Audi Urban Future Supercharges New York

As one of the most interesting non-automotive related endeavors of German manufacturer Audi, the Urban Future Project is getting ready to impress the crowds in New York, where the exhibit will be on display May 7 through 9.

Those who plan to go and see how Audi reckons the future of their city can see the designs of five emerging New York City-based architects at the New Museum. The Audi Urban Future: Project New York, as it is called, is part of the museum's first Festival of Ideas for the New City weekend.

The designs of the five architects, says Audi, will all try to envision Manhattan as it will look like decades from now. The designs to be presented belong to Leong Leong, Matter Practice, Abruzzo Bodziak Architects, labDORA and TheVeryMany.

Their designs are meant to entice the viewers into imaging how the new ways of communicating, living spaces, new versions of roadways and infrastructure will look like in the future.

Alongside the new designs of these five new firms, the car maker will also be presenting the designs of five other firms, who have won the crowds during the 2010 Audi Urban Future Award in Venice, Italy: Alison Brooks Architects, Big-Bjarke Ingels Group, Cloud9 Architecture Studio, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, J. MAYER H. Architects and Standardarchitecture.

“The years ahead may well define new understandings about the future of urban living and mobility,” said Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America. “So it is a privilege for Audi to kick off a discussion on diverse visions of this future here in New York through the work of the Audi Urban Future Initiative.”