Design and eternity are two words that are not often used in the same context. Design has come under major critiscism
from the green movement because of its power to encourage the consumer to consume more as products need constant replacement.
Whether design is the route of the problem is still up for debate but what is certain is that, as designers, we rarely produce objects that will last beyond our own lifetimes. Ironically,some of the processes used to produce these goods are leaving irrpairable scares on the planet both ecologically as well as socially.
Design is also not commonly associated with the Catholic church. Despite this, however, this organisation and the buildings erected in its name have been housing the cultural heritage of a large proportion of the world's population.
Somewhere along the historical timeline this tradition was lost. Cologne Cathedral is a recognised World Heritage Site not least because of the history it contains in its 600 years of construction. Recent additions to this monument have been decidedly utilitarian.Unlike the centuries old furniture and statues that give us a valuable insight into past generations, these new additions -bar the stunning stainglass window by Gehard Richter- are not intended to last more than fifty years and express nothing meaningful of our times.
We were asked to rethink the Cathedral's donation box - currently nothing more than a black steel box that communicates nothing to present visitors let alone future generations: the box is often used as a rubbish bin or even a spitton by foreign visitors.
Our solution is intended to communicate on many levels as well across generations. The original concept attempted to tackle the "visual greed" of the big black sttel box in the entrance of the church - an image that the Catholic Church struggles to shake off and something that the Cathedral needs to distinguish itself from if it is to encourage non-religious guests to contribute to its protection. The inital idea (as seen below) divided the box into two parts; allowing the user to see the relatively small amount of space used for money storage.One part holds the donations the other brings the container to the users height.
The height of the object breaks from the norms of utility. By making the concept a little taller than the old box we disconnect the assocation with rubbish bins and tables. We wanted to make the box respect the users donation.
Materiality was an important part of our concept. By recycling the stones of the Cathedral that are replaced as they decay, the user is confronted with the fact that work is being done. This solution also fitted the surroundings whilst providing the visual metaphor of donating to the Cathedral(as opposed to the Vatican that is). This was added to by creating too smooth surfaces in the stone to hint at the work that can be done to the old stone. The mirrored steel used for the money container was chosen as an expression of contemporary values - just as gold was used centuries ago in the church so we chose to use a materials employed in our societies luxury goods.
As well as attempting to attract visitors attention with a strong contrast without disrupting the harmony of the interior we also considered the act of placing the money inside the box. We attempted to provide as many translation of "Please protect this building" as possible - giving a visualisation of the amount of international visitors as well as trying to connect with as many users a possible. The large amount of words produced a solid rectangular block of text with to which the slot for money was place at the end - as though it were a full stop. Typographically intruiging for the user this was intended to say please and thank you as opposed to just communicating fill me through a hole slap band at the top.
The concept was a huge success and is currently in production at the Cathedral's own masonary workshop. The project was covered by both German television and press.
Original concept sketch
Graphical instructions for manufacture as part of solutions style guide.
Presentation slides.
Report on the project as broadcast by WDR. Germany only.
The first half covers the parallel project
- donation boxes for carrying by the guards or "domshweizeren"
Project group with concept model.
From left: Henrik Amberla,Carolina Arevalo Lopez,Sam Dunne Arne Holzenburg,Antonio Di Luca,Philip Rose.
