RUNDUM NRW
Rundum NRW, Parliament, Düsseldorf
RUNDUM NRW
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia at the state parliament of NRW
rund.um (round.about)
1. in the round; all around
2. completely; entirely
The state parliament building in Düsseldorf was built in the 1980s to a design by architects Fritz Eller, Erich Moser, Robert Walter + Partner in the style of structuralism in an "overall circular structure". A "play with circles" underlies the design and conveys, according to the architects, that in a parliament "the wheels mesh like in a clock." Above all, the building was intended to be open in order to make political processes transparent and to conduct a dialogue with the citizens. The round of 27 circles and cylinders, rings and clasps is the consistent design element. The parliamentary group and committee rooms are also round, including the ring-shaped tables. Hartung/Trenz's projection adapts this formal language and makes it visible and tangible again on the rectangular intersections of the circle segments. It covers the massive-looking, pillar and wall structures of the state parliament building with pulsating writings set in circles.
The projected texts are all quotations, song lyrics, song or book titles, lines of poetry, aphorisms and sayings of well-known personalities of North Rhine-Westphalia. They are representative of many generations and areas of life, from art and culture, business and science, politics, philosophy, theology, media and sports. Historical celebrities closely associated with the state, such as Beethoven or Rubens, also have their say. From the diversity of voices and statements, an overall picture of the people of this federal state, their thinking and feeling, their peculiarities and their mentality emerges in dialogue with the state parliament building. As an image, it almost seems as if the plenary hall were to stand up vertically, be depicted on the façade, and be filled with the voices of the people. A firework of light and language. The basic text material may well vary for individual animation sequences; in the entrance area, for example, constitutional texts serve as the basis.
Further design elements:
In addition to white as the projection light, the CI colors of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, green and red, appear again and again. On the west side of the building facing the Rhine, the circular projections pick up the undulation of the river. The quotes also flow in waves across the façade. Where the projection surfaces are in visible relation to each other, especially in the north and south surfaces of the main entrance, the circular movements react with each other and enter into dialogue.