Audi Urban Future Workshop Starts in London

In a departure from its main area of expertise, German carmaker Audi announced it has started the Audi Urban Future workshop in London, a competition which will witness six international architectural firms battling to develop the city of the future, which combines mobility, architecture and the city itself. Rupert Stadler, Audi chairman of the board, explains why the carmaker ventured into a realm it has little expertise in.

“In shaping the future of the automobile, it is important to analyze trends and look beyond one’s own back yard. The exchange with pioneers of another discipline – but one which has many parallels to automotive engineering – is proving to be very inspiring. In particular, because the architects come from very different cultural backgrounds.”

Audi will seriously get involved in the project, with architects from the six firms taking a trip to Ingolstadt where they received tips and tricks from Audi's experts from Technical Development, Design, and Brand and Corporate Strategy.

The firms raking part in the project are Alison Brooks Architects (London), Bjarke Ingels Group (Copenhagen), Cloud9 (Barcelona), Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York), J. Mayer H. Architects (Berlin) and Standardarchitecture (Beijing). They will work on the project until August, when the projects (installation as well as models and images) will be shown at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

“The Audi Urban Future Award is no ordinary competition,” Stylepark Director Christian Gartner added. “Despite the competition of ideas among the architectural firms, the aim is to develop perspectives collectively.”