Experiment Silence

"The truth and simplicity of nature are always the last elements of significant art."
Paul Ernst

The atelier / office / studio
Sparse and subdued light characterises the room during the day. Tranquility and concentration are a result of a quiet and diffuse atmosphere. The sparse, incident light is reflected by white walls. The austere and empty room, with it‘s few pieces of furniture, enhances this effect. The skin of the old building is exposed behind open shelves. Raw bricks – crumbly, coarse, matt – are visible behind the books while working in the library.

The subliminal tranquility of the room reflects on the social interaction and the handling with tools. The atmosphere resembling a haze, creates an entrance to the present. The chaotic, bustling outer area of the city is replaced by this modesty without disregarding the external; the view on the surrounding urban landscape of the aikido-studio, the train tracks and the adjoining industry are not only preserved but are emphasized by the emptiness of the surrounding space and will continue to be for its sake.

In dependence on the shakkei, the „borrowed landscape“, a traditional approach on japanese garden design, the exterior is „caught alive“ [ikedori] and is a fundamental element of the here grounded, reinventing culture, now witnessing an evolutionary change with the upcoming renovation.

The bathroom
The only right way to handle the darkest corner of the whole room was to pay due attention to it. This meant to emphasise and keep it’s distinctive character. While the work areas were painted white, the bathroom was designed to allow for a moment of peace, a retreat from the world of complicated work processes – to find the inner self.

Deep black viscous oil was worked into plain plywood. It was applied layer for layer and rubbed slowly and with awareness into the pores, grain and knotholes. The difficulty was, like with ink or watercolour drawings, to master the colour intensity of the different shades of black. They were created in a long process of constant applying and removing the oil. Some layers were sanded while still moist and the surface was sealed by the air-dry oil with a silk-matt smoothness.

The process was continued until some of the softer wooden layers were saturated with the blackness that now characterises the infinity of the numerous niches of the bathroom. While complete darkness could unfold in some places, other layers absorbed the oil more sparsely, as if they wanted to conserve the last glimmer of light in themselves. There by they created something that no designer would have been able to produce on a rational level. Just as little as the artist can replicate the inimitable mark of a spontaneous gesture that dropped from the tip of the pen onto the paper.

The aim was to refrain from the decorative and constructed moment of design to gain an intuitive understanding for the space and it’s inherent aura. The consistency of the seeping through blackness is an attempt to dissolve the known connections between material and dimensions to make the „beyond“ visible. Every moment shall be experienced consciously. The cleaning of the hands, the moment water touches the skin and combines with soap. Nothing shall distract.

22quadrat