More Than a Formality
Concept
Situation
In front of the new administrative building on Staubeggstrasse, white, purist marble forms stand among the trees. Viewed up close, they reveal themselves as a group of individually shaped boulders – each with a mirror-smooth, polished surface.
Inside the building, the same forms appear as white stones embedded in the floor – the two-dimensional counterpart to the sculptural stones outside. The pebbles accompany the path from outside to inside – three-dimensional and two-dimensional.
Idea
Each stone is different – like the individual concerns brought by the public to the administration.
Different sizes symbolise different scopes of projects.
The organic stone forms are interrupted by a flat, polished surface. It allows a glimpse into the interior of the marble and stands for “immersing” oneself in a subject, an application, a project. At the same time, it refers to the administrative process: examining, structuring and recording information on paper.
The path from the three-dimensional forms outside to the two-dimensional stones inside – and back again – visualises a process: receiving a concern, clarifying it, processing it, and returning it to practical reality.
A metamorphosis.
The title Not Just a Formality refers both to the forms of the stones and to the complexity of public services: administration means acting individually, correctly in form and close to practice – constantly oscillating between theory and practice.
A good administration is, quite simply, not just a formality.
The number of 21 boulders is deliberately chosen and spatially attuned to the site. The work leaves room for further associations.
Intervention in the architecture
The purist white forms blend harmoniously into the clear timber architecture while simultaneously setting a soft, sculptural counterpoint to the linear façade.
Realisation
The idea of the polished marble elements is inspired by the artificial stone floor inside the building. Instead of coming from riverbeds, the stones are quarried in Peccia and then shaped, sawn, ground, and polished by hand.
Material / Technik
Peccia marble, 21 stones ranging from approx. 40 × 35 × 40 cm to 110 × 90 × 90 cm, weighing approx. 300–1,000 kg.
Transport by regional partners. Directly positioned and anchored with ground dowels. Walkable and usable.
Weather-resistant, impregnated, with anti-graffiti protection.