After ten years, DRIFT reenters Milan Design Week with Drift Us, an immersive installation developed in partnership with Audi. Set within the courtyard of Portrait Milano Hotel, the project forms part of Audi’s House of Progress, where the brand examines innovation through human-centered experiences. Artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, founders of DRIFT, bring their vision of movement into a sculptural format that responds to visitors in real time.
Movement as Dialogue
In Drift Us, DRIFT takes inspiration from the way wind passes through fields of grass. This natural rhythm becomes a tool to build an environment where motion triggers interaction. Visitors walking through the installation activate a field of robotic elements designed to mimic that same fluid motion. Rather than watching a performance, participants step into a responsive structure that acknowledges and adapts to their presence.
Shaping the Experience
The installation avoids dramatic gestures in favor of slow, continuous rhythm. DRIFT designs each component to move in sync with organic systems, breathing patterns, heartbeat intervals, and atmospheric flow. This approach turns physical space into a shared field of energy. Movement doesn’t just animate the environment; it encourages calm, focus, and deeper engagement with the space.
A Shared Vision with Audi
Audi’s House of Progress serves as the platform for the collaboration. The initiative reflects Audi’s view on design, mobility, and adaptive technology. The artists describe their alignment with Audi through the idea that transformation begins with movement. “Flexibility and adaptability help define progress in a complex world,” they note. “House of Progress invites visitors to become agents of change.”
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Audi continues to use the space to show how their technology responds to evolving user needs. The partnership with DRIFT adds a poetic layer to that mission, linking industrial innovation with a physical, emotional experience.
Material and Sound Design
DRIFT selected materials that could reflect and respond to light while maintaining a lightweight structure. The installation incorporates SLA and SLS printed polymers, powder-coated aluminum, PET-G in gradient finishes, monofilament nylon, and stainless steel. These materials contribute to the installation’s layered transparency and kinetic quality.
Joep Beving composed an original score to accompany the motion of the installation. His music adds subtle dynamics that reinforce the physical pacing of the work. DRIFT collaborated with POINT.ARCHITECTS for spatial coordination and received production and strategic support from Beyond the Line and Sandra Biundo. The result brings architecture, robotics, and sound into alignment.
Art in Motion
Since 2006, when DRIFT first exhibited at Salone del Mobile, the duo has focused on sculptural installations that respond to space and behavior. Gordijn and Nauta aim to create emotional responses by encouraging people to reflect on their surroundings through movement and interaction. Each project builds on internal technologies developed by their interdisciplinary team.
Their design language borrows from organic science and physical logic. While the results may appear futuristic, DRIFT roots each installation in personal and sensory experience. Rather than controlling the environment, they design it to react, an ongoing exchange between structure and visitor.
Looking Ahead
Beyond Milan, DRIFT prepares to open a permanent museum in Amsterdam later this year. The 8,000 square meter space will house their past works and serve as a space for continued experimentation. The facility, located in a historic building retrofitted to meet climate goals, will offer both exhibitions and development labs.
Music: Joep Beving
Photos: Ronald Smits, Jip Mus
Production and Strategic Advisor: Beyond the Line
Advisor: Sandra Biundo, Global Sales Advisor Arts Design
Architecture assistance: POINT.ARCHITECTS
this was so cool! its a shame the focus was only on the car ! Drift studio did a gorgeous job