American students Beethoven Hall with banana please

Bonn · American exchange students studying landscape design say a banana would perk up the Beethoven Hall.

Erik Boyer does not mince his words, “I never thought that it would look so dingy around such an important building”. He is one of several exchange students from Penn State University who are studying landscape design. On his foray to the Beethoven Hall in Bonn, he found the area littered with pop cans, candy wrappings, green plastic bags, corks, cigarette butts and a whole array of other discarded items. Not to worry though, he said he could imagine the garbage on display as art.

Boyer and fellow student Zachary Wright also noticed an ugly black sheeting which has been hovering over the roof of the Beethoven Hall for nine years now to protect against further damage. Their idea – let’s put a banana on the roof! And so came the concept of the giant, 30-meter long banana peel on the roof of the Beethoven Hall. If you have a stain, cover it up. Maybe, they thought, someone would even want to sponsor the trademark banana.

Boyer and Wright and the other exchange students from Pennsylvania State University are part of a program run by the Academy for International Education (AIB). They are spending a semester in Bonn. Berlin artist Thorsten Goldberg lead a workshop for the students about coming up with creative and artistic ideas for the area encompassing the Beethoven Hall.

Opinions of the students varied. John Hall sees the building as post-war and says “I can understand that some Bonners don’t want to build a new hall, since this is already the third.” Zachary, on the other hand would definitely tear down the old and build a new hall. Matthew Gawarzewski said he knows uglier buildings, but “One needs to make the area surrounding the hall more attractive, and urgently. It’s right in the middle of the city.” In particular, the students said better lighting was needed, outdoor seating, and a better connection to the inner city.

If you want to see their other creative ideas, the work of the students will be on display in the Stadthaus (city administration building) until February 16.

Orig. text: Martin Wein

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