As steep as the construction costs of the central bus station (ZOB) – so the rope with sailor’s knots rises up: the work of art “Knotenpunkt”, which caused a lot of criticism even before it was installed!
by Boris Dombrowski
The design comes from object artist Michael Sailstorfer (43). He is the winner of the art competition organized by the Senate and the BVG, among others. The task was to design art on the building specially developed for the central bus station.
Background: In the case of public building measures, Berlin is obliged to use part of the building funds for art.
Sailstorfer’s rope was convincing because it “spatially encompasses the train station as the central ‘traffic hub’ of Berlin’s long-distance bus service and at the same time creates references to architectural icons of Berlin’s urban space,” according to the authority of Transport Senator Bettina Jarasch (53, Greens).
203,000 euros are now available for the art knot. However, critics see the knot more as a symbol for the stranglehold of the exploding conversion costs of the ZOB compared to the ICC: instead of originally 14.3 million euros, the total costs are now 39.1 million euros.
“The ZOB is an example of how the costs get out of hand when the administration does not comply with its own state requirements,” said Alexander Kraus (51), head of the Berlin Taxpayers’ Association (BdSt), to the BZ
“We’re already up to our chins in water in the state budget,” he warns, and admonishes: “If you really want to save, you should check whether the money for Kunst am Bau projects isn’t better for plugging the holes in the budget or in Berlin’s streets should be used!”
Gold nest in school and gold watch at the Charité – one was stolen, the other was criticized
gold nest: “24 kt” is the name of the work by the artist Thorsten Goldberg (61) from Steglitz: 74 branches made of 814 grams of 999 gold. At the end of 2018, the gold nest (value at the time: 28,000 euros) – protected by bulletproof glass – was unveiled as art in the new building of the Biesdorf elementary school on Fuchsberg.
The special thing: After 14 years, students, teachers and parents should decide what to do with it. In other words: “The nest is both the financial and ideal basis for the school,” Goldberg’s idea.
But half a year later, the school treasure (the price of gold was now around 80,000 euros!) was stolen
gold watch: The gigantic large clock (title: “The Golden Hour”), which was installed opposite the Charité ward building in Mitte at the end of 2017, is also art in the building. Total costs for the work by the Berlin artist Renate Wolff: 450,000 euros.
Initially, however, only 324,000 euros was mentioned. At the time, the taxpayers’ association criticized: “The clinics are pushing a renovation backlog in the billions. It is five to twelve for the financial recovery of the Berlin clinics.”