Under the title “Leipzig’s Marina” a proposal was submitted in January 2017 for a design of Herzliya-Platz (Herzliya Square) in Leipzig. The occasion was a competition held by the City of Leipzig. Herzliya Square is a large roundabout with heavy traffic in the south-west part of the city centre of Leipzig. It takes its name from Leipzig’s twin town in Israel, Herzliya.
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(photo montage)
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Herzliya Platz is taken literally. A place (Platz) is to be found for Herzliya. For this reason the road users who approach the roundabout are shown a vision with the message “here is Herzliya”.
The essential characteristic of Herzliya is the marina. This marina is brought to Leipzig. A reduced formal language creates the impression of pointed sailing-boat masts rising to the sky. A painterly colour concept opens out the blue of sky and sea in several nuances and adds a yellow accent as the equivalent of sunlight. Blue and yellow appear as heraldic colours in the coats-of-arms of both cities, thus connecting Herzliya with Leipzig.
Leipzig’s Marina is a cinematic vision. It is in movement. For the viewer who circles the roundabout, it changes its appearance ceaselessly. To this is added directional movement. From the central symmetry of the square it pushes outwards asymmetrically – out into the distance.
The colour object consists of seven powder-coated steel sheets, 10 mm thick, with a maximum width of 1,000 mm at ground level and a maximum height of 6,000 mm. The steel sheets are screwed onto individual concrete foundations. The foundations are sunk into the grass or the flowerbed, so that they are not visible. Thus the object seems to rear suddenly out of the ground. The area occupied by the foundations creates a small distance between the sheets, so the grass can be mown without difficulty. Their positions take account of sight lines and underground pipes and cables.