© Cornell AAP & Austin + Mergold & Spencer Lapp et al

The exhibition has been fabricated and installed by Cornell’s architecture, art and planning students. It aims to bring forward multi-faceted discussions on the future of cars, sustainable design, and the relationship between the "developed world" and the "global south." Exhibit features the suspended components of Tata Nano sorted by their price and weight, two inflatable sculptures that represent the car’s monthly and yearly CO2 emissions by volume, series of videos representing 1km of distance travelled by various modes of transport in India, as well as visual representation of a consumption capacity of the Indian middle class. The exhibition is held in suspension by 27 wooden sitar tuning pegs.

This is a rare blend of academics & professional practice – students, faculty, design professionals, engineers and other consultants were involved in the project that is currently located at the Johnson Museum at Cornell, but is scheduled to travel later this year.  

An upcoming symposium (March 10 & 11) is looking into the 21st century auto-mobility with the Tata Nano as the entry point into the discussion.