Torhaus

Lüdenscheid, Germany

The gate house from 1898 is a one-storey building with a two-storey middle risalit. The prominent urban location and its historical developmental importance makes it a defining feature of the cityscape. 4 masts illuminate the building’s facades with LED lights to perceive and enhance the building’s cubature at night from the street space of Mathildenstraße and the cemetery behind it. The approx. 4.5m high masts with dimmable LED luminaires are located at the vanishing points of the corners of the building and are positioned in a very diligent and conscious manner to avoid all possible disturbances like glare to the tenants on the first floor. Reminiscent of the former gatehouse with Tor Risalit, the inner surface of the entire central risalit façade is illuminated with narrow-beam linear wall surface-mounted luminaires from the base of the façade. To accentuate the building as a focal point at Mathildenstraße, the gable facades of the side wings are also illuminated with linear LED luminaires from the cornices of the gables.

For the illumination of the cemetery path the tradition of the so-called grave lights was adopted. The grave light consists of a candle which is often placed on the grave in special lanterns with glass panes for decoration and as protection against wind and rain. This light has different meanings. On one hand it illuminates “the way” for the deceased, on the other, the light is expressed as a bridge between the living and the dead. Grave lights are placed all year round, but very often on All Saints’ Day and on the Sunday of the dead. The candlelight creates an intimate yet a lively lighting atmosphere. To illuminate the cemetery path, the characteristic light colour gradient within a candle flame is transferred to a programmable LED panel. The LED screens are programmed as a dynamic colour gradient of a candle light and integrated into flat bars made of a bronze alloy. Installed as bollard lights along the central cemetery path, they immerse the path in a dignified and intimate lighting atmosphere that compliments the lighting mood of the grave lights. The luminous flux of the path lighting should ensure a sufficient average illuminance of 2 lux on the cemetery path. Due to the subtle colours and the dynamics of the candle flame, the path lighting blends well with the special lighting mood of the cemetery, despite the higher luminous flux compared to candlelight.