Press releases: In the skies over Berlin

A fascinating sculpture with flowing lines has linked heaven and earth in Grünstraße in the Berlin district of Köpenick since August: "The Net" is the name of an installation forming part of the urban art project named KAiAK (Art and Architecture in Alt Köpenick). The rope structure created by Corocord resembles a suspension bridge reflected horizontally, and with its delicate structure is an aesthetic waymark in Köpenick. What is more, this work of art is also a great source of fun. Corocord, the specialist in high quality spacenets for over 30 years, created "The Net" as a high-end climbing landscape.

The load-bearing structure consists of steel ropes, steel frames and four pylons. This flexible skeleton forms the basis of the climbing structure, which features various horizontal and vertical levels. It is a fascinating topography where each climber can discover his or her own routes and goals. In other words, "The Net" is more than just a sculpture and climbing structure, but is also a unique outlook platform seeming to float naturally and serving as a gently swaying resting point for short or extended breaks in the centre of the old part of Köpenick. The netscape is enclosed by a cocoon of stainless steel nets. This skin ensures that climbers cannot fall out of the net and also prevents the structure being climbed from the outside, i.e. being used outside opening hours.

A special challenge faced by the KAiAK designers was that all parts of the urban art project had to be executed as a temporary installation. This also applied to the rope net itself. In other words, the structure does not rely on the surrounding buildings for support. While in visual terms, the two outermost frames of the structure appear to be connected to the two firewalls, in fact there is a gap of around between 30 and 40 centimetres between the wall and the frames.

Stability of the structure, which is over 30 metres long and up to 10 metres high on the sides, is not provided by anchorage to the surrounding building but by combination of two principles of structural design borrowed by "The Net" from bridge building: A series of square frames of different sizes are connected from the four corner ropes of the load-bearing structure by means of a flexible steel brace, which prevents torsion of the concave brace once the load-bearing ropes have been tensed. All the horizontal forces and the greater part of the vertical forces of this structure are directed into the ground via four pylons. These pylons point from the upper corners of the outside frame to the net's interior; the lower level of the load-bearing structure is also connected to them.

This technically and aesthetically impressive frame of steel ropes with a diameter of up to 26 millimetres forms the world of "The Net" with main levels and numerous different shapes of connecting routes. The outcome is a fascinating composition of numerous polygons. The nets are connected by six-strand ropes that are testimony to Corocord's experience: Each individual strand consists of a steel core with a polyamide yarn casing. This casing is fused onto the metal by induction, creating an especially stable fusion with the steel core, making the climbing nets particularly strong and resistant to weathering.

The 4 centimetre mesh chosen for the enclosing protective net at ground level is deliberately small to ensure that the individual fields of the steel net do not provide any foothold. Visually, these outer nets seem like a shimmering skin around the entire structure, underlining its character of being an integrated structure with a versatile core.

Nobody can escape the fascination of the spacenet world suspended between the surrounding buildings: Children and adults alike explore the resilient route inside the structure, courageously feeling their way up to the highest level. The observer down on the ground has the impression that the figures high above are floating in space.


For further enquiries of the press:
Maria Molina, press office
Corocord Raumnetz GmbH
Phone: +49 30 408988-12
press(at)corocord.com