In May the confidentiality obligation expired for the competition relating to art for the architecture of the new building of the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) on the banks of the river Spree in Berlin. The entry for this competition was “Farbimpulse” (“Colour Impulses”). This competition entry relates to the locations 1, 3, 4 and 5 specified in the invitation to compete.
Proposal for location 1:
Translucent bands of colour, which allow the life behind the glass wall to show through diffusely, are attached to the inside of the glass in the ground-floor foyer. This diminished play of movement corresponds to the narrow spaces between the colour bands, which remain transparent. In this way the liveliness of moving bodies is made abstract and takes on an exemplary character.
for location 1
13-03-001
for location 1
13-03-002
for location 1
13-03-003
Proposal for location 3:
A cycle of colour impulses surrounds the conference centre block. In twelve sections the arrangement of colours changes step by step, until at the end it has come full circle. In this way a never-ending process of change is displayed. The energy of the colour and progression reaches a climax at location 3, and is calculated to achieve its effect when seen at a distance from inside and outside.
in the colour system
for location 3
13-03-004
in the colour system
for location 3
13-03-005
in the colour system
for location 3
13-03-006
in the colour system
for location 3
13-03-007
in the colour system
for location 3
13-03-008
in the colour system
for location 3
13-03-009
for location 3
13-03-010
for location 3
13-03-011
for location 3
13-03-012
for location 3
13-03-013
for location 3
13-03-014
for location 3
13-03-015
Proposal for location 4:
The themes of the three sections of the mural are development and process within consistent circumstances. The imaginary effect and associative content expand the space. The colour – although full of tension and life – is calculated to produce a soothing climate, as the working period in these conference rooms, often with the requirement to concentrate for several hours at a time, should be invigorated and stimulated, but not disturbed.
in the colour system
for location 4
13-03-016
in the colour system
for location 4
13-03-017
in the colour system
for location 4
13-03-018
for location 4
13-03-019
for location 4
13-03-020
for location 4
13-03-021
Proposal for location 5:
In the management area of the ministry, the process of standing upright reaches its goal. The vertical is highlighted by means of the deviation from it, and is represented as a condition that first has to gain stability. The two walls, placed diagonally opposite each other, show on the one hand chromatic activity that is represented only by its contours, and on the other hand the same basic structure with a full colour surface. Potential, on the one hand, and fulfilment or achievement, on the other, can thus be perceived.
for location 5
13-03-022
for location 5
13-03-023
for location 5
13-03-024
Description of the overall scheme:
Guiding principle:
Education and research provide the essential impulses for the development of our society. The impulse is therefore the common denominator for both fields of political activity. The task of education and research policy is first of all to set impulses free, then to group, order and finally to guide them.
Implementation:
Impulses are made visible by colour – by chromatic energy and tension. The dynamic of oriented bands of colour makes it possible to experience the principle of grouping, ordering and guiding. Conformity to rules as a fundamental prerequisite of democracy generates a lively variety of encounters and constellations. The visual dynamic activates the impulses and gives them unimpeded straightness and speed.
Response to the architecture:
The right angle, the principle of the horizontal and the vertical which determines the whole building inside and outside, is presented with an antithesis. Impulses make their appearance by means of emphasising the diagonal, directed to the top right. From location 1 via locations 3 and 4 to location 5, this diagonal passes through a process of standing upright. The colours and images open the two-dimensional wall to imaginary depth. Real space is confronted with immaterial, spiritual space.