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| After the unveiling of the sculpture "The Modern Football Shoe": Dr. Michael Rogowski, Otto Schily, Jürgen R. Thumann, Mike de Vries, Horacio Sevilla-Borja, Botschafter der Republik Ecuador, Oliver Brüggen (from left to right). |
2006/03/10
The first “Walk of Ideas” sculpture is the “Modern Football Shoe”
Formal unveiling in Berlin’s Spreebogen Park
Berlin, 10.03.2006. The unveiling of the oversized “Modern Football Boot” sculpture in Berlin’s Spreebogen Park (between the Federal Chancellery and the main station) on 10th March 2006 marked the start of the “Walk of Ideas”, a sculpture park with a total of six exhibits which will be erected in prominent locations in Berlin – one every two weeks up to the end of May.
Berlin, 10.03.2006. The unveiling of the oversized “Modern Football Boot” sculpture in Berlin’s Spreebogen Park (between the Federal Chancellery and the main station) on 10th March 2006 marked the start of the “Walk of Ideas”, a sculpture park with a total of six exhibits which will be erected in prominent locations in Berlin – one every two weeks up to the end of May.
Mike de Vries, Managing Director of FC Germany GmbH greeted the guests and media representatives to what, thanks to the weather conditions, had turned the Spreebogen Park into a “snow and winter-sports paradise”. Jürgen Thumann, President of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) went on to say that the goal of the “Walk of Ideas” sculptures was to make “a particularly attractive impression on anyone visiting the capital, and make them aware of the richness of ideas within Germany – an impression which they can take home with them.”
Otto Schily, retired Federal Interior Minister greeted the assembled company in the name of, and as a member of, the project’s Advisory Board. He went on to emphasise that the “Walk of Ideas” was “a wonderful example of public-private partnership”, because both the worlds of commerce and politics were working together to provide a “positive picture of Germany as ‘Land of Ideas’”.
The bad weather prevented Herbert Hainer, Chairman of adidas-Salomon AG, from attending the event, but in his place Oliver Brüggen, the company’s press spokesman, reminded the assembled company of the invention of the company’s founder, Adi Dassler. This invention was the football boot with inter-changeable plastic studs, which, along with the “Miracle of Berne” in 1954 led to the “unofficial birth of our nation”. It remained only for Dr Michael Rogowski, member of the Advisory Board, to ask the previous speakers to unveil the sculpture, which, he joked, would certainly be capable of an impressive strike.
After the unveiling, the two sculptures – which each measure 12 metres long by five metres high - were freely accessible to the guests and visitors of the “Walk of Ideas”. The innovative material from which this and the subsequent sculptures are all made is called Neopor®, which was developed by BASF AG, one of the official partners to the “Germany – Land of Ideas” project. Fulda’s EDAG Engineering + Design were tasked by FC Germany GmbH with producing the sculptures.
The “Walk”, once completed, will invite people to stroll through Germany’s history of invention and research. Following the “Modern Football Boot” will be “Medical Milestones” and the “Automobile”, which in turn will be followed by “Modern Printing” and “Musical Masterpieces”. The final piece in the jigsaw will be a depiction of the “Theory of Relativity”.
After the unveiling of the football boot, the rest of the sculptures will be erected – one every two weeks or so. Remaining in place until the Autumn of 2006, the six exhibits give visual expression to the spectrum of important German inventions, and be a strong pull for tourists.
More information about the “Walk of Ideas” can be found at www.land-of-ideas.org.
The initiators
“Germany – Land of Ideas” is the combined landmark project of the Federal government and German businesses, represented by the Federal Association of German Industry (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie). The project’s goal is to communicate both domestically and abroad a picture of Germany as an innovative and exciting nation which is open to the world. The project’s overall boss is the Federal President, Horst Köhler, though the coordination of the project is down to FC Germany GmbH and its Managing Director, Mike de Vries. “Land of Ideas” is supported by countless German companies as well as associate partners from the worlds of science, culture and public life. The project is implementing five core initiatives: the sculpture park “Walk of Ideas”, the series of events surrounding “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”, the “FanClub”, the media service and the Welcome Project.
BASF AG
BASF is the world’s leading chemical business: the chemical company. Their portfolio encompasses chemicals, plastics, finishing products, plant protectives and refined chemicals like oil and natural gas. BASF’s customers come from practically every business sector and the company helps these clients achieve ever-greater success through its support, its intelligent system solutions and its high-quality projects. BASF is continuously developing new technologies and uses these to exploit more market opportunities. The company combines business success with protecting the environment and social responsibility, and in doing so contributes a quality future for us all. In 2005 BASF and its workforce achieved a turnover of € 42.7 billion.
The partners
adidas-Salomon AG • Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG • Allianz AG • AUDI AG • AWD Holding AG • BASF AG • Bayer AG • Deutsche Bank AG • Deutsche Börse AG • Deutsche Lufthansa AG • DHL • Deutsche Telekom AG • EnBW AG E.ON AG • Fraport AG • Georgsmarienhütte Holding GmbH • HDI Versicherungen • Heitkamp & Thumann Group • IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG Roland Berger Strategy Consultants • RWE AG • Voith AG • Wall AG
“Walk of Ideas” – background information
“The Modern Football Boot” – some facts and figures
Press contact:
Contact partner:
Steffi Würzig
Public Relations Coordinator Germany
Deutschland - Land der Ideen
FC Deutschland GmbH
Unter den Linden 74
D-10117 Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0)-30-206 459-46
Fax: +49 (0)-30-206 459-37
E-mail: wuerzig@land-der-ideen.de
www.land-of-ideas.org
Otto Schily, retired Federal Interior Minister greeted the assembled company in the name of, and as a member of, the project’s Advisory Board. He went on to emphasise that the “Walk of Ideas” was “a wonderful example of public-private partnership”, because both the worlds of commerce and politics were working together to provide a “positive picture of Germany as ‘Land of Ideas’”.
The bad weather prevented Herbert Hainer, Chairman of adidas-Salomon AG, from attending the event, but in his place Oliver Brüggen, the company’s press spokesman, reminded the assembled company of the invention of the company’s founder, Adi Dassler. This invention was the football boot with inter-changeable plastic studs, which, along with the “Miracle of Berne” in 1954 led to the “unofficial birth of our nation”. It remained only for Dr Michael Rogowski, member of the Advisory Board, to ask the previous speakers to unveil the sculpture, which, he joked, would certainly be capable of an impressive strike.
After the unveiling, the two sculptures – which each measure 12 metres long by five metres high - were freely accessible to the guests and visitors of the “Walk of Ideas”. The innovative material from which this and the subsequent sculptures are all made is called Neopor®, which was developed by BASF AG, one of the official partners to the “Germany – Land of Ideas” project. Fulda’s EDAG Engineering + Design were tasked by FC Germany GmbH with producing the sculptures.
The “Walk”, once completed, will invite people to stroll through Germany’s history of invention and research. Following the “Modern Football Boot” will be “Medical Milestones” and the “Automobile”, which in turn will be followed by “Modern Printing” and “Musical Masterpieces”. The final piece in the jigsaw will be a depiction of the “Theory of Relativity”.
After the unveiling of the football boot, the rest of the sculptures will be erected – one every two weeks or so. Remaining in place until the Autumn of 2006, the six exhibits give visual expression to the spectrum of important German inventions, and be a strong pull for tourists.
More information about the “Walk of Ideas” can be found at www.land-of-ideas.org.
The initiators
“Germany – Land of Ideas” is the combined landmark project of the Federal government and German businesses, represented by the Federal Association of German Industry (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie). The project’s goal is to communicate both domestically and abroad a picture of Germany as an innovative and exciting nation which is open to the world. The project’s overall boss is the Federal President, Horst Köhler, though the coordination of the project is down to FC Germany GmbH and its Managing Director, Mike de Vries. “Land of Ideas” is supported by countless German companies as well as associate partners from the worlds of science, culture and public life. The project is implementing five core initiatives: the sculpture park “Walk of Ideas”, the series of events surrounding “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”, the “FanClub”, the media service and the Welcome Project.
BASF AG
BASF is the world’s leading chemical business: the chemical company. Their portfolio encompasses chemicals, plastics, finishing products, plant protectives and refined chemicals like oil and natural gas. BASF’s customers come from practically every business sector and the company helps these clients achieve ever-greater success through its support, its intelligent system solutions and its high-quality projects. BASF is continuously developing new technologies and uses these to exploit more market opportunities. The company combines business success with protecting the environment and social responsibility, and in doing so contributes a quality future for us all. In 2005 BASF and its workforce achieved a turnover of € 42.7 billion.
The partners
adidas-Salomon AG • Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG • Allianz AG • AUDI AG • AWD Holding AG • BASF AG • Bayer AG • Deutsche Bank AG • Deutsche Börse AG • Deutsche Lufthansa AG • DHL • Deutsche Telekom AG • EnBW AG E.ON AG • Fraport AG • Georgsmarienhütte Holding GmbH • HDI Versicherungen • Heitkamp & Thumann Group • IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG Roland Berger Strategy Consultants • RWE AG • Voith AG • Wall AG
“Walk of Ideas” – background information
“The Modern Football Boot” – some facts and figures
- Location: Spreebogen Park, 10557 Berlin
(between the Federal Chancellery and Berlin’s main station - the Lehrter Bahnhof) - Boot measurements: Each is 12 metres long, 5 metres high and 4.5 metres wide
Each one weighs approx. 20 tonnes
Each boot consists of 30 shell segments - Production time: 14 weeks
- Companies involved
- Commissioned by: FC Germany GmbH, “Germany – Land of Ideas”
Idea and design: Scholz & Friends, Berlin
Development of materials: BASF AG, Ludwigshafen
Paint development: BASF Coatings, Münster
Production: EDAG Engineering + Design AG, Fulda - Materials used
The sculptures consist of a steel skeleton construction, 2,700 square metres of woven fibre glass and approx. 600 cubic metres of Neopor® which is which is a further enhancement of Styropor® and an insulation material of the future, developed by BASF in Ludwigshafen. The material is coated with a new type of 3-layer metallic lacquer, developed by BASF Coatings AG in Münster. - The production process
The sculptures are produced using purely industrial manufacturing techniques and have a core consistency of a new type of plastic mix - Neopor®. Similar to a surf board, the body of the sculpture is laminated with fibre glass and then covered with a plastic paste. Once it has been filed smooth, the sculpture is coated with a 3-layer metallic lacquer.
Press contact:
Contact partner:
Steffi Würzig
Public Relations Coordinator Germany
Deutschland - Land der Ideen
FC Deutschland GmbH
Unter den Linden 74
D-10117 Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0)-30-206 459-46
Fax: +49 (0)-30-206 459-37
E-mail: wuerzig@land-der-ideen.de
www.land-of-ideas.org
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