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Audi designers create R18 Ultra chair, kick their feet up



 
 
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Old December 14th 12, 04:42 PM posted to alt.autos.audi
MummyChunk
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Default Audi designers create R18 Ultra chair, kick their feet up

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Audi unveils lightweight chair at Design Miami/

-R 18 Ultra Chair designed by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram was
developed with Audi engineers
-More than 1,500 testers involved in the development process
-2.2 kilogram chair is on show at Design Miami/ from December 5 to 9,
2012

The R18 Ultra Chair set to be exhibited by Audi at Design Miami/ was
masterminded by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram, who represent a new
generation of digital designers. The prototype was developed in
cooperation with the Audi Lightweight Construction Center and made its
very first appearance at the Milan Furniture Fair in April. The chair
was fine-tuned using data obtained from an interactive installation
that was trialed by over 1,500 testers, plus the know-how of Audi
lightweight engineers. The result is sturdier, more comfortable and
one kilogram (2.20 lbs) lighter.

Within the auto industry, Audi is seen as an innovative driver of
lightweight construction technology, and is dedicated to ensuring the
efficient and sustainable use of resources and materials. Designers
Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram remained true to these policies during
the development of the R18 Ultra Chair, which is made from carbon
fiber, carbon and high-strength sheet aluminum. In cooperation with
the lightweight specialists at Audi, they pushed the materials to
their limits. Their goal was to achieve maximum stability and comfort
with minimum consumption of materials and as low a weight as
possible.

Form follows future
With these aims in mind, a prototype of the chair was fitted with
sensors and displayed at the Milan Furniture Fair in April 2012. Some
1,500 testers took the chance to trial the prototype in an interactive
installation that emitted electronic signals in order to collect data.
This technology is employed elsewhere in test labs at Audi for
developing racing cars. "The technology was used for an item of
furniture for the first time and allowed us to depict the forces at
play in the chair", explained designer Clemens Weisshaar. Based
on the chair's structural data, the designers were then able to
optimize the prototype in collaboration with the engineers at the Audi
Lightweight Construction Center. The various materials were employed
at those locations that best suited their properties. The resulting
chair tips the scales at just 2.2 kilograms (4.85 lbs) and embodies
the principle behind Audi ultra: removing even the smallest amount of
superfluous material by selecting materials intelligently and
optimizing the components used. "This efficiency is the focus of
our ultra lightweight construction principle", confirmed Dr. Karl
Durst, an engineer in fiber-reinforced composites at the Audi
Lightweight Construction Center. Durst was involved in the project:
"We combine the strengths of the materials in such a way that
their weaknesses are no longer important", he clarified.

As light as possible, as heavy as necessary
The final R18 Ultra Chair will be exhibited at Design Miami/ from
December 5 to 9. During the show, the designers will host a special
presentation to give visitors an insight into their work on the chair.
On display will be sketches, material samples, models and prototypes
from various stages of the development process as well as a robot used
in the auto industry. A highlight will be the chair's namesake, the
R18 ultra racing car, which competed for Audi in the 24 Hours of Le
Mans this year.

Design Miami/
Design Miami/ is the most influential international design forum. The
fair, which is paired with Art Basel – events are held in the USA in
December and in Basel in June – has become the top meeting place for
collectors, exhibitors and creative minds who engage with collectible
design.

The designers
Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram have been referred to as "the
vanguard of the next generation of digital designers" (FORM
magazine) and "the poster boys of a new breed of designers"
(International Herald Tribune). Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram's
works can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of
Modern Art, New York and the Centre Pompidou, Paris. The R18 ULTRA
CHAIR is their second project for Audi after the widely acclaimed,
award-winning installation OUTRACE on London's Trafalgar Square in
2010.

Audi has been the exclusive automotive partner to Design Miami/ since
2006 and has a sense of obligation to design and technology in equal
measure. In recent years, the carmaker has commissioned installations
by international designers and architects such as Tom Dixon, Moritz
Waldemeyer, Mirko Borsche and Bjarke Ingels. In so doing, the brand
with the four rings continues to underline its commitment to promoting
design culture and research.

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