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Flow (Flow describes the feeling of a mental state of complete immersion and complete absorption in an activity,which is experienced as pleasurable.

The place

Scientists working on NMR spectroscopy will work at the interdisciplinary research center of the TU Munich in Garching. This is used in chemistry and biochemistry as an imaging technique to determine the spatial structures and internal mobility of molecules and biomolecules. Biomolecular NMR spectroscopy performs basic research to decipher molecular fundamentals and biological mechanisms.

The premises of the BNMRZ have been created for interdisciplinary research groups to develop theoretical concepts of the physical basis of NMR spectroscopy as well as to investigate its application to important biomedical problems.

Chemists, biochemists and physicists of the TU Munich cooperate with the Helmholtz Zentrum München and other external users.

The centerpiece, a 1.2 gigahertz NMR spectrometer, provides unprecedented insights into the spatial structure and dynamics of protein complexes.

The art

The approximately two-meter tall, white, banded metal form “flow” seems to float on its cylindrical concrete base in the green space. Its upper tip is directed towards the facade of the staircase. Here, in the upper, metal-faced part, there is another element of the installation: “flow_blob_1”.

The more than 20-meter arc of movement between the creative islands in the garden area and the communication space (stairwell) in the building is continued in the interior. Here two more sphere sections “flow_blob_2 and 3” are mounted on the stair wall.

The plastic refers to the architectural form and the content-related function of the building: “flow” symbolizes the direct interrelationship between structure and function in the frequency dimension. It playfully releases the three spherical shapes “flow_blob_1,2 and 3” towards the NMR spectrometer. The sphere sections disappear with their virtual halves into the building fabric. The installation circumscribes creative processes in research and science and at the same time forms a projection plane for scientific models. For special events at the institute, such as conferences, parties or presentations, the latest scientific images can be projected onto the 4-piece sculpture. The form “flow” was created by drawings in which I traced imaging research methods on the spins and their molecules. Three-dimensional spaces were created from superimposed spiral lines, which flowed into a curved horizontal, axisymmetrical form. The sculpture was developed as a clay model of spherical shapes resting on a curved inner axis. Then the 3-D program continued to shape and develop the mesh lines.

The changes on the experimentally developed free form symbolize the paths of moving particles and the quantum mechanical entanglements between the spins.

For special events, both “flow”, the outdoor form and its three “game balls”, can be used for beamer projections.