Citizens in Motion
The concept for the National Monument to Freedom and Unity in Berlin, designed by Milla & Partner, is titled „Citizens in Motion“.
A message that Milla & Partner convey in an unexpected manner. The monument is animate and is not to be approached merely as an object for contemplation - the intention is that people shall actually enter it and walk on it and set it in motion, movement being achieved by visitors working together as a group. The design was created in a spirit where, by means of creative action, individuals are enabled to bring benefit to the community and as a consequence shape society. The visitors themselves - the citizens who set the whole in motion - become an active part of the monument. The vision is that it will be an aesthetically ambitious, continually changing choreographic expression of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989.
Extensive testing on a 1:1 scale required
The monument is a dynamic object that will be moved in slow motion by visitors. It is unique in form, content, interaction principle and its technological challenges. This requires extensive testing on a 1:1 scale.
In 2011, our plans in terms of gradients and the speed of movement of man and object were tested on a drawbridge in Mannheim which has almost identical dimensions to those of one half of the monument. In 2013, further lont-term testing took place: the surfaces of the monument, the angle of inclination, the accessibility and impact for the visitors were tested on the basis of a 1:1 earth model: people of different ages, from different backgrounds and in diverse group-dynamic constellations strolled, walked, ran and filled the monument.
Sebastian Letz, Architect and Creativ Director„The monument is a social sculpture. It comes to life when people gather, communicate and move together. It´s an invitation to participation and an image of genuine democracy.”
INFORMATION AND STATEMENT
OFFENER BRIEF VON DR. WOLFGANG THIERSE, GÜNTER NOOKE, FLORIAN MAUSBACH, GÜNTER JESCHONNEK
Antrag der Fraktionen der CDU/CSU und SPD
Beschlüsse zum Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal konsequent umsetzen
01.06.2017
Antrag Bundestag Drs18 12550