UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 28 JUNE 2012
The inventor who helped create Britain’s original iconic Mini car has been awarded a lifetime achievement award by Birmingham City University as part of celebrations to mark Birmingham as the original design city.
Dr Alex Moulton CBE has been given a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ as part of the Design and Innovation Awards, organised by Birmingham City University and supported by business partners, including Jaguar.
The 91-year-old was presented the accolade for his contribution to design and innovation including his work with Sir Alec Issigonis in designing the suspension system for the original Mini but in particular in recognition of his role as ‘a pioneer of the small-wheeled bicycle revolution’.
Although not able to attend the ceremony in person more than 200 guests watched Dr Moulton explain his passion for design to Beverley Nielsen, Director Employer Engagement at Birmingham City University, in a special video.
Also, introducing the awards was Ian Callum, Director of Design at Jaguar, who said Dr Moulton was an inspiration – and that great British design was key to driving the economic success.
Mr Callum said: “Creativity and design are key. We need to learn to embrace our creativity and to really understand what design means and what it can do for us and to use it to our economic advantage.
“We need to embrace the idea of making things again. It is our heritage; let’s use people skills to turn raw materials into objects of value.
“And third and perhaps most important of all, to fundamentally understand that both these entities need each other. We need to make things and to design the things we make better than anyone else.
“This country and indeed this region have an enormously rich heritage in such activities. Let’s strive to bring them together as never before.”
Renowned worldwide for his expertise in suspension design, Dr Alex Moulton is a highly respected English engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur.
His name was immortalised by his pioneering work developing the small-wheeled bike, the Moulton bicycle. Launched at the Earls Court Cycle Show in 1962, the Moulton bicycle immediately became a style icon of the swinging 60s, along with mini-skirts and the Mini itself.
Due to his background in aeronautical and automotive engineering, his bicycle design ethos was completely at odds with the accepted norms of the cycle industry in the late 1950s.
His breadth of vision enabled him to take a revolutionary new view of bike design and foreshadowed many modern construction methods, including the incorporation of a large section tube, extensive use of pressings and lugless construction.