...came across an interesting episode of Discovery Channel's Biker Build-Off the other evening. Normally I don't watch these custom-bike-building reality shows but this one caught my eye because one of the builders was a Japanese guy by the name of Shinya Kimura, owner of the company Zero Engineering.
Mr. Kimura builds custom Harley's focusing on harmonizing functionality and aesthetics. Check out the link (note: the site seems almost defunct...) to see a few photos of his work, or search the web for more information on him and his bikes.
I'm sure the Japanese have a word for this concept that seems to embody a particular style of engineering. It is obviously a guiding pricinciple in a lot of early Japanese sculpture, pottery, paintings, wood-block prints, architecture, calligraphy and garden design. The best way I can describe the concept is that when it's applied to the creation of something it purposefully exposes the raw functionality of the object while stylizing it to make it aesthetically pleasing. It is formal yet natural - without appearing contrived.