Chemnitz Fountain

Fountain for Chemnitz, Market Square_international competition
competition entry: 2nd prize
location: Chemnitz, Germany
project date: 2019
type: public
client: City of Chemnitz

author: Mojca Kocbek
collaborator: Martin Kruh

The proposal for the fountain was made for the Market Square in Chemnitz – the city in north-east part of Germany.

The main principle in designing the fountain on Chemnitz Market Square was establishing a clear and recognisable image of the new fountain within a wider context of the city of Chemnitz. The fountain’s design establishes a dialogue both with historic buildings located in the central square as well as alluding to an industrial past/present of the city of Chemnitz in its design and choice of materials. The steel pipe and its continuation into a loop alludes to and merges the tales of a rich history in the automotive and textile industries. With its visual and spatial likeness, the fountain subtly intertwines the reflections of the past, defined by historic buildings strewn along the Market Square, and the narrative of the present and the future, defined by the city’s two leading industries.   

The Market Square, with its funnel shape and multi-layered walkways of historic buildings surrounding it, represents an incredibly dynamic city-forming entity. Vaults featured in particular buildings and arcades aid in creating a dynamic feel, with the Rathaus and its standout red-rimmed vaults chief among them.This unbroken trajectory of growth and innovation can similarly be found in the fountain’s circular shape. In a symbolic rendition of a perpetuum mobile, this vaulted shape is reflected in the fountain’s looped curves. A key additional reference stems from the history of art, as one of the inspirations for the fountain’s design is the work of German artist Eva Hesse. Her devotion to minimalist shapes, unconventional materials, repetition and to the industrial in everyday life, seemed like an ideal starting point from which to grow and develop our concept.