On 31 May 2016 an extended version of the art-for-architecture concept was presented to the board of VR Bank Südpfalz in Landau in the Palatinate. This concept for the new office building includes a generative image system derived from the corporate design. Structural elements are evolved from the logo and the corporate colours, resulting in a transfer from design to painting. The generative image system is a holistic, coherent image that appears in various forms. It is unity and diversity at one and the same time. The momentum of the image system describes a centrifugal process. It takes effect from the offices in which individual work is performed and is directed to the space in which the work of the team is performed. It is thus concentrated on the places where the corporate culture is practised. Three zones of application can be distinguished: the offices on the ground floor, on the first floor and second floors; the rooms of the board of management on the third floor; and the large conference room on the second floor. (On this concept also see: Report 12/2016, Report 03/2018, Report 04/2018, Report 05/2018, Report 11/2018, Report 25/2018, Report 26/2018, Report 27/2018 and Report 28/2018.)
on the side where
the office door
opens
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with the door
opened from
the other side
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with different
wall proportions
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E-1-2 and E-1-3
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E-1-5 and E-1-6
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E-1-5, detail
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E-1-7 and E-1-8
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E-1-7, detail
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1-1-2 and 1-1-3
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1-1-5 and 1-1-6
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1-2-2 and 1-2-3
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1-2-1, detail
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1-3-2 and 1-3-3
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1-3-4
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1-4-2 and 1-4-3
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1-4-1, detail
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1-4-5 and 1-4-6
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1-4-6, detail
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1-4-8 and 1-4-9
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1-4-11 and 1-4-12
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1-4-11, detail
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1-4-13
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2-1-2 and 2-1-3
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2-1-5 and 2-1-6
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2-2-2 and 2-2-3
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2-2-3, detail
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2-3-2 and 2-3-3
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2-3-3, detail
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2-3-2 and 2-3-3
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2-3-5 and 2-3-6
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2-3-7 and 2-3-8
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Summation in the large meeting room
The meaning of the individualisation of the workplace lies in making visible the context of its individuality. This context is the community of all employees. The activity of the workforce is at home in the offices. Here all staff carry out their individual tasks. In the large meeting room these persons come together and pool their thoughts and actions. The office and meeting room are the two poles of the principle of individual/community. This polarity underlies the art concept thanks to the principle of diversity/unity.
The concept is made congruent with the reality of working life by the fact that the generative image system establishes a relationship between the office and the meeting room. For this reason, the large meeting room is the place where both people and the symbols of their potential are assembled: the individual image strips. Here the image strips produce one large image that has the character of a summation. This image refers to the large number of offices, just as, conversely, the offices refer to the shared meeting room. In this way, the “art for architecture” is anchored in the building by its meaning.
Summary of the image strips as a monolith:
The north wall of the large meeting rooms, the wall to which the gaze of all participants is directed at assemblies, is 2.85 m high and 9.47 m wide. The 63 image strips from the building, lined up one next to the other, produce an extremely picture-like image. This compact summary, whether in one row of strips next to each other or in two rows of strips one above the other, possesses the character of a monolith and causes the individual strips to disappear. The assembly of people is represented as coherent unity. From many, to one.
single-row
arrangement
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double-row
arrangement
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impression
of the image
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Summation of the image strips as an aggregate:
The people who assemble in the large meeting room do not merge, but simply contribute their potential. This is why, alongside the monolith, the principle of the aggregate is equally possible as a means of visualisation. An individual point of view remains visible and fits into a meaningful context. The image strips retain their individuality, on the one hand, while constituting a common order, on the other hand, a common web of relationships and a common rhythm. They can easily be recognised and assigned to their place, especially as it is possible to read which storey from the complete picture they belong to.
of the aggregate
of compression
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of compression,
impression
of the image
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of compression,
detail
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of the aggregate
of growth
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of growth,
impression
of the image
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of growth,
detail
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Summary of the image strips as an inventory:
In this mode of collation, the emphasis is on order. Vivacity and visual energy remain in the microstructure of the image strips. They are “moderated” by a macrostructure of extreme clarity. The inventory has a documentary character. It shows the presence of individuals. It is a representation not of activity, but of presence. The relationship to the architecture, to the design of the façade, is most clearly evident in this solution.
of the inventory
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impression
of the image
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Design of the board offices:
The offices of board members have a different communicative function compared to the other offices in the building. For visitors, they are a place that represents the company. For employees, they are a place for identification with the company. For this reason the generative image system is manifested with a stronger presence here. The board office, too, has an image strip as a visual code. But here the image strip is integrated into a more comprehensive visual happening. This image is composed as a diptych and occupies the end wall.
The image strip with the height of the room – i.e. original size – is woven into the diptych, as it were, and is partly visible. The presence of the image strip is thus only latent. It has an indirect, subtle aura and presence, and builds a bridge between the two panels of the diptych. The bridge function is the focus of the image.
of the diptych
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of the image strip
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structure
of the image
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of the diptych 3-1-1
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3-1-1
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of the diptych 3-1-2
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3-1-2
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of the diptych 3-1-3
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3-1-3
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of the diptych 3-1-4
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3-1-4
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