Tidal Fountain

 Art in Architecture Competition, Berlin Plötzensee Prison, 1986

Tidal Fountain Art in Architecture Competition – Berlin Plötzensee Prison

"Where there are dams, there shall be a river."

The design for the Tidal Fountain addresses the theme of time – an aspect that becomes particularly poignant in the context of a prison. Time appears here as an immediate intrusion into freedom: as enforced waiting, as drawn-out transience, as hope for what is to come.

The object is conceived as an imaginary clockwork mechanism. Water drives the wheels like a mill, creating a calm, playfully changing flow. In the colder months, wind, rain, and snow take over the movement, so that the mechanism never completely stops. Zodiac and constellation symbols appear on the surfaces of the wheels, bringing cosmic processes into play.

In this way, the fountain connects the concrete—the mechanics of its drive—with the symbolic—the representation of time as "now," "duration," "change," "emergence," and "passing away."

As a poetic time machine, the Tidal Fountain is also a place for slowing down, contemplation, and dreaming. It is intended to form a counterpoint within the strict environment of the institution: an invitation to experience the moment and to understand the interplay of the elements as a metaphor for the flow of life.