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Artist Gloria Lauterbach’s piece ‘Kreutzstrasse’ has won the student art competition, the goal of which was to generate ideas for decorating a concrete wall of 70 metres in length next to the new buildings under construction on campus, Väre and the School of Business.

‘Kreutzstrasse’, the winning entry of Väre Wall Art competition, impressed the jury with its strength.
Gloria Lauterbach is a postgraduate student at the Department of Art at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. She says that the artwork mimics the copper roof torn off by the storm Niklas in Zurich in Switzerland. 

‘Over time, the copper roof will be covered with patina and a birch will grow from inside, representing silent, almost meditative change’, Lauterbach says. The competition jury hopes that the community of Aalto University will welcome the work as its own and be inspired to look for aesthetics in unexpected places. 

The artwork will hopefully also have an inclusive side, which the artist will later design in cooperation with the Aalto University Student Union (AYY). ‘Kreutzstrasse’ is expected to be completed before the opening ceremony of Väre in September. The work is semi-permanent, and the next student competition for wall art will be organised in 5-7 years.

High-quality proposals challenged the jury

The jury was particularly impressed by the level of critical thinking in the competition proposals. In addition to the winner, the jury also decided to award a second prize and an honourable mention. 

The art competition searched for artwork for a concrete wall of 70 metres in length. The site can be viewed from Väre, the building of School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and the building of the School of Business. The competition was open to all Aalto University students and it received a total of 26 proposals. 

The second prize in the art competition was awarded to ‘Piiri’, an entry submitted by information technology student Emil Fihlman and postgraduate student at the Department of Art Mollu Heino. According to the jury, a refined light work such as ‘Piiri’ would fit in many different types of environments. ‘The artwork is a depiction of connections and diversity’, the artists describe their proposal.

The competition entry ‘Aalto Shape Shifters’ by student Anna Björklund from the Department of Art received an honourable mention. The jury was delighted with the slightly wacky proposal, and hoped that it would be developed further. ‘Aalto Shape Shifters is a piece made from seven metal sheets twisted in different ways, and it reflects the passers-by’, says Björklund.

Aalto University's vision for public art

Aalto University follows the art percent principle in its building projects. It is a funding model for art purchases, where approximately one percent of the project’s funds is allocated to art. Aalto University's vision for public art is to raise and ask questions about what the university is, what we are doing as part of society and what the concept ‘public’ means. 

The opening of Väre is part of the Aalto Day One event taking place on 5 September 2018. Väre has been designed by Verstas Architects. The School of Business building will be completed at the end of 2018.
 
Home page for the construction of Väre, One Campus project:
Väre Art Competition website for students:
More information about Aalto University's art: http://showcase.aalto.fi 

Further information:
Art Coordinator Outi Turpeinen, Aalto University
outi.turpeinen@aalto.fi