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April 30, 2015
Audi Illuminates Milan Design Week with Light Installations
Audi
Audi Illuminates Milan Design Week
Audi has opened a three-story showcase named "Audi CityLab" at Milan Design Week. It presented iconic design works, including cameras, pianos, and bicycles, through light installations. Fumio Ogawa reports from the scene.
Text by Fumio Ogawa
Showcasing Diverse Design Endeavors
Audi is a brand that places great emphasis on design. Beyond cars that elicit admiration from designers at other companies, they also craft items that enrich life, such as bicycles, apparel, cameras, and musical instruments. Their significant exhibition at the 2015 Milan Design Week left a lasting impression.
While sponsoring some installations, Audi also established its own three-story showcase, "Audi CityLab," on the familiar Via Montenapoleone, presenting installations created in collaboration with artists.
Audi CityLab, featuring elegant black CI
Waldemeyer's name prominently displayed on the window
Displayed alongside the new sports model, the "Audi R8," which combines a V10 engine with the latest quattro all-wheel-drive technology, was a work by London-based artist Moritz Waldemeyer. Waldemeyer gained renown in 2004 for designing an interactive chandelier capable of displaying messages for crystal maker Swarovski during Milan Design Week.
Audi and Waldemeyer have a long-standing relationship, dating back to 2010. Waldemeyer, known for his interactive products across diverse fields from product design to fashion, created "Bellafgura," a light installation for Audi in 2015.
Audi
Audi Illuminates Milan Design Week (Part 2)
From Cars to Chairs and Art
Audi explains that the concept behind "Bellafgura," composed of 200 LEDs, was "inspired by the joy of driving." The white represents the headlights, the red the taillights, and the curves evoke the "long exposure imagery of a car photographed at night" (Audi). It was beautiful, yet far from static, and its brilliance above the new R8 was striking.
Inside Audi CityLab, products previously designed by Audi, including a Leica camera, a Bösendorfer piano, a bicycle, and carving skis, were elegantly displayed. Furthermore, the exhibition clearly showcased their activities across a wide spectrum, featuring an art piece inspired by a Lamborghini, a Ducati motorcycle, and even a chair from Italdesign, led by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
The Audi model announced by Bösendorfer of Austria in 2009, with its beautiful internal structure
Display highlighting the importance of recreational items in Audi's design
Additionally, an Audi RS6 Avant was displayed on the street, resembling an installation itself. Utilizing the soft European sunlight to its advantage, the beautiful reflections on the black body attracted the attention of passersby.