Baumer's black blocks beautify boxes

Freudenberg, Germany – Polyurethane artwork is adorning the streets of Freudenberg's old town, courtesy of Albrecht Baumer.

The old town hosts a number of outdoor events each year, such as farmers' markets and Christmas markets.

Each of these requires extra power. This is supplied by cables that have to be laid in the street. The cables are often laid over fairly long distances, and are a potential hazard to market-goers.

To overcome the problem, Baumer and local energy company Innogy have installed three strategically positioned power distribution boxes. These enable power to be distributed more sensibly across the area.

Since the boxes can look very dull, the company has helped to transform them into small art installations by supplying stickers with foam blocks. These were cut to shape on the company's machines.