Subway Bonn main station

Metropolis

Stair accesses in the subway area Bonn Hauptbahnhof 2023

Thomas Mann street, Bonn 2024

Reverse glass print, subway entrances between the main station and the pedestrian zone

We visually and illusionistically expanded the relatively narrow exits to the subway lines at Bonn Central Station.

The “Bonn Hole” becomes a cathedral—an everyday experience space. Subway exits are places that are passed through as quickly as possible on the way from A to B – not places for reflection – functionally characterized by external time constraints. These exits are charged with sensual and positive energy. These entrances are charged with sensuality and positivity. In keeping with Bonn's baroque history, we refer to the ceiling paintings of that era, which visually open up and remove the boundaries of the built space. Surreal constructed spaces overlay the familiar spatial experience – the real, underground entrance is virtually extended into the seemingly infinite. We extend the physical space into the distance in perspective. The constructed staircases connect precisely to the real ones and are part of a large, open architecture. The above-ground exits, which form the entrance to the city, set the mood for the wall works on the track exits. At the same time, they reflect the real surroundings of the station exits in a watercolor-like manner. Photographic motifs of the immediate station surroundings appear as textures in mirrored form. They overlap or dissolve mosaic-like into an abstract color scheme that invites discovery even with frequent use and closer inspection.

A narrative connection to the situation above ground emerges—the metropolis continues to be built underground without limits. The visible and the invisible, above and below, come together to form a whole. The division between metro and polis is eliminated in analogy to Fritz Lang's film “Metropolis.”

Heike Weber and Walter Eul, 2024

realisation Glasmalerei Peters