On 9 May 2016 an initial concept for how art could be integrated into the architecture of a new office building, currently under construction, was presented to the board of VR Bank Südpfalz in Landau in the Palatinate. The leitmotif “Brückenbau” was evolved from the conditions given by the new building, the site, the architecture and the client VR Bank, as the theme of a bridge and bridging is manifested in diverse ways in these given conditions. (On this concept also see: Report 14/2016, Report 03/2018, Report 04/2018, Report 05/2018, Report 11/2018, Report 25/2018, Report 26/2018, Report 27/2018 and Report 28/2018.)
new building
on Waffenstrasse
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of the façade
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projections
over the Queich
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of the bridging
process
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of the bridging
process
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of the bridging
process
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The client:
VR Bank Südpfalz is a regional provider of financial services and a member of the Bundesverband (German federal association) of Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken (BVR). This makes it part of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken brand, which distinguishes itself from competitors through its history and structure as a cooperative. VR Südpfalz is anchored in the region and its population, as it emerged from successive mergers of smaller, local banks. The conclusion of this process was the merger of the Volksbank and Raiffeisenbank.
depiction
of the merger
history
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in this depiction
emphasise
the roots aspect.
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in this depiction
emphasise
the bridge aspect.
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trademarks
represent the fusion
as a parataxis.
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corporate colours
with the
“white bridge”
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represents the fusion
as a symbiosis.
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of the trademark
lies in its contour.
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the V figure depicts
reminiscences
of what has been.
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depicts the hinge,
and thus the bridge.
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Implementation:
A generative image system is proposed that relates to the corporate design and its visual substance. The functions of art for architecture and corporate design are partly the same, partly different. Both promote identification. Both related to company and brand values. Both create a characteristic appearance through aesthetic means. Yet the differences are obvious. Corporate design supports the bundling of brand experiences. All perceptions that derive from the brand can be attributed to a constant image – the brand image established through corporate design. Only through this sensual point of reference does the brand acquire value. Corporate design is omnipresent, and is not bound to locations. Art for architecture, by contrast, lives from symbiosis with its site. By its constant presence it gives depth to a contemplative experience of seeing. Corporate design generates a relationship. Art for architecture opens a dimension. The common denominator is visual language – in the case of the concept in question, colour and the sign element.
The generative image system consists of two components: of colour per se and structures acting as bearers of colour and colour shapes. Both components originated in the corporate design of the Volksbank/Raiffeisenbank: in the company colours and in the logo. Here the criteria shift. The graphic element, a characteristic feature of communication design, gives way to the painterly element, a property of a light-space continuum. In concrete terms this means that the colour abandons its reduction to a signal character and opens up to a more comprehensive and more opulently orchestrated palette. The sign abandons its scriptural and organic manner and subordinates itself, a module in a structural context. The generative image system is a response to the history of the Volksbank/Raiffeisenbank. Deriving from many sources, it finally streams into diversity and abundance. The brand, with its affinity to the individual, is predestined for an image concept that draws its vitality from a wealth of variations
is opened out
and differentiated.
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orange
is opened out
and differentiated.
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of accentuation
are added
as a “colour bridge”.
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constructive part
of the V figure
becomes
the base element.
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there emerges
a module
for the generative
image system.
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symmetry,
the module diverges
from the V figure.
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of the generative
image system
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is congruent with
the grid elements.
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unsystematic
distribution
of colour
gives life to
the image solutions.
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The application of the image system to the individualisation of workplaces:
The workplace is not only the functional unit that carries out administrative work, but also a topos where fundamental matters are lived: the content of the brand, the avowal of the individual, the orientation to the customer’s point of view – in short, the dictum that “every person has something that makes him or her tick”. It is thus a logical step to individualise workplaces – the offices – by means of individual images derived from the scope of variation in the generative image system.
On the walls next to the room-high office doors, there will be an area of equal height for images, half as wide as the door and always on to the side where the door opens. This area, like a threshold image, will precisely mark the entrance and, like a bridge, connect inside with outside. Those who open the door, pass the image. This lends a physical dimension to the act of perception. The viewer walks through the image. The person who enters, sees it. In each case an activity takes place. This active perception will be established in daily working life. The generative image system makes a different motif available for each office door. In this way the offices, the workplaces of employees, are individualised. This means that an aesthetic programme creates identification.
On the outside, the corridor side, the colour mood is extremely reduced. The image appears in grisaille mode. The colour effect remains subdued. The doors, emphasised by the images, form a rhythm that accentuates the corridor. Inside the offices, the image motif appears in colour mode. This draws attention to the theme of inside and outside. The interior of the rooms is clearly emphasised, because what happens there gives the whole building its meaning. Here the identification with the image takes place. The people who constantly work in the rooms know “their” image precisely and see how it differs from those in other offices when they visit their colleagues who work in other rooms. In this way, an increasing sense of uniqueness is acquired by their own offices. This enhances the meaning of their own work, but also their belonging to a greater whole that lives from shared values.
on the corridor side
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on the inside
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in the corridors
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in a corridor
(image family)
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in a second corridor
(a further
image family)
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individual image
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with dominant
orange
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with dominant white
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individual image
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of a grid structure
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of the grid structure
in the opposite
direction
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of reading
the grid structure
(stylised V figure)
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image family
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image family
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on the ground floor
without accentuation
by colour
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on the first floor
with accentuation
in blue
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on the second floor
with accentuation
in orange
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on the third floor
with accentuation
in blue and orange
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Application of the image system for the involvement of employees:
The personnel style of the VR Bank Südpfalz is well developed and oriented so consciously to the individuality of people that involvement of the workforce seems to be nothing less than essential. The involvement of personnel is given by the fact that a female employee perceives HER image and a male employee HIS image in an individualised workplace. But there are reasons for taking the individualisation yet further. Reasons of principle, on the one hand: shared values that are practised, the guiding idea of the bridge, the creed of individuality: “Every person has ...” On the other hand, there are practical reasons: several people in one office share an image. People change offices and thus encounter an image that is new to them. The most important reason is undoubtedly the fact that by no means all of the 500 employees of VR Bank Südpfalz will work in the new building. Most are employed in the numerous branch offices. But they all belong. And all of them relate to the new office building in its role as the company headquarters. It therefore appears appropriate that the artistic concept should grow beyond the building and in equal measure reach those who participate in the new offices through belonging to VR Bank Südpfalz, even though they do not work there on a daily basis.