The Extra Hour
An installation at Design Miami 2016 by LEGO and Audi.
What is it?
The Extra Hour was a collaboration between Audi and LEGO's Creative Play Lab to create an installation for Design Miami 2016.
The design builds on Audi's 'automated driving' concept, the idea being that when you no longer have an hour or so to commute, you gain an 'extra hour' in the day. An hour to create, to relax, or to play.
The installation itself is reminiscient of a clock face, with an extra section carved out, filled with a gradient of LEGO pieces. At the end of the pieces, a 2-meter high "25" appear to indicate the extra hour of time in the day.
The piece works at multiple distances, as there are small minifigures on the 2 and 5, suggesting activities that could be done with additional time. It also was highly interactive, as we promoted spending time on the floor, building and assembling with the LEGO bricks.
What I did
Role: Design and Project Lead
- Concept and installation design
- Design process creation
- Stakeholder management
The team consisted of myself, 2 additional designers, an excellent project manager, and the design director of Creative Play Lab.
We also collaborated closely with Audi's experiential marketing team.
Project Details
Launch
We opened the installation successfully for Design Miami in late November, 2016.
Tools Used
- LEGO bricks
- Adobe Suite
- A lot of sketch pads
- An audi A8 with self-driving tech
Early Ideas and Development
The original ideas for the installation centered around two concepts: (1) the extra time that one gains when the car can drive itself to a destination and (2) the notion that roads and the city, as an environment and as a public space, change dramatically when one no longer has to drive through them. After sketching, mocking, and discussing these both internally and with Audi, we settled on the first. This idea coincided well with some internal messaging that Audi had been currently experimenting around this exact idea and their 'autonomous driving vehicle'.
From the concept lock, we then starting exploring different details of the concept. We experimented with tone and aesthetic through sketches, we prototyped with models and LEGO pieces, and we finalized through 3D models and renders. All of these, of course, were a back and forth with the Audi team, whether it be the marketing design for the visual style or the booth engineers for technical specs.
From there, we delivered specifications to a LEGO team in the US that specializes in large-scale builds. Brilliantly coordinated by Henrik Daae, Will and I flew to Miami to oversee the final installation.
William Thorogood, then Design Director for the Creative Play Lab, removing dust from LEGO pieces.
