Mona Hahn :
Design of the Square in Loosdorf

Loosdorf has been given a square. This is the work of Mona Hahn. Nothing more but also nothing less. An architect might have done it exactly the same way: analysed the site and noted that in the linear village of Loosdorf one can hardly talk of 'public space', and then suggested combining the few starting points for a life outside the private dwelling. Letterbox, telephone booth and the parking space for the groceries bus ("your local shop") already stood relatively close to each other. Mona Hahn collected the various notice boards for official announcements and local societies and placed them beside these other services. The ensemble is completed with a bird fountain and facilities for the preservation of local customs. The signs generally placed in the front gardens on May 1 (long live our mayor) have found a fixed place.
The form holding these elements together is a kind of 'urban couch', an elongated seating element made of concrete with a surface of rubber granulate normally used as flooring for indoor sports areas. On one side a freely hovering arm develops out of the seat, defining the parking space for the groceries' bus. It can also be used as a place to lay down one's purchases.
There is already a considerable amount of art in public space in Loosdorf. If the people of Loosdorf come to accept it perhaps Mona Hahn's work will not be remembered as art but simply become part of the village. Mona Hahn's strategy is serving the customer – without alienation, provocation or double meanings, without the whole battery of stumbling blocks and explanations. It would represent a subtle recognition of her achievement if one day a different mayor were to arrive at the idea of commissioning an artwork for the square in Loosdorf.
(Oliver Elser)