Spread the Word

by Julia Müller and Grozde Sarlak

[Concept]
The city archive of Weimar has been chosen as an area of intervention. The archive as a body stands in the present, keeping the past for the future. The recent conservation plan for the new city archive of Weimar, proposes an underground storage unit. In an ironic turn of events, in order to preserve the city’s history, documents will be kept below sea level.

The object of the intervention stands as a critique for ‘under-grounding’ a city’s historical documents and records – its experience - in order to preserve them as evidence of history. The act of ‘under-grounding’ - putting something below the surface of the earth - makes the object stealth, clandestine and secret. In that sense, the experience is sealed in the archive, becoming invisible, inaccessible and exclusive.

The main objective of the intervention is to create experience by ‘un-grounding’ the hidden underground archive, using the form of a fountain. The image of a fountain symbolizes the power and energy of bringing objects from below the surface to light.

The intervention on the construction site is a temporary pavilion. The tower overlooks the facade of the archive and can be seen from a distance. It marks the place and demands the public’s attention. Transparent to the outside it communicates its content. Everyone has unlimited access to the pavilion. Pillars filled with documents release the papers by forced air circulation into the open space. As they fall freely, one can reach out for them and discover their contents - revealing the city’s experiences.