In June 2023 a proposal was submitted for an art-for-architecture competition for the nursery school in Puderbach. In the outdoor area of the nursery school an object is to be installed that supports the children’s perception by giving them the opportunity to look actively, to feel, listen or smell.
The children of the Puderbach nursery will gain an installation for balancing that complements the planned balancing circuit and adds significant elements to it. Here the children will be faced with new challenges.
> They can show that they can balance on a round object.
> They can show that they can cope with increasing height.
> They can show that they do not lose balance because of the spirals.
The spirals constitute an optical disturbance that makes balancing more difficult because they are a distraction from the straight path. Thus, the children are familiarised with an optical phenomenon. They can avoid it by looking upwards, and in effect balancing blind. In this case, a tactile experience is added to the optical experience. The children can feel their way with their feet. In the lower area, the spirals are so close together that the children can balance on several spirals hand in hand. When the spirals are further apart, the children have to cope for themselves.
The children can compete with one another. Who can manage which spirals? Who goes furthest, and who can reach the end of the spirals? In this way, the work of art is an object for self-knowledge. By tackling the challenges, the children at the same time hone their view of aesthetic values. The balancing spirals relate to the colours of the architecture and thus confirm the aesthetic quality of colour.