Audi Bahn

design awards

	GOLD AWARD
	Category: International Designer Exhibitor: Audi AG Design: Schmidhuber + Partner GbR, Munich, Germany, 49-89-157997-0, www.schmidhuber.de; Mutabor Design GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, 49-40-399-224-0, www.mutabor.de Fabrication: Metron GmbH, Eging am See, Germany, 49-8544-9626-0, www.metron.net Show: Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, 2009 Budget: $5.4 million Size: 295-by-143 feet (58,185 total square feet, including second-story space) Cost/Square Foot: $93

ommunicating "speed" and "performance" via a stationary - not to mention temporary - exhibit is like trying to make the U.S. budget deficit look like pocket change. But according to judges, German firms Schmidhuber + Partner GbR and Mutabor Design GmbH did just that with this "moving" design
for Audi AG.

Tasked with creating a prominent presence at the 2009 Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung in Frankfurt, Germany, the two design firms sped past traditional showroom-like layouts. "Instead, we opted for an elongated autobahn of sorts that dissected the booth," said Susanne Schmidhuber, executive director and architect at Schmidhuber + Partner.

While a smattering of wood finishes, earth tones, and Audi's eye-catching corporate-red hue accented the booth, attendees' eyes were locked on the prize: Audi's automotive eye candy. Meanwhile, various design techniques, including everything from curves to dramatic, angled forms, suggested speed and movement within the 58,185-square-foot, double-deck booth. "This whole exhibit feels like it's going 90 mph," one judge said.

The interior thoroughfare, a sort of three-lane highway flowing with Audi-only traffic, gracefully curved from one show-floor aisle to another with an almost 45-degree arc. Flanked by two voluminous white structures, the thoroughfare transported attendees to a thriving urban landscape lined with cars.

Within the buildings, wide, sweeping stairways gave way to exclusive lounge and hospitality areas, a theater, and additional auto displays. Sophisticated and swift, Audi's exhibit proves that even a stationary object can have a high-velocity impact. E

Linda Armstrong, senior writer; larmstrong@exhibitormagazine.com


			Fast and Luxurious The epitome of speed, this design featured an Audi-filled autobahn of sorts running in an almost 45-degree arc from one aisle to another. While designers used a neutral palette - save for the colorful cars - they doted on the details, including a unique rim-and-wheel display embedded within a sidewall.