Marienburg’s Eighth Brother
A paean to the immortally beating heart of a city, a legend of yearning, passion and enlightenment. Nowadays all that remains of Alūksne’s Medieval Castle are the castle ruins and one of the eight fortification towers, which is thus the sole witness to the history of Alūksne’s Marienburg Castle. After its reconstruction, the tower is now open to the public and in it one can experience the story of this untouched historical location. This is an idea-based exhibition, whose impact is primarily rooted in music in the form of a specially composed composition and a concerto of light. Visitors are immersed in the past going back centuries, and are quite imperceptibly guided along the tower’s three floors, listening to a musical composition specially composed for this place. The libretto is essentially the story of Maria, of the desire and right to be true, and of love that never dies. This love story is entwined with the destiny and destruction of the castle itself.
Agency
Design studio H2E
Practice Area
Client
Alūksne District Council
Industry
The Challenge
The main objective of the exhibition was to preserve and accentuate the authentic aura of the historical environment, organically highlighting its details, and linking it with the dreams, joy and pain of the people who once lived here.
Project Vision
It was important for us to preserve the authenticity of the location and building, so we used experiential design as a method for creating an inspiring exhibition narrative. We chose sound as the main medium of expression – by interweaving the story with musical experience, sound became the spiritual storyteller.
The vision of music and song arose from research into the history of the castle, whose colorful chain of events forms a legendary tale of the past. The breath of the past around the rubble of semi-collapsed walls inspires thoughts of transcendence, of that which lives on through any century. Of our souls and their pain. These feelings are evoked in the course of a story about the eight brothers of Marienburg Castle – towers transformed into real characters living on down the centuries and of their beloved Maria.
The graphic identity visualizes sound as the main voice of the idea, it is contemporary at the
same time contains references to the past.
The visitor’s experiential path is formed by the interaction of light and sound.
The final of the composition on the upper floor has been supplemented with seating, an
interpretation of 8 towers
Design + Execution
The design ensures minimal intervention in the authentic substance of the location, placing the gamma of emotions that one can experience here center stage. As visual reference points, keywords are positioned along the tower’s floors in the form of metal signs. The exhibition’s graphic identity visualizes sound as the main voice of the idea, while a gamma of colors interprets the actual environment – the brownish gray walls, nocturnal blue and the blue of memories. The font used – Addington CF is a contemporary fond, which, just like the story of Marienburg, contains references to various periods of time. Its image embodies conviction in the contrasting thicknesses of dramatic letters. Addington CF visualizes the storytelling of today in the form of letters.
The visitor’s experiential path is formed by the interaction of light and sound, illuminating historical walls and loadbearing structures. The intensity of light varies on each of the floors, in synch with the dramatic vision, forming the required interplay with sound.
The design solution was created, taking the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic into account, visits are organized in the form of performances and the visiting experience does not involve any tactile contact, thus ensuring an epidemiologically safe environment.
The design ensures minimal intervention in the authentic substance of the location.
Metal keywords as visual reference points are positioned along the tower’s floors.
The light varies and forms the required interplay with sound.
Visitors are quite imperceptibly guided along the tower’s three floors, listening to a musical
composition specially composed for this place.
Project Details
Design Team
Ingūna Elere (creative director), Holgers Elers (creative director), Ģirts Arājs (designer), Ieva Timoško (graphic designer), Verners Timoško (graphic designer), Dagnija Andersone (principal in charge), Sigvards Kļava (creative advisor and conductor)
Lauris Gundars together with Design Studio H2E (content and texts), Arturs Maskats (composer), Mārtiņš Brauns (composer)
Collaborators
AIG, Arturs Lapiņš (architecture), Andris Ūze (sound engineer), Normunds Blasans (lighting specialist), Latvian Radio Choir (music performance)
Photo Credits
Madara Gritāne, Atis Tiltiņš, Copyrights belongs to Design Studio H2E (photography)
JPS Studio, Copyrights belongs to Alūksne District Council (videography)
Open Date
November 2021