Minima XL Berlin

Minima XL Berlin
The Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany

The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) in Berlin is not only a museum but also an architectural milestone. The last building of the great German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), it is widely considered one of the most perfect statements of his aesthetic, with its monumental steel columns and cantilevered roof with glass enclosure.

As a bold counterpoint, John Beckmann has created the futuristic Minima XL, a large scale outdoor sculpture employing minimal surface geometry. In mathematics, a minimal surface is a surface that locally minimizes its area. This is equivalent to having zero mean curvature. Physical models of area-minimizing minimal surfaces can be made by dipping a wire frame into a soap solution, forming a soap film, which is a minimal surface whose boundary is the wire frame. The origins of minimal surface theory date back to 1762.

Dimensions: 10’ ht. x 15’ w. x 15’ d. Materials: Mirror-polished stainless steel with color coating

Design: John Beckmann
Visualizations: KIrill Lynkovsky

© 2020 John Beckmann + Axis Mundi Design LLC