The process is the message. The woman looking out of the window on Sieben-brunnenplatz couldn’t believe her eyes when architects constructed an over-dimensional loom, piece by piece, and what is more invited a street musician
to join in at the opening. The performance intervention in the urban space aimed to jog people’s memory about the weaving tradition in the district, which had shaped its identity for such a long time.
And it worked like a dream! For ten days, everything revolved around weaving on Siebenbrunnenplatz. Passersby stopped, had a go themselves, and collectively wove a carpet, warp by weft. The public space became a place of encounter, central arena of textile manufacture – and the interactive process thus became the actual object of design. There was an accompanying exhibition being held in the adjacent FZhM Research Centre for the History of Minorities, where visitors who were interested could moreover find out about the historical background to the Altmann global brand. And there was a real rush to join in.
Not a flyer was left on the very first evening, which says just about everything.