Taxonomy: Administration

Berlin, Germany

The new Google & Youtube offices & studios are located in Tucholskystraße in the center of Berlin. The design by AHMM Architects provides for a series of architectural interventions, which were carefully introduced into the listed building in order to activate the usability of the interior space for Google’s purposes. At the same time, the character of this historic building was to be preserved. In order to accompany and make visible the ‘flow’ of human activities and movements within the building, a light graphic of suspended curved light lines was developed for the horizontal and vertical access areas. At the intersections of the corridors and staircases, the light lines were concentrated into circles and ellipses and become three-dimensional light sculptures in the staircases. Suspended workplace luminaires with a down and up-light component illuminate the areas of the computer workstations evenly. In the break-out areas, decorative luminaires with classic technical luminaire design from the early 19th century were used to refer to the building’s construction period from the height of Berlin’s industrialization.

Munich, Germany

The twin towers of the Highlight Tower in Munich can best be described as a funnel of endless reflecting surfaces. The buildings are equipped with blue static luminous marker lights located at the edges of the building on each floor, accentuating the cubature of the towers at night. Fluctuating light in the pedestrian bridges and the glass lift cabins emphasizes the few structural connections between the towers. A multitude of light reflections and refractions create the impression of endless rooms filled with changing coloured light. The dynamic lighting integrated into the access elements accentuates the architectural form. The office lighting for this project is developed as combined ceiling illumination and functional workplace lighting supports the perception of the spatial structure of the building. The brightly illuminated ceilings of the office rooms define the architecture and contribute to a high user-friendliness of the building.

Frankfurt am Main,

The high-rise tower designed by Helmut Jahn in 1990 became one of the landmarks of the financial metropolis by virtue of its striking shape with the pyramid top. With a height of 257m, the 64 storey tower was the tallest building in Frankfurt for a long time. In 2019, the renovation of the building was planned by Helmut Jahn Architects in cooperation with Matteo Thun Architects. All public areas, especially the foyer, underground circulation and restaurants were to be re-designed. In the central foyer, the four large existing glass facades were renewed and moved outwards from the facade level. This created glazed conservatories on all sides of the building on the ground floor, and the total area of the foyer increased by approx. 70%. A backlit glass wall encloses the central rotunda of the lift lobby. This creates a luminous core in the centre of the building which provides a great depth (spatially) and turns the entire foyer into a visual focal point from the street space of Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage.
The re-design of the exterior lighting included retrofitting of the linear edge lighting of the tower pyramid with modern LED luminaires that continued on to the building façade. Linear marker luminaires mounted on the bay windows on every consecutive floor of the building, now accentuates the entire cubature of the tower at night.

Munich, Germany

Skyline Tower is a 22-storey high-rise office building on the outskirts of downtown Munich. Simplistic in its architectural form, yet dominant in structural clarity, the building’s glass and steel shell provides full transparency through the structure, transforming its functional office lighting into the building’s night-time illumination.  By unifying the top-level interior lighting with the exterior cantilever lighting as one singular visual element, in conjunction with the backlit façade, the lighting scheme for Skyline Tower allows it to influence and create a unique addition to the Munich skyline.

Geneva, Switzerland

Merck-Serono, one of the biggest Bio-Tech Company in the world, is a city-block of existing and new structures redefining convention. Opaque and transparent fragments of the building are unified by light, projecting a consistent image of strong yet soft, light yet airy, creating a magical and changing boundary to the public realm. The ultimate goal of lighting is to create a pleasant and comfortable working place for its users. Halls and bridges connecting functional areas become pleasant journeys in light and comprehension, easing, and facilitating movements. Daylight and controlled electric lighting result in a building of high technology, but low energy consumption.

Mannheim, Germany

When the corporate headquarters for the Mannheimer Versicherung Augustaanlage GmbH in Mannheim/Germany required additional space, the consequent acquisition of the adjoining plot led to the design of the companion building – a timeless, ultramodern aesthetic. The original building is a solid sculptural mass whereas the new ‘glowing’ building is transparent and illuminated from within. Its twin shell, tested materials and sustainable technologies provide maximum comfort and low-energy consumption. Light and transparency juxtaposed with the sculptural mass create a symbiosis of function and form.

Berlin, Germany

As part of the renovation of the representative areas of the Haus des Deutschen Handwerks’ in Berlin Mitte, the lighting is being extensively revised. The lighting concept envisages upgrading the existing lighting as far as possible with modern lighting technology and also implementing new lighting integrated into the architecture. The combination of existing luminaires and integrated architectural lighting enables the lighting atmosphere in these areas to be controlled and fine-tuned. Thus, for the partially day-lit reception and exhibition areas on the ground floor, a daylight-controlled luminous ceiling is provided in addition to the historical wall luminaires. The lighting situation can therefore be individually adjusted to suit the large number of events taking place here, such as temporary exhibitions, lectures, and receptions.

Berlin, Germany

The Berlin Medical Society’s office building is an archetype for architectural lighting that supersedes all levels of flamboyance yet abstains from being flagrant. The indigenously developed, award-winning, dynamic color changing RGB office luminaire with an individualized choice of light and color plays the dual role of lighting the work-places and the façade. This sublime approach creates an alleviating and soothing atmosphere that caters to human needs of physical, emotional and psychological feeling of well-being. This futuristic and clairvoyant corporate lighting concept uses colored light as a paradigmatic healing element that bestows a surrealistic aura to the entire building.