wish to give the younger generation the opportunity to see that the people that these professionals come in different shapes and sizes and some of them will be unknown. The intention is to see that you should always be yourself and not let your job define or change who you are.

Please get in contact if there is something specific you would like me to cover. I would also be really grateful if you could subscribe and share the podcast with anyone that has an affinity for cars, design or both. Thank you! Sam

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