Taxonomy: Culture

The construction of new storage facilities and workshops for the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation (LAKD) and the Schwerin State Museum (SMS) in the state capital of Schwerin serves two key purposes: first, the preservation and protection of the archival, storage, and art collections of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and second, their scholarly analysis and cataloging. While the first objective requires the highest level of security and airtight conditions, the second is to be supported by an open, welcoming work environment.

The demanding requirements are reconciled through a holistic lighting design approach that creates a seamless transition between spaces. A flexible, modern LED system provides adaptable layouts, dimming, precise light distribution, and appropriate protection ratings. Strict illuminance and glare-control standards ensure optimal conditions in storage areas and restoration workshops. High visual quality and excellent color rendering enable conservators to accurately assess materials, surfaces, and color tones throughout the restoration process.

St. Marienkirche one of the oldest churches in Berlin reopened the Turmhalle and the re-presentation of the medieval Totentanz fresco to the public after two years of renovation works.

The ambient lighting of the Turmhalle is achieved by wall mounted direct/indirect luminaires accomodating 8 adjustable projectors. The four wide angle indirect projectors illuminate the vaulted ceilings while the narrow direct projectors are dedicated for the illumination of the floor and selected vertical surfaces.

The illumination of the Totentanz is achieved by very small projectors integrated in the frame of the glass partition making the luminaires almost invisible to the visitors eyes. Track mounted projectors mounted on the spiral staircase carefully planned to be hidden to the visitors are illuminating the remaining wall of the Totentanz which is further away from the glass partition.

Chicago, USA

Take a book, sit under a big tree that provides shade – and dive into the world of literature and science. This was the central idea behind the lighting design for the extension to the University of Chicago Library.
The lighting ambience is natural and glare-free. The colour rendering is almost 100%, due to the fact that at least during the day only daylight is available. To support this effect, high-quality white glass was used, which hardly changes the spectral composition of the daylight inside the building. The light colours are therefore also in harmony with the circadian rhythm of daytime & place.
The incident zenithal daylight not only has measurably much higher illuminance levels but is also emotionally perceived by people as brighter. Glare is avoided by a 57% printing on the glass, the lower part of the facade is without printing to ensure a clear view. At night or during the daylight hours, a mixture of direct downlights (spotlights of project-specific special design) and indirect uplights positioned on the “climate pillars” (cylindrical stainless steel objects) ensures optimum visual and reading conditions. The reading places have an additional reading luminaire integrated into the furniture.
The uplights for ceiling illumination on the air-conditioning columns elude the viewer but are of elementary importance for the spatial effect. They illuminate the light-looking steel construction and support the “lightness of the unity of façade and construction”. In addition, they illuminate the glass panes with a printing (57%).
The printing towards the interior is white, for better reflection and light diffusion of the indirect light component. This creates a lighting mood that is very close to a natural lighting atmosphere in the shade of a big tree…

Berlin, Germany

The Reich President’s Palace is located behind the Reichstag and gained greater public recognition in 2017 when the building was used for coalition negotiations between the political parties to form the new federal government. The Kaisersaal has been restored to its original nobility by Sting Architects and L-PLAN has helped to give the hall a new luster.

If you would like to know more about the lighting for this project, please come by, call us on (030) 30883 760 or write to us at mail@l-plan.de

Berlin, Germany

The Berlin Cathedral organ is the largest organ from the late romantic period still preserved in its original state. It is the work of the court organ builder Wilhelm Sauer from Frankfurt / Oder. At its inauguration in 1905 the organ with its 7,269 pipes and 113 stops was considered the largest in Germany. It was designed at the same time as the Berlin Cathedral and has an exceptionally high-quality sound. The lighting of the organ takes into account the functional needs of the organist and the cantor after a good illumination of the gallery and the organ table. The lighting design was calculated with the help of computer models in order to precisely predict the effects of light and shadow. The interplay of different lighting components to create a series of individual lighting scenes allows the organ and gallery to be used optimally for each event and to be experienced visually.

Berlin, Germany

St. Ansgar’s Church was built as part of the 1957 Interbau building exhibition in Berlin’s Hansaviertel. The ground plan of the nave consists of a parabola with the altar wall at its apex. The northern parabolic arch consists of a solid wall, while the southern arch consists of vertical bands of windows divided by trapezoidal concrete frames. The supporting structure and coffered ceiling of the interior are designed as a steel skeleton construction in exposed concrete. The laterally standing campanile consists of three concrete columns, which are horizontally connected in the upper area. One support continues as a cross. The three cast steel bells of the church hang in the open belfry.  The lighting concept supports the spatial effect of the church interior opening up from the chancel by increasing the luminance on the vertical surfaces defining the space from the entrance to the chancel, thus imitating the lighting effect of daylight.  In order to preserve the impression, the opal glass luminaires that no longer exist were reconstructed on the basis of photographic material and equipped with modern LED technology and lighting with very good colour rendering. The facade of the church is not illuminated from the outside. In order to perceive the building at night, a small part of the interior lighting is used to backlight the glass façade on the south side of the building. The illumination of the Campanile is also limited to  the visible bells in the tower. This allows the shape and structure of the building to be read by the observer from the street space even at night.

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

The consecration hall on the main cemetery in Freiburg is a central-plan building in the neo-renaissance style, built in 1899, as a domed structure over the ground plan of a Greek cross and is 33 m high. As a result of the damage caused by aerial bombs during the Second World War and a makeshift repair in the post-war years, the building was in urgent need of renovation. In the course of the renovation work, which was completed in 2014, the interior lighting was completely renewed. According to its typology, the consecration hall is a sacred building used by all religious communities for funeral ceremonies.
The lighting concept for the hall emphasizes the strong architectural character of this central-plan building with its imposant dome and at the same time supports the function of the building as a liturgical place and hall for concert events. Individual lighting scenes for day and night services allow the various events to be illuminated appropriately and dignified. The centered design of the hall creates a great architectural density. Building elements such as walls, columns and cornices make the central domed space appear to the observer to face the sky. In the daytime as well as in the evening hours, the luminance on the surfaces bordering the room increases towards the top, thus enhancing the impression of the spherical domed room. To emphasize the vertical, the dome and side walls of the hall are highlighted with narrow-beam linear LED luminaires. An indirect ceiling surface-mounted luminaire forms the crowning glory of the dome.
The central area of the hall with its temporary seating and the elements required for the liturgy, such as the cross or the coffin, are illuminated from the dome parapet.
For this purpose, adjustable LED spotlights with different beam characteristics are combined into groups of four LED spotlights each and aligned in such a way that they illuminate both the liturgical elements and the coffin, as well as ensuring uniform lighting for the participants of the service.
The illumination of the entrances to the hall is realized with suspended luminaires in the shape of a cross. These exposed luminaires take up the ground plan of the Greek cross and in their clear arrangement create a discreet and at the same time sublime atmosphere by accentuating the entrance areas of the hall.
To accentuate the lead glass windows of the hall on the ground floor, linear LED luminaires are integrated in the horizontal bases of the window frames, accentuating both the lead glass windows and the window reveal.

Freiberg, Germany

The primary objectives for lighting the Schloss Freudenstein Mineral Museum in Freiberg, Saxony/Germany were: unveil the chemical composition of over 5000 minerals exhibited from different continents; and highlight its 12th-century old medieval architecture. Daylight was an integral component in the entrance and cafeteria. Custom-made luminaires with unique luminance-reducing white-coated lamps were integrated into the architecture in certain exhibition areas with low ceilings to enhance human visual adaptation and give the impression of lighter ceilings. However, halogen, fiber-optic, and fluorescent luminaires with black ceilings were used in other exhibition areas to enrich the geological properties of minerals.

Berlin, Germany

The church and the Protestant community centre is a three-storey building on an elliptical ground plan. The basis for the geometric form is the “seed”, which will grow and bear fruit in the metaphorical sense. This idea can be found in the church interior, especially through the design of the ceiling in combination with daylight planning. The minimalistically designed interior draws both daylight and artificial light that compliments the shape of the ceiling, which floats as a shell over the church interior and gives the space a soft flowing light. Artificial light and daylight should result in an almost identical interior effect and promote contemplation in the church interior.