In late November 2021 a proposal was submitted to the art-for-architecture competition for the new office building for the Verbandsgemeinde (combined local authority) in Dierdorf. This involves an artistic design for the stairwell of the building. The proposal consists of photo collages of the individual communities in the district, deriving in formal terms from the coat of arms of the Verbandsgemeinde.
of Marienhausen
21-17-001
of Isenburg
21-17-002
of Kleinmaischeid
21-17-003
of Dierdorf
21-17-004
of Großmaischeid
21-17-005
around Dierdorf
21-17-006
The stairwell of the office building is a walking trail for everyday business, a walking trail of continual to-ing and fro-ing through the office storeys on which the affairs of the local authority are administered – in short, a walking trail through the local administration. The artistic concept turns this into a walking trail through the Verbandsgemeinde itself, through the reality that lies behind the administration. For this purpose, the Verbandsgemeinde is visualised with all the local communities that are combined within it. From one flight of stairs to the next, Stebach, Marienhausen, Isenburg, Kleinmaischeid, Grossmaischeid and Dierdorf appear in order of size, with the landscape that connects all of these communities as the concluding motif.
This shows the people who use the stairs what they are working for, or – if they are visiting the offices – that they have come to the right place with their concerns. This means that the artistic concept serves the purpose of identification. And the artistic concept creates connections. It connects those who provide services with those who take advantage of services here. It also connects the individual communities with the combined local authority. This identification should be fully accessible, equally understood and experienced by all people. For this reason no abstract symbolism is used, but concrete imagery. The imagery of the individual communities is not a catalogue of pictures but an overall image composed from impressions. By means of this purposeful act of design, the image representing a community gains an aesthetic quality and is thus enhanced. Each of the communities has its own profile, and together they all form a regional unit through the colour mood that connects them.
Identification is reinforced as the images of all communities relate formally to the coat of arms of the combined local authority. The stripes on the coat of arms are media to carry images. They point beyond the coat of arms and multiply. However, they quote the shape of the coat of arms and remain recognisable. To walk through the combined local authority is to walk through a living cosmos, through familiar and surprising elements. The purpose of this walk is to generate a strong feeling of belonging.