The
new building of ABM Generali in Cologne has four independent
elevator systems, which allow a flexible entrance to the
office spaces. Leaving the elevator in the 3rd floor the
employees are confronted with a glass wall behind which
differently curved metal mirrors are installed. Each elevator
lobby varies through the convex and concave shapes of the
mirrors, which distort the space ornamentally, forming a
horizontal, vertical or diagonal wave. Each room gets a
different atmosphere in the framework of this serial work.
Moving through the space the passer-by create constantly
new effects. Space and body are dissolving to abstract forms,
a step later they get distorted, strechted or blurred, similar
to distorting mirrors in a fun house. The opening of the
elevator door becomes a theatrical moment and confronts
the passer-by with a distorted image of reality. Before
entering the office corridor the lobby situation constructs
a playful irritation in the routine of daily work. As a
gap between the different levels of the company it becomes
a surreal landing zone before re-entering reality. |