People in the Gasteig: Nothing Works Without Them

Sybille and Ulrike, paramedics

Whether a wasp sting or a circulatory collapse: visitors needing medical assistance during a concert or festival at the Gasteig HP8 will get to know the paramedics of the Aicher Ambulanz. Three of the 15 members of the ambulance service’s core team are on site throughout each event. Sybille Müller and Ulrike von Weltzien have both been paramedics for ten years now. Sybille was a television set manager before becoming a nurse. During the refugee crisis in 2015, her social engagement prompted her to train in emergency medicine. The amicable paramedic has been on duty several times a week for eight years now and springs into action when a Gasteig visitor loses consciousness, has a fall, injures themselves or has a panic attack. Often at her side is her colleague Ulrike, a qualified psychologist and part-time first aider. It has been known for people to spend several hours in the first-aid room at HP8, where they are served cups of tea as they recover, looked after by the paramedics. During a concert, though, the paramedics are usually found near the doors inside the auditorium, where the Gasteig staff can always reach them by phone.

There are times where they are called to an incident every day for three weeks, and others where nothing at all happens for a week. As the on-site paramedic team has little in the way of diagnostic tools at their disposal, they must assess the severity of each situation and decide on the action to take based mainly on their own expertise. As soon as they attend to a person, they are fully responsible for them. That can be an adventure at times, they say. Not for the first time did they tiptoe into the concert hall during a recording session to retrieve an unconscious person in the dark as the orchestra continued to play. Sybille and Ulrike love their work on the ground and the congenial atmosphere at the Gasteig. “We don’t have to be seen,” says Sybille. Both of them see themselves more as those who hold elderly people’s hands than daring “blue-light heroes”.

Zaid, cleaner

Zaid Ahmadi has been working as a cleaner at the Gasteig for eight years now, first in Haidhausen and now at HP8. Hailing from Afghanistan, he came to Germany ten years ago.  On five days a week, he patrols the building with his cleaning trolley, keeping the halls, corridors, staircases and toilets spick and span. Moving from floor to floor, he likes to be out and about and, even without professional qualification, is a master of his trade.

His day’s work done, Zaid enjoys chatting with his colleagues. The atmosphere is friendly here and people are ever happy to offer their help. If someone mislays their wallet or mobile phone, Zaid takes it to the Gasteig’s lost property office. If he manages to catch the owner in time, he returns it in person, relishing their relief on being reunited with their valuables. When he once found a discarded European flag on his rounds in the library, he immediately decorated his cleaning trolley with it. While Zaid used to do a lot of sport – from wrestling to volleyball – it is now his work that keeps him fit, he says. Keeping him on his feet all the time, his work gives him superpowers, he adds with a wink. Ever cheerful, wearing comfy trainers and cleaning gloves, he continues his rounds, largely unnoticed among the general bustle.

Andreas, caretaker

As a caretaker at Gasteig HP8, Andreas Schmidt is one of the site maintenance team. Usually out and about outdoors, you can recognise him by his black work clothes and mischievous smile. Every day, he empties the rubbish bins and sorts the waste into special compactors, maintains the Gasteig’s fleet of vehicles and looks after the flower beds on the forecourt. In winter, he clears the snow from the site. He is also responsible for ensuring that each of the almost 2000 seats in the Isarphilharmonie fold up nicely when the audience stands up and that their upholstery is clean. And if the black stained wood panelling sustains scratches during stage set-up work, revealing the light-coloured wood underneath, he get out the paintbrush and touches them up.

What he likes about his work at the Gasteig is the variety – both of the tasks and of the people. A trained floor layer, he ended up at the Gasteig by pure chance: He came to the arts centre on contract for an external facility management company some 14 years ago and liked it so much that he stayed. “You’re always dealing with people here,” says Andreas. Sometimes he stops to chat with people enjoying the summer sun on the Kulturinsel or helps a desperate cyclist whose lock is stuck. Because that is his superpower: “I’m good with people; I’m a team player.”