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Symphony on natural orientation tools

1 - Introduction

The education and culture center Gasteig has the option to be the birthplace of the Munich Orientation Convention, an idea from a Munichian inventor to simplify and (phil-)harmonize worldwide all orientation means: signage, cartography, postal codes, navigation devices and verbal expressions.

Within this building, it is (will be) possible to VolksNavigate©, that means to find targets with easy brain work

- without maps,	- without names,	- without illogical numbers
- without arrows	- without floor marks	- without square grids
- without colors	- without compass	- without navigation devices

2 - Polar orientation

All rooms, lifts, stairs, emergency exits, exhibits, extinguishers etc. have logical addresses like

Children library StatusQuo© Gasteig m4 r45

which are easy to understand if you associate the area with a clock as follows:

2.1 - The pole

The Rounded Blue, a sculpture created by Rupprecht Geiger, is defined as the

centrum or pole m0

2.2 - imaginary clock / horizon hours :

Around this pole, the horizon is divided in 12 imaginary directions

m1 to m12.

whereas m12 points to north. These directions are called horizon hours

2.3 - Horizon minutes.

Horizon hours are sub-divided in horizon minutes. The convention for the minutes is very simple: the greater, the later. Example:

m3:50 ( read "emm three point fifty" or "emm three fifty" )

This code addresses all objects situated in a distance of 50 meters "later" than the direction m3

2.4 - Radius / logical position codes

The distance to the Rounded Blue m0 , the radius, is defined as the r-code. Joining this code to the m-code, logical position indications called StatusQuo© (where you are) come into existence, for example as shown on picture:

Children library StatusQuo© m4 r45

In other words:

"r..." is a numbering starting from m0,

"m..." is a north-direction-based numbering around m0 .

This simple methode covers a gigantic market gap:

l o g i c a l and easy understandable p o s i t i o n codes

and allows to navigate around the Rounded Blue as elegant as in Rio de Janeiro around the Christus statue.

2.5 - 3D-address:

A third code will help to identify floors which are higher or lower than the ground floor. The prefix letter "e" as elevation / etage will address over ground levels, the letter "u" will address underground levels.

Examples :

Main library m4 r90 e1

Black Box m3:25 r100 e1

Wall sculptures of Stephan Kern m2 r78 e3

Philharmony m12 r50 u2 - e3

3 - secondary clocks

The addressing methode within the rooms can resonate with the same "clock pulse": Let's see two examples:

Philharmony

= friends of harmony

Main

library

Magazine

4 - Orientator©, the signage of the future:

StatusQuo© addresses will be indicated on a so-called Orientator© as shown right hand.

The letter "e" as "elevation" stays for the floor number. Underground levels will be identified with an "u".

Vertical Pointing©: additional to the logical position information, a round symbol called center pointer will be placed on their periphery to allow to detect the direction m0 according to the following conventions:

Orientator©

if the symbol is placed	on top,	m0 will be	in front of you
	on bottom,		behind you
	right hand,		right hand

etc. Acc. to the same convention, a square symbol points to north = m12. Other symbols for emergency exits, WC etc. are foreseen.

The picture above reveils: m12 is behind and m0 , the Rounded Blue is left hand .

5 - Navigation / VolksNav©:

The local navigation with the help of such codes is called VolksNav©. As proceeded today with house numbers, VolksNav© is nothing else than the major/minor comparison between "r" and "m" values:

Simply proceed according to the methode P - R - M :

Positioning

Turn your body until m0 will be BEHIND. In this position,

ahead	will be	outwards
right hand	"	to "later" (clockwise)
left hand	"	to earlier

etc.

Beginners have to turn physically. After some exercises anyone will be able to do this by his imagination power. In case you meet the Orientator© shown above, you'd have to turn to right, correct?

R - comparison

Ask yourself:

must I move inwards or outwards?

( = is the target radius greater or smaller than the actual one?)

M - comparison

Ask yourself:

must I move to “later” (clockwise) or to earlier?

( = is the target m later or earlier than the actual one?)

Let's see an example:

and you've lost orientation on position m3:3 r80,

so you must go

- inwards ( radius 40 is less than r80 )

and

- to "earlier" (counterclockwise) ( m2 is "earlier" than m3 )

This may seem to be unfamiliar, but the orientation based on cardinal points is used for some thousand years and imaginary clocks are used by soldiers, boy scouts, pilots, blind people etc. for more than 100 years. On a real situation, VolksNav© can be learned within few minutes, that means, faster than the most seeking times.

6 - Vision:

6.1 - Urban Orientation The same addressing methode will also be used within the cities, see www.volksnav.com/munich instead of the postal codes. Acc. to this, the logical urban address of the Gasteig is:

If you compare this code with Deutsches Museum m4:2 r9, then - even without a map - it will be possible to come to the conclusion that the location of Deutsches Museum is closer and "later" to the center than Gasteig.

Be aware about the fact that Deutsches Museum isn't on the following map, but with the help of the position code m4:2 r9 it is possible to imagine where it is !!

6.3 - Natural World Co-ordinates / international City Codes: the same methode can be used all over the globe, see www.watchrose.com.

6.4 - Mobile applications: also navigation devices and mobile phones will indicate such logical position codes and cardinal points, see www.volksnav.com/london