Adrian van Hooijdonk

Dutch designer born in Echt (Limburg) as Adrian van Hooijdonk, he went to school and Lyceum in Echt - a small municipality in the predominantly Catholic province of the Netherlands, squeezed between Germany and Belgium; studied at University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands (diploma 1988),  where almost 20 years earlier Harm Lagaay studied and after two years of work continued his studies at the renown, not existing anymore, Art Centre College of Design Europe, Vevey, Switzerland (1989-1990); career: first for a year a free-lance designer (1988-1989), then as a product designer with GE Plastics Europe in Bergen op Zoom (1989-1990); after the Automotive Design studies at Vevey - since 1992 with BMW in Munich as an automotive exterior designer; since 2000 with Designworks in the US as the Head of Automotive Exterior Design Dept and since 2001 as the President of the Designworks, US

responsible among others for the gull-wing Z9 Gran Turismo prototype, BMW 6 series E63/E64 and E 65 7 series

in his Z9 GT design (1999) van Hooydonk introduced the sculptured design idea, which for more than a decade influenced BMW body styling; the Z9 design brought also several future solutions of the BMW cars to come as flat almost symbolic front grille, long hood, aggressive but short rear, sculptured addition on the trunk serving as a rear wing called later Bangle butt

van Hooydonk led Designworks from Sept. of 2001 until 2004, during his time there, van Hooydonk penned a number of different designs, among others chairs designs for Emeco - American iconic aluminum chair producer,

van Hooydonk worked closely with Chris Bangle, he co-authored the radical design policy of the BMW new cars development at the beginning of the 21c., he became BMW Head of the car design 2004 and from Febr., 2009 after departure of Chris Bangle, he became Director of Design, BMW Group.