Glass fibre. Concrete. Shape.

concrete® urban design

glass f ibre concrete

boomer one

boomer two

waver

pato

s tones

arpa

osa

lounger

shor ty

tab loo

k irk

Concrete® Urban Design

Designers are a lways in search of someth ing

specia l . A thought inspires an idea that leads

to a draf t and then resu l ts in a mode l . However,

a s trong par tner is required for i ts rea l isa t ion .

This par tner was quick ly found once the land-

scape archi tec ts of rea lgrün were awarded with

the tender to design the Arnu lfpark in Munich .

Together we designed an urban park landscape

consis t ing of a p layground and an adventure

area , of p lay ing wal ls and p layground e lements ,

of f ree ly combinab le seat ing bubb les and park

furn i ture. The Arpa seat ing bench was born ,

and wi th i t the Concrete® Urban Design concept .

Concre te ® Urban Des ign ma rk s t he co l l abor a t ion

of de s igner s , a rch i te c t s and l andsc ape a rch i te c t s

i n combinat ion w i t h w i t h ou r k now-how. And of

ou r cou r age to re a l i se de s ign ide as wh ich ha rd ly

anybody da red to t ack le . We a re t u rn ing i nto

re a l i t y eve r y t h ing t ha t i s fe a s ib le . With cu r i-

os i t y, ent hus i a sm and pas s ion . We a re pou r ing

t he des igner s ’ v i s ions i nto conc re te – i nto g l a s s

f ibre conc re te . And a re t hus cont r ibut i ng to g ive

a un ique look a l so to publ i c space . Conc re te ®

Urban Des ign i s s t r i k i ng a new pat h w i t h t h i s

concept . And w i l l cont i nue to do so .

»Good material only unfolds its full potential in a perfect shape.«Kornelius Hauber,

Production Manager Glass Fibre Concrete Division

Glass Fibre Concrete

For the pas t 20 years we have been in tensive ly

dea l ing wi th g lass f ibre concrete. L ike on ly a

few in Germany we learned to produce a great

var ie ty of shapes , co lours and sur faces out

of th is wonder fu l mater ia l . And what ’s best :

so-ca l led g lass f ibre f i l aments are rep lacing

convent iona l s tee l re inforcement . That way we

can produce ex tremely th in-wal led and complex

objec ts . This adds zes t to the contrad ic t ion of

th is ex traord inary furn i ture - what comes a long

as so l id and massive a t f i rs t g lance a t the same

t ime appears to be l ight , even f loa t ing .

Dur ing t he produc t ion process t he g l a s s f ibre

conc re te i s a l lowed to mat u re ju s t l i ke good

cheese – for a pe r iod of 20 days , w i t hout d r aught

and a t cons t ant temper a t u re s and w i t h a f fe c t ion-

a te c a re . In t he end t he su r f ace w i l l be re f i n-

i shed , washed and impregnated . Th i s makes

t he ob jec t ’s su r f ace weat her-proof and g ive s i t

i t s rough ve lve t y tex t u re . Gl a s s f ibre conc re te

i s a na t u r a l produc t . Colou r i s not appl ied but

added a s a p igment i ns te ad , wh ich dyes t he

mat r i x . Fu rn i t u re made of g l a s s f ibre conc re te

absorbs moi s t u re wh ich i t t hen re le a se s . The

p iece s of f u rn i t u re a re qu ick ly ad jus t i ng to t he

ambient temper a t u re and a re wa rm ing up i n t he

sun where as ob jec t s made of convent iona l so l id

conc re te w i l l rema in co ld for qu i te a long t ime .

Gl a s s f ibre conc re te i s a l i v i ng mat te r – w ind and

weat her , hum id i t y and sun l ight a re ever chang ing

i t s su r f ace s t r uc t u re , but not i t s subs t ance . Fu r-

n i t u re of g l a s s f ibre conc re te i s s t y l i sh and has

s t reng th of cha r ac te r. Not even t he ye a r s pa s s i ng

cou ld do i t any ha rm .

»Play is man’s first poetry.« Jean Paul

boomer one

boomer one | boomer two

boomer is sensuous in every respec t ; r ich of contras ts in shape and ef fec t . The organica l ly f loa t ing shape with a pre-

cise c losure is reminding us of a s tre tched torso on the one hand , and on the other there is the mater ia l tha t seems to

be so hard . Present but reserved a t the same t ime, organic and sof t , even fragi le , boomer is nur tur ing the not ion of

growing and f loa t ing .

With boomer one and boomer t wo t he des igner s not on ly deve loped a p iece of se a t i ng f u rn i t u re but a l so a s cu lpt u re t ha t

v i v id ly approaches and fo l lows ambient and wav ing shapes , f i t t i ng snugly to t hem and cont i nu ing t he i r mot ion . Never t he -

le s s boomer i s a l so s t and ing on i t s own , appea r s to be jov i a l and decent and i nv i te s you to ch i l l out and l i nger. For t h i s

n iche boomer i s meet i ng requ i rement s way beyond any s t anda rds what soever. Gl a s s f ibre conc re te conv inced t he des ign-

er s w i t h i t s so l idness , a k i n i n cha r ac te r and nat u re to s tone , and w i t h i t s s cu lpt ab i l i t y, pu r i t y and un ique hapt i c s .

design boomer one and boomer two

Elke Berger

Studio B landscape archi tec ture and

Norman Herwig ,

Archi tec t

»Design has the task to br ing in a harmonious shape a l l programmatic

specif ica t ions and objec t ives that have an ef fec t on a projec t .«

Elke Berger

»The design of a basic commodi ty r ight to the point of urban design is t r ig-

ger ing a range of fee l ings wi th in a l l of us . A good design makes sure these

are posi t ive.«

Norman Herwig

boomer two

»Every communication has content and a relationship aspect, so that the latter determines the former.«Paul Watzlawick

waver

With waver we created a scu lptura l so lu t ion of g lass f ibre concrete that is doing wi thout v is ib ly s truc tura l deta i ls . In-

s tead , waver broadens the sensory percept ion of a three-d imensiona l p iece of furn i ture by an audi tory moment . There-

fore an approach is not on ly possib le when si t t ing or ly ing but now a lso wi th the ears .

For t he des igner s of s i na i de s ign ing of ob jec t s i s t he consequence of an i ntens ive exam inat ion of publ i c space or u rban

p l ann ing. In t h i s re spec t de s ign ing of ob jec t s i s a lways se r v ing an over a l l de s ign . With “ waver ” t he ide a of a “spe a k ing

p iece of f u rn i t u re” wh ich or ig ina ted wh i le work ing on a d r a f t for t he Campus of t he reg iona l f lower show in Ascher s le -

ben i n 2010 i s t a k i ng shape , i nsp i red by t he le a f of t he Ole a r i a A rbore scens , an everg reen bush p l ant f rom t he lowl ands of

New Zea l and ’s Nor t h I s l and . The des igner s of s i na i deve loped i t s cha r ac te r i s t i c shape f rom a se r ie s of d r a f t e lement s to a

geomet r ic a l ly va r y ing shape t ha t was equ ipped w i t h an aud io sys tem .

design waver

A .W. Faust

sina i .

Gese l lschaf t von Landschaf tsarchi tekten mbH

Ber l in

»No design , whether ambi t ioned or not , is wi thout a s ta tement .

Every shape has – in tent iona l ly or unintent iona l ly – a spir i tua l

content .«

A .W. Faust

pato, design Eva Rudolph

»Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.«Albert Einstein

stone, pato

A cut pebb le in a watery creek bed – s trok ing and rubbing i t af fec t ionate ly is not on ly someth ing for a ch i ld ’s hand.

Stone is tak ing up the fami l iar shape and is creat ing a d is tressing but never the less fascinat ing d imension . Just as i f i t

were an appea l ing inv i ta t ion to take a seat , in terconnec t and communicate , contempla te and re lax .

Ple ase touch! Stone i s a hand-cha rm ing touchs tone i n XL format , spec t acu l a r ly d imens ioned and ye t so l ight we ight . I t s

na t u r a l look and t he rough ve lve t y su r f ace a re show ing t he g l a s s f ibre conc re te ’s except iona l v i su a l appea r ance and hapt i c s

to t he i r ve r y bes t advant age . Stones a re i nt roduc ing new accent s i ndoors and outdoor s , for p l ay ing , ly i ng or s i t t i ng. Or

s imply ju s t a s an eye -c andy; on t he p l ayg round , i n t he pa rk or i n you r own ga rden .

Pato , a f lower t rough i n a c apt i va t i ng s t y l i s t i c shape – s imple ye t not too dominant – i s ava i l ab le i n va r ious s i ze s and col-

ou r s .

design s tone, pato

Eva Rudo lph

Independent archi tec t

L indenberg

»During my design process the l ines between archi tec ture and de-

sign become b lurred . That way spat ia l so lu t ions are created wi th a

c lear harmony that l ink the in ter ior wi th the ex ter ior.«

Eva Rudo lph

»Form is sedimented content.«Theodor W. Adorno

arpa

Harmonising shape and func t ion determines the charac ter of the rea lgrün landscape archi tec ts’ ar t is t ic v is ion . I ts

consis tent rea l isa t ion is ref lec ted in the Arpa seat ing bench. The conceptua l design of the complex three-d imensiona l

shape of the ho l low concrete body equa l ly meets the demand for func t iona l i t y, ergonomics and modu lar i t y. The mate-

r ia l ’s robustness and durabi l i t y, i ts comfor tab le sur face hapt ics and the g lass f ibre concrete’s shades of co lours are

comple t ing th is t r iad .

The c r uc i a l f ac tor was a cont r ac t for a pa rk i n Mun ich . Rea lg r ün l andsc ape a rch i te c t s deve loped t he pa rk ’s de s ign f rom

t he concept ua l ide a of s t re ams of mot ion . Thereof re su l ted , among ot her t h ings , c u r ved dynam ic shapes and cou r se s . Of

cou r se , t he des igned se a t i ng e lement s had to be subord ina ted to both t he a r t i s t i c v i s ion and t he co lou r concept t ha t was

reduced to wh i te and ye l low. A p iece of f u rn i t u re of f t he she l f t here fore was out of t he ques t ion . The l ayout of l i ne s

of t h i s pa rk ’s a rch i te c t u re , i t s co lou r ing and shap ing i s f i nd ing i t s d i rec t cont i nuat ion i n A r pa . W herever c le a r l i ne s a re

dominat i ng A r pa i s a lways p le a s i ng t he eye – be i t outdoor s w i t h a wooden se a t or i ndoors w i t h se a t s of le a t her or of

wh i te Cor i an .

design arpa

Klaus-D. Neumann and Wolf D. Auch

rea lgrün landscape archi tec ts

Munich

»For us , design means conceptua l shaping not on ly in pub l ic space. The objec t ive:

shape and func t ion in per fec t harmony.«

Klaus-D. Neumann , Wolf D. Auch

»Tradition is the handing down of the flame andnot the worshipping of ashes.«Gustav Mahler

osa

Design is great when i t makes sense and is beaut i fu l . Osa counts to those th ings you want to touch because the e le-

ments are beaut i fu l . Jus t l ike a dream car which nobody can pass by wi thout sof t ly s trok ing i ts pa int wi th the hand.

Osa is mul t i func t iona l . Th is makes sense. Simply good design .

Osa i s t he re su l t of t he se a rch for a huge p iece of c i t y f u rn i t u re t ha t had to un i te sever a l f unc t ions . There fore t he

os a de s igner s deve loped a conc re te bench of a leng t h of about f i ve met re s w i t h se a t i ng space and wooden se a t s . Osa i s

vanda l i sm-proof and a l so prov ide s space for t he c i t y ’s brochu re s and i n format ion for tou r i s t s . The bench i s modu l a r and

c an be a r r anged a round a t ree so t ha t i t s na t u r a l shade c an be used . With an i nnovat i ve connec tor sys tem t he i nd iv idua l

modu le s a re i nv i s ib ly l i n ked ju s t l i ke Lego br ic k s . And what ’s be s t : spot s under a g l a s s cover i n t he rece ss a re submerg ing

t he t ree t rop i nto subdued l ight du r ing t he n ight . Osa i s i nd iv idua l ye t le s s expens ive t han a s t anda rd p iece of f u rn i t u re –

a per fec t symbios i s of de s ign , f unc t ion and economic v i ab i l i t y.

design osa

Frank Prochiner

Muni tec GmbH

Reut l ingen

»I love to enter new paths and deve lop so lu t ions.

I am not rea l ly in teres ted in creat ing someth ing wi thout

func t ion .«

Sun lounger, Chair shorty, Table tabloo

»Characteristic of man is what is natural to him.«Kurt Tucholsky

lounger, shorty, tabloo

With the concept for the ensemble of lounger, shor ty and tab loo the designer is moving about border areas. This t r io

appears to be th in as paper wi th c lear and precise l ines and yet is s trong and so l id . Wi th a v iv idness as l ight as a

feather – cas t in concrete.

Can a lounger made of conc re te be comfor t ab le ? Yes , i t c an , i f t he shape fo l lows man’s contou r s l i ke t he lounger ’s cu r ve s

do . The cha i r Shor t y t a ke s up t h i s l i ne and t he f lex ib le s tee l leg emphas i ze s i t s l ightness , makes i t even f loa t i ng; and

gent le sway ing movement s make you forge t s i t t i ng on such a he av y and mass i ve p iece of f u rn i t u re . For t he i r de s igner t he

f a sc i na t ion i s i n t h i s cont r ad ic t ion – p iece s of f u rn i t u re made of g l a s s f ibre conc re te a re f i ne , ye t rough chaps . They a re

t ime le s s ob jec t s t ha t people s t i l l w i l l be fond of a f te r ye a r s .

design lounger, shor ty, tab loo

René Hol ten

rené ho l ten industr ia l design & produc t deve lopment

Maastr icht , Nether lands

»Design needs a c lear shape. I t has to be func t iona l yet appea l ing ,

fascinat ing and , of course, aes thet ic . I t is the resu l t when every-

th ing goes together; is l ike i t shou ld be.«

René Hol ten

»We are here on a peaceful mission!« Captain Kirk

kirk design René Hol ten

K i rk seems l i ke a f ly i ng s aucer and i t s name ,

of cou r se , br i ngs back memor ie s of t he leg-

enda r y USS Enter pr i se and i t s commander.

On t he f i r s t g l ance t he cha i r seems to be

somewhat mass i ve but never t he le s s appea r s

to be l ight , l i ke f loa t i ng on i t s sp ider legs

of s tee l . S i t t i ng t here in conveys a fee l i ng of

pr i vac y, protec ted by i t s shape and r i chness

of mate r i a l , ju s t a s i f i t were an i s l and , a ve r y

spec i a l p l ace .

Chair kirk, Design René Holten

concre te

urban design

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