Cooperation between Vitra Design Museum and Audi


The Vitra Design Museum and AUDI AG have decided to cooperate on joint projects and research relating to issues of design, progress and sustainability.  Both partners share an interest in design excellence and design history as well as questions about the future. Guided by this common basis, cross-references between automotive design and other creative fields will be explored over the course of the cooperation. Joint events, online series and other  formats are planned with a special focus on German-speaking countries.

One theme of the partnership between Audi and the Vitra Design Museum is electromobility and its impact on the future design of automobiles, such as in the interior.  The interior is a central field of research for the Vitra Design Museum, which has one of the most comprehensive collections of furniture design. The cooperative  projects will investigate, for example, the extent to which vehicle interiors will become a mobile living and working space as electromobility and automated driving open up new design freedom and cars are increasingly networked.

In addition, Vitra Design Museum and Audi will address broader topics such as the question of sustainable future concepts for the use of automobiles, in which  carsharing is likely to play a growing role alongside the still important emotional aspect of individual mobility. A central focus of the cooperation is the significance of progress in automotive design: What is real progress today? How do we ensure that progress is linked to responsibility? What role can design play in this? 

Linda Kurz, Head of Marketing Germany at AUDI AG explains: »Design is an integral part of our DNA at Audi. Our shared sense of design and our pursuit of  constant progress lay the foundation for a strong partnership between the Vitra Design Museum and Audi. I am very pleased about the cooperation and invite all  design enthusiasts to join us on this inspiring journey.«

Mateo Kries, Director of the Vitra Design Museum: »As a museum, we examine current trends in design from a broader perspective. We are delighted about Audi’s  interest in taking a closer look at the topic of design in the automotive sector within the framework of our cooperation. Audi has a distinguished design history, and its  slogan ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ – Progress through Technology – has been a familiar catchphrase for decades. Today, however, we know that technology alone is no longer enough to meet the challenges. It is much more about using and complementing these technologies: about sustainability, about digitalisation, about social  changes and the customer experience during the journey – design has the task of considering all these aspects from a comprehensive perspective.«