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Drift Us by DRIFT Turns Motion Into Meaning at Milan Design Week
Created for Audi, Drift Us, by DRIFT, is a responsive artwork that turns visitors into wind, capturing a powerful expression of movement and progress.
Dutch studio DRIFT has long captivated audiences with its kinetic installations, capturing fleeting moments from nature and translating them into immersive, sensory experiences within built environments. At Milan Design Week 2025, artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta did it once again with Drift Us, a robotic installation created in collaboration with Audi that evokes the sensation of wind. Here, visitors weren’t just passive observers – they became the wind itself, activating the work through motion. The installation serves as a symbolic expression of DRIFT and Audi’s shared belief: that true progress is sparked by movement, adaptability, and human connection.
DRIFT’s last appearance at Milan Design Week was in 2006, making their return nearly two decades later all the more exciting. Their reemergence alongside Audi underscores the importance of movement as a central theme for both brands, powered by cutting-edge technology and a deep curiosity for the natural world. “DRIFT and Audi share the vision that innovation comes from moving people,” the artists share. “In our highly complex and demanding world, flexibility and adaptability are key to be frontrunners in technological and at the same time human-centered innovation. In the [Audi] House of Progress you are invited to become a force of change.”
Sketch of Drift Us installation
As visitors move through Drift Us, their presence activates the environment. Filament-like bulbs sway in soft, synchronized waves, mimicking the natural motion of a grassy field. The effect is so fluid and organic, it’s easy to forget that robotics power the entire experience. Tranquil and mesmerizing, the installation encourages reflection on how we shape the spaces around us, in turn shaping progress and advancing the future. “Wind is the driving force of evolution and innovation in nature,” DRIFT reflects. “Without movement, there is no progress.”
Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn of DRIFT
To learn more about Drift Us by DRIFT for Audi, visit studiodrift.com.
Photography by Ronald Smits.
