Art installation on the esplanade lift

The esplanade lift in Baden

The esplanade lift in Baden takes people up to a bridge, which connects the Bahnhofsplatz with the Badener Linmatpromenade. The lift can carry up to 26 passengers and the ride takes 21 seconds. The steel construction of the lift is about 25 metres high.

Installation for the city festival

For the Stadtfest 2012 we wanted to transform the lift into an art installation in the public realm. The motto of the city festival was "Stacking Stories", hence our installation was based on 2 layers of pictures. For the staging we used the 7 stories of emergency exits, which are located on the west side of the lift.

The first layer of pictures

The first layer was made of 3 x 3 m big linens, on which we depicted a new interpretation of the old verse "Ryte, Ryte, Rössli". We attached these 3 - 4 kg heavy linens to the steel construction of the lift with 12 pot magnets FTN-32 without damaging the steel construction or the paintings. Despite being exposed to wind and other elements, the linens lasted steadily for 10 days.

The second layer of pictures

The glass panels of the lift served as the second layer: We applied black paint, leaving out the masks of larger-than-life people. These openings allowed passengers to see the first layer - the painted linens.

The lift in action

This picture shows the lift with passengers in it. We transformed the cabin into a sensual experience.

Thanks to fluoro paint, the pictures by Silja Zimmermann were visible at night as well.

Note from the supermagnete team:
The project Facade signage is another example for attaching fabric signs to architectural objects.