1479-BOA-BER.DE-2015
Client: Architecture Commission of OISTAT
Status: Competition (2015)
Location: Berlin, Germany
Climate: Continental, Temperate
Material: Undefined
Environment: Riverside
Visualizer: Studio
Scale: 169 ㎡ Small
Types: Intervention, Microarchitecture
We propose to use the existing machines of the ice-making factory on the opposite bank of the Spree river in Berlin to produce a floating stage out of block ice pieces.
Block Ice
Block ice is typically 20cm wide and deep, and 150cm long. With water and salt, 4225 pieces can be “glued” together to create a 13m x 13m large stage that floats on water.
Balance
Such a floating platform would be ideal to stage a theatre version of the Academy Award-winning animated film “Balance” from 1989, the year in which the Berlin Wall fell.
Balance between East and West
As the site was the boundary between East and West Berlin before 1989, the five strange men of the performance will not only balance on a platform, but as well between east and west.
Ephemeral Stage
As the stage is made of ice blocks, it will melt after a couple of days in the water transforming the performance into an ephemeral event and a unique moment.
Audience Space and Facilities
We propose to locate the space for the audience and all the facilities for the theatre on the land using the existing resources of the Holzmarkt as much as possible.