Page 4 - AIT1117_Tunnelflieger

SERIEN STUDENTENARBEIT • STUDENT WORK
Hochschule Mainz
www.hs-mainz.de
1971 Gründung der Hochschule
rund 5.488 Studierende (Stand 2016/17)
Piktogramm • Pictogram
Der Ist-Zustand des unterirdischen Gangs • The current state of the underground corridor
Das 1:1-Modell auf der Rheinland-Pfalz-Ausstellung • The full-scale model at the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ausstellung
050 • AIT 11.2017
Tunnelabschnittes, den wir auf der Ausstellung im Maßstab 1:1 dargestellt haben. Das
dort bekundete allgemeine Interesse und posi tive Feedback der Ausstellungsgäste war
für uns wie für die Universitätsmedizin Mainz und natürlich für Sterntaler e. V. ein voller
Erfolg. Wenige Wochen später war die Summe für die Realisierung zu unser aller Freude
dank finanzieller Unterstützung privater und institutioneller Spender zusammengekom-
men. In Zukunft wird also ein virtueller Papier flieger die Kinder auf ihrer Reise begleiten
und seine Bahnen durch die „Wolkendecke“ ziehen. Er weist ihnen spielerisch den Weg
und nimmt ihnen die Sorgen und Ängste. Die Intensität der Inszenierung nimmt dabei
im Laufe der Fahrt schrittweise ab und gibt so dem Patienten die Möglichkeit, sich fallen
zu lassen und möglichst entspannt den OP zu erreichen.
T he space to be designed is an underground passageway in the Mainz University
Medical Center which links the paediatric-surgery ward with the necessary oper-
ating theatre. All the pre- and post-operative patients of the children’s ward have to be
moved through this passageway. The tunnel has an approximate length of 200 metres.
With the clear height of 3.65 metres, this resulted in an overall surface of more than
1,500 square metres we had to design. The goal was to make use of specific design
measures for improving the spatial atmosphere of the connecting passageway. It was
very important to consider all the user groups in the concept. Besides being the spatial
link from the ward to the operating theatre, the connecting passage also serves as the
supply route for various hospital commodities. The functional standards as to the inter-
nal infrastructure required specific stability and robustness, particularly when it comes
to the floor and the lower wall areas. Yet our main focus was on the design of the route
which the children notice while they are being moved. Since most of the patients are
moved while lying down, they look mainly at the ceiling and the upper wall area.
Paper airplanes communicate playful lightness
Our guiding idea for the design is the paper airplane! It is recognizable for both the
young and the elderly and, with its simplicity and its charm, communicates playful
lightness to all age groups. This image offers us specific dynamics for freely moving in
the room and, thanks the “natural habitat” of a paper airplane in the air, also covers
the essential areas: the ceiling and the upper wall. The concept based on it consists of
several levels of design which, in their combination, create a harmonious impression.
The most important spatial level is the metal structure extending through the whole
corridor like a cloud cover. Modular, malleable metal components function as a
screening level between the patient and the cold, functional-looking existing ceiling.
The cloud structure mainly decorates the ceiling area but, in some places, also extends
down the upper part of the wall. This element creates a perfect stage for the paper air-
plane and is furthermore the only spatial object of our design which very much suits
us as to the costs and the assembly.
The test setup was a complete success
After various small tests inside a university building, the ten-metre mock-up at the
Rheinland-Pfalz-Ausstellung in March 2016 was our first actual test setup. For the first
time, it was possible to try out the combination of attaching the modules, the effect
and the direction of the light as well as the projection of the paper airplane and opti-
mize it in the process. For the test setup at the exhibition, there was a ten-metre con-
necting passage between two halls available which the exhibition operators lovingly
called “the mood passage”. At the end of our little tunnel, we used a resulting spatial
niche to explain our idea with various design sketches and photographs of the existing
passage. Here, for example, a highlight was the black box which allowed the visitors a
look at the model with its light installation. For the first time, the actual dimension of
the passageway became clear for many visitors. Also easily visible was the location of
the tunnel section we represented on a full scale at the exhibition. The general interest
shown there and the positive feedback from the exhibition visitors was a huge success
for us as well as for the Mainz University Medical Center and, of course, for Sterntaler
e.V. We were all very pleased when, just a few weeks later, the sum total for the imple-
mentation was collected thanks to the financial support by private and institutional
donors. In future, a virtual paper airplane will thus accompany the children on their
journey and will pass overhead through the “cloud cover”. In a playful manner, it will
show them their way and reduce their worries and fears. In the course of the journey,
the intensity of the production decreases step by step and thus allows the patients to
let go and arrive at the operating theatre as relaxed as possible.