Audi and Columbia University Kick Off 'Experiments in Motion' in New York City

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Experimental dinner on urban mobility with eclectic group of New York's leading designers, artists, filmmakers, writers and thinkers took place at New Museum
• Evening launched the first phase of year-long project between Columbia University and Audi of America as part of the brand's larger Urban Future Initiative
• Radical new project layout combines two experimental research groups for a collaborative approach

Experiments in Motion – a cutting-edge new research project conducted in partnership between Audi of America and Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) – kicked off on Monday, November 7 with a curated "dinner in motion" at the New Museum in New York City. Conceived as a series of experiments to identify new paradigms of motion, mobility and design, Experiments in Motion is led by Mark Wigley, Dean of Columbia's GSAPP, and will draw from global thought leaders from around the university, architecture and design professionals, and an expanded network of urban mobility experts from New York City and Audi.  

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111110/DE04456-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111110/DE04456-b )

Experiments in Motion is part of the Audi Urban Future Initiative, a long-term, multi-level program that brings together different visions on how mobility, urban living and the role of the transportation will change in the coming years. The initiative's academic research also includes Urbanizing Technologies: The Mobility Complex, conducted by another of the world's leading urban thinkers, Saskia Sassen, the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of The Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University.  

"Experiments in Motion is the beginning of a new dialogue on mobility and represents a radical new way of collaboration between a corporation and a research institution. We are thrilled to partner with Mark Wigley and GSAPP, one of the most visionary schools of thought globally," said Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer, Audi of America. "At the same time, the program is designed to foster emerging talent and empower young, bright minds that will both shape the future, and live in it. What better place to choose as testing ground for these experiments than New York City?"

Under the patronage of Wigley, Monday night's dinner discussed new theories and new images of motion. A custom-made table by C-Lab and Studio-X served as centerpiece, designed specifically to foster conversation and mobility between participants. In preparation, Wigley conducted an internal workshop with the experimental research units of both Audi and Columbia GSAPP – including the Audi Urban Future Insight Team and Columbia's C-LAB and Studio-X – to look at how an interrogation of the concept of motion can destabilize conventional thinking in both architecture and the mobility industry.

"This is an exciting research project that galvanizes the very latest thinking to energize a whole new conversation about the future of our cities," said Wigley.  "The most innovative minds are being brought together to inspire a new level of engaged creativity in the university, the design community and industry."

By opening up the dialogue to a carefully curated group of experts, from historians of science, to filmmakers, artists and curators, the output of the discussion at the New Museum will serve to sharpen the project as it evolves. Experiments in Motion will continue in phases through 2012.  In the spring of 2012, the insights of the think tank will be used to structure a new set of student architecture design studios at Columbia GSAPP focused on New York City that will connect to the school's global network of urban research laboratories.  The third phase of the experiment in summer 2012 will open the project up in a new form of public participation.

"As a project about newness – new paradigms of motion, new methods of teaching, new forms of participation – its crucial to have two partner institutions willing to work together in new ways," said Chris Barley and Troy Conrad Therrien of design practice Th–ey, responsible for the curatorial concept of Experiments in Motion.  "Although still fresh, Audi and Columbia have already begun to pose novel questions through their openness to this idea."

ABOUT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University offers graduate degree programs in architecture, historic preservation, urban planning, urban design, real estate development and critical, curatorial and conceptual practices. Located in New York City with advanced research laboratories in Amman, Beijing, Moscow, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro, GSAPP has established the first truly global network of teaching, research and communication about the future of cities. Its unique mission is to move beyond the highest level of professional training to open a creative space within which the disciplines can rethink themselves, a space of speculation and experimentation that allows the field to evolve to meet new challenges. www.arch.columbia.edu

ABOUT THE AUDI URBAN FUTURE INITIATIVE

In an effort to actively shape the transition to a new mobility epoch, the Audi Urban Future Initiative aims to establish a dialog on the synergy of mobility, architecture and urban development by means of the view into the future. Rooted in the belief that the current challenges of mobility can only be solved collectively and interdisciplinary, it represents an essential part of the brand's commitment to urban mobility as a whole and is designed to change both thought patterns and corporate culture.  For more information, please visit http://www.audi-urban-future-initiative.com.

ABOUT AUDI

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. During 2010 Audi was the top performing luxury brand in Europe, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Over the next few years, AUDI AG will invest nearly $16 billion on new products and technologies. Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues

SOURCE Audi of America, Inc.