Gul­li­ver in the yard

Testo in italiano al seguente link

Schulanlage Hofacker, Zürich ZH

Florian Graf’s School Models installation in Zurich reflects on spatial, temporal and pedagogical issues, recomposing them into units for the medium of the (architectural) model, transformed into a sculptural work.
In the context of the new construction and renovation of the listed buildings of the Hofacker school complex in the Hirslanden district, Graf’s proposal won a competition organised by the Art and Architecture Department of the City of Zurich’s Building Department.
In a slideshow published by the artist on YouTube - Making Of «School Models» – he asks himself: «Are children small adults?» and «Are adults big children?» The use of adjectives relating to size and the questioning of proportions are combined with a kind of acknowledgment of the role of the model in the history of artistic and architectural thought, which each time it is used triggers an interpretive action and, for this very reason, lends itself to facilitating creative processes. Although smaller than the object it represents, the model provides an overview that would otherwise be difficult to obtain; «models are a kind of intermediate reality», situated on the border between reality and representation, going beyond it in both directions.

This is Graf’s aim: to overturn the usual connections between buildings and people, to allow children to take spatial and material possession of the places where they spend their days, all while playing. This is why the massive 1:20 scale models of the three Hofacker schools in white limestone become works of art and, in the best museum tradition, are placed on monumental pedestals of coloured cement grit, which in this case are nothing more than gigantic building blocks for children, completely oversized. This constant doubling of scale prevents any conventional reading and invites the pupils to reclaim the school by climbing on the models, sitting on them or looking at them from above. At the same time, Graf draws attention to the architecture and the spaces it defines. The three school buildings, the first from 1898 by Friedrich Wehrli, the second from 1938 by Hermann Herter and the last by E2A Architects, completed in 2022, are recomposed into a single unit through direct comparison. The mixture of irreverence and homage is also interesting. Graf feels free to reposition the three buildings: with an obvious reference to the existing spatial relationships, he repositions them, shifts and moves them at will, and adds a tower obtained by stacking five blocks of children’s building bricks, whose bright red and green colours play with the composed seriousness of the three silent and imposing buildings.

Place Hofackerstrasse 45, Zürich  
 

Client Fachstelle Kunst und Bau, Amt für Hochbauten, Stadt Zürich  
 

Artist Florian Graf, Basel  
 

Landscape architecture Ganz Landschaftsarchitektur, Zürich  
 

Construction management Florian Graf, Basel  
 

Photography Stefan Altenburger, Zürich  
 

Timeline competition 2019 project 2020-2023; realisation 2023