OUT OF THIN AIR
2025–2027
Public Art (Kunst am Bau) Commission
Gustave-Eiffel School, Berlin
Commissioned by the State of Berlin, represented by the District Office of Pankow and Galerie Pankow / Kunst im öffentlichen Raum
Out of Thin Air was awarded Second Prize and recommended for realisation in the invited art competition for the Gustave-Eiffel School. The project will be completed in parallel with the construction of the new school buildings.
Out of Thin Air
Visualisation: sculptural objects, outdoor area
Out of Thin Air
Visualisation: outdoor area (detail)
Recycled concrete, stones, glass objects, pigments
Approx. 150 x 150 x 150 cm
Research: aeolian ripple patterns, concrete recycling
Out of Thin Air
Visualisation: wall relief across five floors (detail)
253 x 1232 x 10 cm
Located in Berlin’s historic Windmühlenviertel — a sandy, wind-exposed plateau shaped by glacial deposits and open topography — the project takes wind and air as its central themes. Rather than depicting these forces literally, the works translate them into abstract sculptural forms inspired by aeolian ripples (the fine wind-shaped patterns in sand) and the invisible dynamics of air pressure, inflation and release.
In deliberate contrast to these ephemeral ideas, the objects and reliefs will be cast in recycled concrete, containing up to 30% rubble from the old GDR school buildings — along with stones and small objects contributed by the pupils. This way, the material literally embeds the school’s past and its community into the work. Transforming what once carried weight into something newly formative.
In collaboration with industrial production partners, local recycling facilities and the architects of the new building, Sebastian Acker will engage in collecting objects with the community, CAD sculpting, processing concrete rubble, large-scale casting and CNC milling.