A fine symbiosis between art and communication
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, MLP's eventful history finds expression in a dynamic sculpture: The MLP HELIX creates a space that fuels active spatial communication and provides exciting insights into the company history of the financial services provider.
It all began in a student pub in Heidelberg's old town: It was here that Eicke Marschollek and Manfred Lautenschläger reflected on what really good financial consulting could look like and ultimately founded MLP in 1971. After going public, founding their own bank and the MLP Corporate University, further business areas were established, new markets were opened up, targeted companies were acquired and the Group developed into one of Germany's leading financial services providers. To honor these milestones and make them visible to employees, clients and partners, Milla & Partner designed an expansive sculpture for the company's 50th anniversary, visualizing the dynamic history and making it an integral part of brand communication.
-
Photo: MLP
SCULPTURe AND EXHIBIT
In the heart of the administration and training center at the Wiesloch location, an imposing sculpture now spirals upwards on the first floor of the glassed-in casino building - it is both a work of art and a communication island. Measuring 4.75 by 7.68 by 4.12 meters, it dominates the space and radiates not only strength and stability, but also energy and flexibility - values that have always been anchored in MLP's DNA. Surrounding, amorphously shaped benches invite visitors to sit down and take a closer look. Because up close, the curved shape reveals details from the company's history: 270 small plates hold exciting information and inspire further dialog. Attached to a lightweight aluminum tube construction, they scale upwards in a visionary manner and trace the company's eventful path. The base is also intended as a seating and communication area and, with its choice of cherry wood veneer, picks up on the materiality of the existing interior architecture. An information pedestal completes the ensemble, which so becomes a new point of attraction within the MLP campus.
-
Photo: MLP
THE Flow of events
With the MLP HELIX, employees and visitors can embark on a journey through time: Using concise quotes, graphics, images and short stories, the last five decades as well as the future are thematized. The content is printed directly onto the real wood veneer panels. And since some panels are still unprinted, there is also room for future developments and milestones. The sculpture is not only expandable in terms of content: Integrated QR codes open up a digital layer that makes it possible to play sound recordings, films and further images.
Robin Palleis, Creative Technologist and Partner at Milla & Partner„A particular challenge in the construction of the sculpture was not only to create an artistic and impressive spatial work of art, but also to make it transportable. We spent a long time figuring out how to divide it as effectively as possible into a few segments so that it could be easily dismantled and reassembled at another location.”
In a total of six sections measuring approximately 4.00 by 2.25 meters, the exhibit can now be packed onto five pallets, with benches and stele forming the sixth package. In this manner, the sculpture can be transported to company events and then be expanded or individually adapted: with new or supplementary content - whether analog or digital -, light and sound elements, or even through projection mapping.
-
Photo: MLP