The University of Bologna in Italy has awarded the Volkswagen Group’s Chief Designer, Walter de Silva (63), an honorary degree in recognition of his achievements as a designer.

“The industrial design work of Walter de Silva,” as explained by Ivano Dionigi, Rector of the Alma Mater Studiorum, “situates itself at the crossroads between art and technology, and keenly interpreting and harmonising the culture of the mind with the skilful hand of the artisan; he perfectly combines art, the craft, with ingenium, the inspiration.” De Silva is credited with transforming the style and logic of all the brands which have been the object of his work. The university honoured him as a representative of Italian design and at the same time for his role as a European designer: “His success in Italy, Spain, Germany and all over the world testifies to the international dimension of his work.”

Walter Maria de Silva has been Head of Group Design at Volkswagen since 2007. In this position he is responsible for the design of all brands in the Group. The major highlight of his work for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand to date is the Golf Mk VII, which made its world premiere in 2012. Before transferring to Wolfsburg, Italian-born de Silva had spent five years in charge of design at the Audi brand group which comprised the Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT. During his time as head of design at Audi, de Silva created several cars, including the Audi A5 coupe, which he describes as “the most beautiful car I ever designed”. In 2010, de Silva received the Design Prize of the Federal Republic of Germany, the highest official distinction awarded for design in Germany, for the design of the Audi A5.

Walter de Silva says the focus of his work as Volkswagen Group’s Chief Designer is to develop a cross-brand design culture that preserves the independence of each individual brand while maintaining a high level of design.

Source: Volkswagen

Tags: academia, Audi, Audi A5, car design, car designer, Golf Mk VII, industrial design, Ivano Dionigi, Lamborghini, SEAT, University of Bologna, Volkswagen, Walter de Silva