NEURONENBESCHLEUNIGER ("NEURON ACCELERATOR") - Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin-Adlershof- realized in August 2025.
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin-Adlershof
- 1st price in international public art competition -
Nobel Prize winner in economics Daniel Kahnemann makes a clear distinction between two speeds of thought: Fast, intuitive thinking ideally complements slow, scientific thinking, which is characterized by statistics. In social, group-dynamic situations in particular, we like to rely on fast thinking, which tends to be influenced by emotions.
The artwork NEURONENBESCHLEUNIGER (NEURON ACCELERATOR) aims to tap into this potential of intuition and the rapid flow of ideas in a new way. It will propose a dynamically shaped ring sculpture that offers the spatial and symbolic framework for a new kind of communal ritual at HZB:
SOCIAL SCULPTURE:
What if top researchers could simply meet here informally and as if by chance to brainstorm? If it wasn't embarrassing or inappropriate to ask for new connections and ideas? If it were possible to talk to each other in a low-threshold way and come up with new solutions more quickly?
The participants in these open, spontaneous, and creative situations become part of a “social sculpture” in the sense of Joseph Beuys' expanded concept of art.The NEURONENBESCHLEUNIGER also symbolically opens up the space for this:
Through the shape of the ring, it embodies the community of researchers and also establishes a reference to the circular particle accelerator Bessy II in terms of content. The HZB is getting a work of art with a high potential for interaction and identification.
PLACE MAKING:
The NEURONENBESCHLEUNIGER (NEURON ACCELERATOR) takes up its position at the side in front of the entrance. It is precisely inscribed in the existing distinctive yellow brick pattern of the exterior design. The underground pipeline is not built over, and the escape routes are not obstructed. Thanks to its dimensions, which have been further developed compared to the first competition idea, the neuron accelerator unfolds its full potential here to accentuate and enliven the entrance square.
The dynamic ring shape looks like a snapshot of an abstract acceleration process. Its all-visible, all-round sculptural quality, created on the 2d computer screen, was tested, and its dynamic qualities were confirmed using a 3D-printed working model.
CONSTRUCTION made of high-performance concrete:
- Self-compacting and colored white
- W x D x H: approx. 7.25 m x 7.25 m x 1.25 m
The CAD model was first cut digitally from rigid foam and then molded in three parts in GRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic).
- Surface: hydrophobized and impregnated.
- The concrete is dyed through in white pigment. In a matte, shiny, warm, grayish white, the very smooth concrete of NEURONENBESCHLEUNIGER creates a deliberate contrast to the rough and dark gray concrete surfaces of the existing structures
- The artwork conveys a sense of robustness while maintaining the smooth and elegant, almost ceramic quality of the high-performance concrete.
Extremely durable: concrete is at its best when it lives and is allowed to naturally grow older. A natural patina then develops over time. We apply an impregnate to the artwork in the studio. (This primarily serves to protect against algae.)
competition renderings:
