2025

auf Anfrage zugänglich

Grundschule, Mittelschule und Haus für Kinder, Strehleranger 10–16, 81735 München

Drei Spielpavillons in Mischtechnik: Kupfer, Massivholz, geschnitztes Holz, Kerto-Schichtholz, Aluminium-Maibaum, Terrakotta-Dachziegel, ca. 620 × 350 × 500 cm
Projektpartner:innen: BUREAUEUROPA, ProjektHolz

Architecture: Schmidt-Schicketanz Planer, München

Landscape architecture: TERRA.NOVA Landschaftsarchitektur, München; club L94 Landschaftsarchitekt*innen, Köln

Photos: Florian Holzherr

Text: Prof. Dr. Florian Matzner

“Ecotopia” is the term that appears on the sign attached to one of the three small pavilions, much like a street name. “Ecotopia” combines the words ecology and utopia. It also refers to the novel of the same name by American author Ernest Callenbach, who, as early as the 1970s, advocated for a form of government in which democracy, ecology, equality, and diversity are the central pillars of a future society. Today, a good 50 years later, much has been achieved, but there is still more than enough to do. It is the younger generation in particular that is confronted with the same old-new problems: climate crisis, inequality, poverty, and wars have regained a disturbing relevance. Yet, the signpost “Ecotopia” points the way to a better future; it gives hope and promises children and young people the opportunity to shape their own world and take responsibility for it. This both playful and serious approach is reflected in the three “miniature palaces” that artist Nils Norman has developed for the outdoor area.

Norman developed these small palaces based on the regional architectural style of Bavaria and described them as follows: The pavilion, on which the signpost to “Ecotopia” is attached, is located in the main courtyard and combines motifs from the Olympic Village, the sloping roofs of breweries, details from the Magdalenenklause in the Nymphenburg Palace Park, and the royal residence of Ludwig II at Schachen. Another pavilion located in the kindergarten section of the school combines a maypole and an onion dome, a roof shape considered typically Bavarian but found in a wide variety of cultures worldwide. The third pavilion is in the main schoolyard, and its carvings allude to the regional country house style. The large carved candle can be found in Bavarian cities, towns, and mountain hiking trails; according to the artist, the candle re-presents “hospitality and an illuminated path.” In the mini palaces, Nils Norman has assembled three fantasy structures from a wide variety of motifs and shapes, inviting children and young people to construct their own “thought structures” with and in these pavilions: as a meeting place, a lounge area, but also as a “thinking space” for creativity and freedom, a place for personal and social utopias.

In his work, English artist Nils Norman focuses on ecological themes and socio-politically relevant issues. He leads a class in art education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where students are trained to become art teachers in Bavarian schools. This educational approach, which understands art as being a central mediator in society with its diverse opinions, cultures, and religions, also determines the idea behind the three pavilions: these thought structures pose questions but do not provide direct answers, because children and young people must continually ask themselves these questions anew: What do I want? How do I want to live? What future awaits me? And how can I shape my own world?