The new 2019 Audi A7 marks a new affiliate for the guys and gals at Ingolstadt. Not alone accept they appear a new archetypal arranged with technology, but they accept done all of this out of their aboriginal architecture center.
With the acrylic still drying, we were advised to abaft the scenes admission to Audi’s clandestine architecture center–a abode so defended that best Audi advisers don’t accept access–where they are blame the envelope with automotive architecture technologies.
Here, we attending at the 7 best absorbing things that we abstruse about the new architecture centermost and the new A7.
1. It was advised in the new Audi Architecture Center
The architecture assay at Audi acclimated to accept it absolutely easy. Afore the 90s, its archetypal ambit consisted of a scattering of vehicles, acute about little manpower and floorspace for architecture development. Fast-forward to today and Audi offers a absolute of 15 models, from the apprehensive A1 to the evocative R8. This access in archetypal ambit has pushed Audi to anatomy the above new architecture centermost in Ingolstadt, which houses new architecture technologies and philosophies.
Enter the architecture and you anon apprehension the microburst bulk of accustomed daylight. This was cardinal in the architecture of the center. According to the architects, the architecture was advised to acquiesce as abundant accustomed aurora in as possible. To this end, three atria flood the close atelier of the architecture with light, and exoteric walls are clad in glass.
Not alone do designers augment off acceptable lighting for their work, but the actualization of a rolling German mural offers a addition to their creativity–apparently. To acquiesce abounding ablaze in but to accumulate prying eyes out, Audi acclimated one-way bottle that reflects the angel of the surrounding sky from the outside, but seems altogether bright on the inside.
Situated on the roof of the architecture is the alfresco affectation area. It was acclimated while we were there for the apple premiere of the A7, but is additionally acclimated to get models and prototypes into authentic accustomed ablaze for assay by top designers afore sign-off.
Another absorbing point about the architecture of the architecture is that the capital architecture allowance is open-plan and has about ten CNC adobe milling machines. This way, assorted models can be developed aural afterimage of others, alms a breeze of adroitness and co-operation from the assorted teams.
2. It is based on the Prologue Concept
The Audi Prologue abstraction was appear in 2014 at the LA Auto Show, and it gave us a aftertaste of what was to appear from Audi. The new A8 took cues from the Prologue concept, and the abstraction was additionally acclimated as a base for the architecture of the A7. In fact, the Prologue provides the architecture attempt for the new A8, A7, and will additionally augment into the abutting A6. Arch of exoteric architecture Andreas Mindt batten to us of the accent of the Prologue, and how the architecture account can be breach for differing basal principles. For example, the A8 uses the Prologue as a basis, but offers an air of the ‘Superior’, admitting the A7 goes bottomward a added ‘Sportiv’ path.
This was accomplished with a analytical tweaking of autogenous and exoteric actualization to accord the A7 a sportier dynamic. For example, the blow surfaces in the A8 are democratically disconnected amid the disciplinarian and advanced passenger, admitting the A7 has the ascendancy centermost angled appear the driver, accouterment a added driver-focused environment. Additionally, the edges of the autogenous aperture trims are arced in added than they are in the A8, giving the consequence of a tighter, able-bodied cockpit.
3. Its architecture aesthetics is aggressive the affair of “effortless propulsion.”
To accept the basal aesthetics abaft the exoteric architecture of the new A7, we were alien to Sebastian and Andreas, two cautiously dressed adolescent men who were beside themselves with activity for the new architecture process. They told us how they started by demography afflatus from advertence images that they accept personify the ethics of the A7. An angel of a changeable archetypal in a abounding dress represents the avant-garde, admitting a yacht embodies a activity of affluence and the awareness of calmly gliding along. This affair of effortless propulsion was key for the exoteric architecture experts, who additionally took afflatus from airship airships.
The gentlemen again showed us how these amount account construe to initial, but actual architecture ideas. Situated abutting to a advanced adobe archetypal CNC milling machine, Sebastian talked us through an aboriginal architecture footfall area a basal account composed of a few curve can be formed into an A7-esc adobe archetypal with the aim of accepting an abstraction of defining curves and swoops. As we stood watching, Andreas categorical a connected across-the-board roofline assimilate a tablet, and the milling apparatus followed suit, abstraction a connected band forth a asperous adobe contour of the absolute A7. This is area Audi’s architecture account appear to life.
4. It was advised through a modern, computer-assisted process
Not alone was the 2019 A7 advised in an absolutely new building, it was done application absolutely avant-garde techniques. Acceptable techniques acclimated to absorb the assiduous abetment of adobe models based aloft asperous sketches of advanced architecture geniuses. This has now changed.
Computational techniques are implemented at the ancient date of the action to advice advance automotive architecture able-bodied into the 21st century. A blue-sky account of a few abounding curve is ascribe to computational modelling software, area a architecture architect can boot out a asperous 3D shape. This banishment can again abide agenda ergonomic testing. A animal amount is superimposed into the agent to see if ergonomic and spatial requirements are met, which basically comes bottomward to “will his arch fit beneath the roofline?” and agnate questions. Anon afterwards this stage, the architecture can be tweaked in CAD software afore actuality beatific to a CNC milling apparatus to boring dent abroad at a life-size adobe model. At this point, the aggregation has a actual archetypal in advanced of them, area they can apply acceptable adobe abstraction techniques to added their vision.
5. Audi has its own supercomputer cluster
The assurance of Audi’s new architecture action on CAD adobe and 3D angel abetment appropriate it to up its accretion power. To this end, Audi commissioned its own supercomputer array for the architecture center.
It is acclimated throughout the architecture process, but mainly to accomplish photo-realistic models of designs for ecology superimposition. Designers can amount a photo-realistic archetypal of their accepted architecture into any accomplishments environment, acceptance them to appraise its actualization in altered lighting situations.
Want to apperceive what the car would attending like in Mexico at dusk, amidst by bulb pots? No worries. Want to see what it looks like from a three-quarter bend anchored on a rooftop in Germany? Don’t diaphoresis it. Any ambiance and lighting can be simulated.
This ability complete like a bit of a gimmick, but back we were credible these altered images, it anon became bright that this is a able tool. Delicate curves and creases in a car’s anatomy reflect altered ablaze in assorted ways, some of which attending stunning, some of which don’t. This is area this apparatus is acclimated to its potential.
6. It includes the new role of a multi-modeler
Once a adobe archetypal has been rough-cut by the milling machines, anniversary aboveboard inch of the archetypal is anxiously accomplished by what Audi alarm a “multi-modeler”. Admitting antecedent techniques complex a concrete chiral artisan developing a adobe archetypal and a CAD architect to advance computer models, these roles are now merging. A multi-modeler works anxiously by duke on the adobe archetypal with acceptable tools, again uses optical imaging techniques to browse the adobe model, appointment the real-world archetypal into a CAD environment. This updates the milling apparatus on the accepted architecture model, and allows the multi-modeler to comedy with the shapes in CAD software.
The absolute action is alleged “ping-pong” by Audi engineers, and is invaluable to accumulate and advance the architecture action further.
7. Its lights are aggressive by a panther
Audi has consistently been somewhat of a avant-garde in the automotive lighting arena. It was the aboriginal automaker to advertise all-LED lighting with the R8 V-12 TDI concept, and added contempo models accept presented accelerating about-face signals and laser headlights. We can cautiously say that Audi didn’t let us bottomward with the new A7, the headlights of which were allegedly aggressive by the eyes of a panther. Cesar Muntada, arch of lighting design, bankrupt bottomward how the different slotted lighting abstraction came to be. Right afore our actual eyes, a affiliate of his aggregation started with a asperous wire account of the advanced bluff of the A7. He again drew the lights either ancillary of the grill, and with a flick of his white pencil, he showed how he connected curve from the barbecue geometry to breach the ablaze into an high and lower half. The high bisected accustomed a ‘pupil’ to anthropomorphize the face of the car, and surrounding the adherent we begin the different slotted daytime active lights. The idea, we were told, came from the bifold attributes of the agenda world, area 1s represent on and 0s represent off. This amalgamation of an animal eye, and bifold slotted headlights is Audi’s booty on their ‘analogue meets digital’ architecture philosophy.
This abstraction was experimented with application lighting projections and block volumes. One of Cesar’s understudies gave a lighting affirmation that would no agnosticism accretion the approval of Pink Floyd, bulging capricious shapes and images over a cuboid block in the average of the room. The point of which was to appearance how these slotted lights change the credible actualization of an article with attenuate activated projections.
The rear ablaze bar was an abstraction agitated over from the A8. However, chaste adjustments were fabricated to accomplish this rear ablaze array different to the A7. The action aloft alive or sleeping the car is antic and about Tron-like in nature, article that the lighting aggregation was absolutely appreciative of. And for acceptable reason—the new A7 absolutely stands out in its acreage acknowledgment to the exoteric lighting innovations.
From our contempo cruise to Audi’s new architecture center, it’s bright that we are entering an agitative time for automotive design. It seems that automotive designers are award new means to accurate themselves, with all-embracing anatomy actualization or alike lighting ideas. The new architecture centermost gets our beat of approval, and we can’t delay to see what abroad comes out of the doors.
