Out of Thin Air is a public art project for the new Gustave-Eiffel School in Berlin Pankow. Commissioned by the State of Berlin (represented by the District Office of Pankow and Galerie Pankow / Kunst im öffentlichen Raum), it was awarded Second Prize and recommended for realisation. The project will be completed in parallel with the construction of the new school buildings.


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.