Electricity

History of the work

At the Schosshalde substation on Bürglenstrasse, a large wall mosaic frames the covered entrance gate on the south side. It is by Albert Neuenschwander, dates from 1952 and consists of majolica tiles and glazed bricks. According to the city's building inventory it was executed by the firm Kohler Keramik in Biel-Mett. Wikidata gives a width of 8.7 metres. The sources differ on the title: the city's data call it 'Elektrizität' (Electricity), while the building inventory lists it as untitled.

The substation was built in 1951 and 1952 to plans by the Bern architect Willi Althaus, for the municipality and the EWB, today Energie Wasser Bern. It consists of two buildings set at an angle under shallow hipped roofs. The transformer building is of exposed brick, articulated by tapering concrete piers; the lower cross wing is rendered and has a continuous band of windows on the upper floor. The entrance cuts deep into the building, and that is exactly where the mosaic sits.

The building inventory classifies the complex as worthy of protection and calls it a typical example of the 1950s with a carefully designed facade. In 1981 armoured-glass windows were installed, losing the original glazing bars; an emergency exit was added in 1984, and in 2007 and 2008 the building was comprehensively refurbished.

According to the artists' lexicon SIKART, Neuenschwander was born in Basel on 18 September 1902 and died in Zurich on 29 August 1984; the lexicon gives Höfen in the canton of Bern as his place of citizenship. SIKART describes him as a painter specialising in mosaic and mural painting. According to Wikipedia he also made a mural of 1941 in building I of the Gibb vocational school in Bern. Standing in front of the gate, you can tell the two materials apart in the mosaic: the flat majolica tiles and the glazed bricks.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Bauinventar Stadt Bern: Bürglenstrasse 73, Unterwerk Schosshalde · Wikipedia (de): Unterwerk Schosshalde · SIKART: Albert Neuenschwander · Wikidata: ohne Titel (Q64683023) · Wikimedia Commons: Wandmosaik ohne Titel (Albert Neuenschwander 1952)