URBAN STAR
The focal point of a new neighborhood square in Augsburg is dominated by an expansive, star- shaped seating and lounge sculpture made of colored concrete blocks. The majority of the cubes are concrete, 22 cubes are equipped with light-conducting fbers. fbers.
The former anti-aircraft barrack is located northwest of Augsburg. It was built in 1939 and used until 1945. It then passed to the U.S. military and continued to be used for military purposes until 1994. Finally, the Augusta Urban Development Society (AGS) acquired the former barracks area. It is gradually converting the available areas for civilian use as part of an urban development project. As part of this, a new district of the city of Augsburg with residential and commercial buildings has been created in the Kobelcenter-Süd urban development area.
The "Urban Star" is the main entrance and access to the new Kobelcenter-Süd neighborhood and serves as a link between the barracks area and the urban space. The area of the intersection of Alfred-Nobel-Strasse and Neusäßer-Strasse is a meeting and living place. A small urban center is being developed here through the development of commercial buildings with uses such as a medical center, café and stores. The "Urban Star" area is a neighborhood plaza in the public space. Light gray natural stone paving makes up the surface of the plaza. Together with concrete cubes, the pavement creates a uniform pattern of connections. The center of the square consists of a large sculpture of star-shaped seating and lounges made of colored concrete cubes. 165 cubes are made of colored concrete. 22 cubes are made of translucent concrete with interior colored LED lights. In daylight, the colored concrete cubes dominate the scene. At dusk, the colored concrete cubes lose their effect and the translucent concrete cubes begin to glow. The block structure of the cubes and the neon coloring of the concrete surfaces are a formal reference to downtowns in the western United States.
