Mural: The lighthouse in a new splendour

A trio of Franco-German artists designed the façade of the Kirchenweg building.

Now that the scaffolding has disappeared, the new wall fresco at Kirchenweg 17 in Westerland has once again shone with its beauty since last weekend.

The very large building to the left of the police station has been renovated and the façade renovated for three million euros. That is why the immense motif of the lighthouse had to be renewed. Artists from Berlin and Lyon in France have taken over the commission.

A 17 meter high lighthouse with a dune bottom and the sea under a blue sky has adorned the tower for five years. The work was created by the artist Uschi Schmiedeberg, who lived on Sylt for 30 years and who now lives in Niebüll for five years. Uschi Schmiedeberg, known for its strong color “Uschiblau”, took as a model Lister’s beacon.

Berlin artist Steve Rolle created the new lighthouse design with two French colleagues.

The red and white lighthouse has remained the central motif, but contemporary details have been added to the 185 square metres of the mural fresco. Kitesurfers, beach chairs, catamarans and especially a very realistic brown lady with a blue hat in a beach chair. With a cup of coffee to take away, she reads on a shelf.

Is she the artist who does her self-portrait?

“No,” Steve Rolle says, “it’s a fictional character.”

At the age of 40, Steve Rolle, a Berliner, is technically responsible for Sylt’s mural project. He works for the German branch of CitéCréation whose head office is in Lyon. The preparation of three weeks was carried out with her colleagues Elodie Iwanski (35) and Floriane Mandin (30), three more weeks for the in situ part by the trio.

The order for Gewoba Nord is the first project of the French company in northern Germany, in operation for 40 years and which has already designed facades on all continents.

But on Sylt, the Franco-German trio does not immortalize this work by trompe-l’oeil effects as is usually agreed, but with a classic watercolour that reflects Sylt’s landscape. For the lighting conditions on the site, on the south side of the house, the contrast was slightly increased.

The Schleswig-based construction cooperative Gewoba Nord has invested three million euros in its high-rise building on the Westerländer Kirchenweg. The building, built in 1960, required new construction services and a new thermal insulation façade, but, according to site manager Benjamin Ludewig, it also needed to be renovated due to the presence of asbestos-containing building materials in the stairwell and façade. All 42 apartments now have balconies. Twelve apartments have been completely renovated – with new kitchens, bathrooms and floors. The rent rises from an average of 5 euros to 6.50 euros, the fully renovated apartments will cost 8.50 euros per square meter, added Dirk Schmidt, who manages inventory in northern Gewoba from his office in Niebüll.

Gewoba Nord has about 1000 apartments in Sylt, between Rantum and List, and, in addition to the property management of the municipality of Sylt (KLM), is the first point of contact when it comes to favourable rental offers. Who wishes to access a housing managed by the construction cooperative, must first subscribe five shares whose total value is 260 euros, . People looking for accommodation can register on the waiting list. If the rental contract is concluded, additional shares must be paid according to the size of the apartment.

Gewoba Nord does not plan to build any more apartments on Sylt. The properties are too expensive to be financed by rents of between seven and eight euros,” explains Dirk Schmidt.

However, there are plans to build new buildings at Alte Bahnhofstrasse 18, 19 and 20 in List, which were once retirement homes. The old buildings will be gradually demolished and replaced by new buildings of 20 and 24 apartments respectively. The project is still in preparation, the tenants are carefully involved in the planning. Nobody loses their home. as a member of Gewoba, everyone has a right of residence for life within its four walls. An artistic facade as in the Westerländer Kirchenweg is however not possible in List.

Mural, Sylt (Germany) - The lighthouse in a new splendour