Light sculpture; electroluminescent screen printing, solar cells, steel structure, glass, control electronics, 2.5 x 2.5 x 8 m
Boxenstop, 2000
Installation view: Bürgerpark Braunschweig, on the occasion of the exhibition “Lichtparcours Braunschweig” 2000.
In Braunschweig’s Bürgerpark, not far from a pedestrian bridge over the River Oker, is a small stone wall on the bank. It probably serves to screen off sewage pipes. Above this wall is the pit stop: a luminous, walk-in glass container, the front side of which protrudes over the water. During the day, its appearance is discreet, but at night it creates a luminous image in the landscape. When you enter the interior via the small staircase from the bank, the sculpture becomes a space that can be used functionally like any architecture. The outer walls as well as the ceiling of the pit stop consist of two layers. Solar cells are attached to the outer skin at regular intervals, which collect sunlight during the day. The energy is then temporarily stored and at night it is transferred to the inner skin via electroluminescence cells (handmade screen prints). Formally, the luminous surfaces have been designed in such a way that they exactly cover the backs of the solar cells located on the outer skin of the container. The transparent gaps between the solar cells create a play of light in the interior during the day, which creates patterns. From dusk onwards, this pattern is inverted and the self-luminous luminescent surfaces, which have the same shape as the solar cells, now radiate their light into the interior.