(July 7, 2021) SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor Group and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) today announced a research collaboration exploring new relationships between advanced technologies, public environments and personal experiences. These interactions are defined as “adaptive ecologies:” the technological interfaces that exist between beings (such as living organisms and machines) and their surroundings (the vast spatial and material structures of nature).

The joint study examines how artists and designers can use technology to build connections and shared experiences, covering topics ranging from community design and biomimicry, cellular life and biosensing to natural resource systems and infrastructures.



Within each of these topics, nature is conceived of as a complex and technologically mediated point of departure for new ways of viewing and making the world. Through RISD’s Research & Strategic Partnerships program, the partnership with Hyundai elevates the expertise of faculty and the experimental creativity of students to conceive of future realities.

“This collaboration aligns with Hyundai Motor Group’s vision of becoming a future-shaping innovator via open innovation. Last year, we collaborated with RISD to apply the school’s biomimicry solutions to the question of future mobility, and this year, we expanded our scope to the future city and pursued Group-wide collaboration with the participation of both Hyundai Motor and Kia’s global design centers," said  Dr. Youngcho Chi, president and chief innovation officer of Hyundai Motor Group.

"Our plan is to explore solutions developed from the outcomes of this partnership and apply them to tangible opportunities such as innovative vehicle design and smart city development. It is exciting to see the results of RISD’s commitment to contributing to new knowledge through innovative curricula and increasing our overall research capacity to support interdisciplinary inquiry and exchange, as set forth in RISD’s strategic plan, ‘NEXT: RISD 2020–2027.’ We are grateful for Hyundai’s continued commitment and support in embracing the role of artists and designers in using technology to build connections and shared experiences,” said RISD interim president Dave Proulx.

This joint research project builds upon the new collaborative research platform created by RISD solely for Hyundai in 2020. In this second year of partnership, five faculty members at the world-renowned design school leveraged their expertise to explore study areas supported by 32 students. Students were selected through a highly competitive process involving 16 departments at RISD.

The 10 departments ultimately represented in the cohort include Architecture, Global Arts and Cultures, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, Jewelry + Metalsmithing, Liberal Arts, Painting and Textiles. This year, a Hyundai task force created to support the students’ research included designers from both Hyundai Motor and Kia’s global design centers.