Golden Gate
Gangway in the Fürstenfeldbruck school centre, 2009
Walkable sculpture in the form of a gangway, Kunst am Bau project
There is a gangway, 4.50m high, in the school centre’s access area. The silver shine and gold markings lend the staircase the appearance of a mysterious artefact. A gangway as image of departure and transition: take-off and flight. A symbol of education as a path. Step by step we climb, until we finally reach the platform, just as one class after the other is completed until graduation. The final step on solid ground. Where we go from there is left up to each one of us. The Golden Gate is the gateway to adulthood. The image is simple and clear: it stands for one’s own freedom. Each student aims for self-determination. Once at the top, he must rely on himself, how he arrives there, what he takes with him, will characterise his path. Sitting on the staircase and musing, such thoughts might occur to one or the other among us.
The Golden Gate becomes a meeting point of the students. It is both an arena and a sculpture. The image of mobility suggests lightness. It is a living symbol of the students’ development. One stands exposed there: as an airline passenger at the moment of entry takes a look around and waves one last time. From below as from above, the Golden Gate conveys its image in a lively and appealing way. The sculpture with the title Golden Gate becomes a place of communication for students and teachers, a sign for the school, a symbol of freedom, departure, the future.
