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Painter Ulrich Erben took over the facade design at the Neues Gymnasium. Unlike his concrete painting, which often explored the limits of perception, here he used text to create a visual sign. Three horizontal bands run around the round buildings in color gradients ranging from blue to red.
On the bands, there are letters constructed out of orange rectangles with additional purple rectangles filling in any open spaces. This use of complementary contrasts results in the visual phenomenon of optical color mixing, which changes based on the viewers location. The text itself remains legible, but it requires some effort — such as a willingness to circle the building — and experimentation with different distances to decipher the message.
The text is the first article of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” In accordance with the school’s educational priorities, these words are repeated in German, English, and Latin.