At the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main, more than 1000 new LED lights have been installed to show the Old Masters paintings in a new light – with significantly reduced power consumption. Thanks to an ingenious lighting concept, daylight is also directed into the interior rooms After more than a year of renovation work on the “Old Masters” collection rooms in Frankfurt’s Städel Museum, the 400 or so exhibited […]

In the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main, over 1000 new LED luminaires cast the paintings of the Old Masters in a new light – with significantly reduced power consumption. Thanks to an ingenious lighting concept, daylightis also directed into the interior rooms

After more than a year of renovation work on the “Old Masters” collection rooms in Frankfurt’s Städel Museum, the 400 or so works of art from the 14th to 18th centuries on display now appear in a new light – thanks to completely new lighting. The aim of those responsible for the museum, Zumtobel Group AG and the Darmstadt-based architecture and exhibition design firm Bach Dolder, was to improve the visual and spatial effect and visually enhance the side cabinets.Katja Hilbig, Head of Exhibition Services, summarizes the project: “We wanted to achieve a good mix of daylight and artificial light – while finely balancing conservational and atmospheric requirements.”

New light: around a third less energy consumption

The new LED lighting concept should also help to save around a third of the lighting energy. Where previously numerous spotlights accentuated individual works, today daylight-like artificial light ceilings provide comprehensive room lighting. The museum also saves costs thanks to the lower maintenance requirements: instead of 20 to 25 spotlights per cabinet, today only selected spotlights supplement the wide-area ceiling light. More than 1100 meters of TECTON continuous-row system luminaires now illuminate the skylight halls. They backlight the striking glass skylights and ensure a uniform lighting level – depending on the natural outside light.

Lighting adapted to the outside light

Visitors will be able to tell whether the day is cloudy or the sun is shining. However, they will never be completely in the dark: a daylight sensor – controlled by the LUXMATE lighting management system – ensures this. At 5000 Kelvin, the TECTON luminaires imitate natural daylight white. “In the past, the trend was to illuminate showrooms in a rather cool way,” explains Katja Hilbig. “But we noticed that our visitors didn’t like that,” says the museum employee. In the cabinets without daylight, the museum has installed the versatile OMEGA PRO2 LED panel luminaire from the Thorn range of lighting experts. Around 800 individual luminaires form a coherent luminous ceiling that impresses with tunableWhite technology, a particularly good color rendering index of CRI 90 and a low overall height.

Sophisticated system in Frankfurt

SUPERSYSTEM II LED spotlights and the projector spotlight from Zumtobel’s portfolio are used in the cabinets. In the museum’s high halls, ARCOS III zoomfocus spotlights from Zumbtobel create subtle accents. In order to provide museum visitors with an unadulterated aesthetic experience, the Zumtobel team tested the optimum setting for each artwork. “We also used optical attachments, such as oval markers,” reveals Jens Lohse from Zumtobel.

Perfect light color: between warm white and daylight white

The experts used a Bluetooth wireless interface to set the appropriate light color in the range between 2,700 K (warm white) and 6,500 K (daylight white). This prevents gold leaf, for example, from acquiring a pinkish tinge. However, the corridor of color nuances that the museum actually uses is very limited, admits Katja Hilbig: “An important quality is that our visitors don’t even notice the different settings.”

Inclusion – what does that actually mean? Making space for water! But how? What positive impact does light have on its surroundings? – Questions like these will be discussed by experts at the Zukunft Stadt@GRÜNBAU BERLIN event on April 27.

Thursday, April 27, 2017 | 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Exhibition grounds Berlin ExpoCenter City | Marshall House

Inclusion – what does that actually mean? Making space for water! But how? What positive impact does light have on its surroundings? – Questions like these will be discussed by experts at the Zukunft Stadt@GRÜNBAU BERLIN event on April 27, including: Martin Rein-Cano, co-founder and partner of the landscape architecture firm Topotek 1, Dieter Grau, Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl, Peter Menke, DIE GRÜNE STADT foundation, and Gerhard Fuchs, “Lebendige Stadt” foundation. The event will be moderated by Uwe Rada, taz editor and author.

Zukunft Stadt@Grünbau is a new event format in which information transfer and networking form a symbiosis. Specialist speakers will give short presentations on topics that are relevant to municipal planners, landscape architects and related trades for sustainable urban development.

This year’s topics include urban greenery and the challenges it will face in the coming years, rainwater management, ground coverings, light in urban spaces and inclusion. The exhibiting companies will have the opportunity to present their contribution to sustainable urban development in short, concise presentations. These short presentations are integrated into the lecture program.

There are plenty of opportunities to talk to each other between the presentations. Over 100 participants took part in the last event.

Click here to register

Congress program

9.45 Welcome

10.00 From the perspective of the municipal decision-maker: Inclusion – What is it actually? What is behind it? – Ute Eckardt

10.45 From the planner’s perspective: What can the design of an inclusive playground look like? – Martina Hoff

11.30 – 11.45 Break

11.45 Green and open spaces in the city of the future
In summer 2015, the Green Paper on Urban Greenery was presented to the public, now the White Paper on Urban Greenery will follow in spring 2017. Peter Menke, Stiftung DIE GRÜNE STADT, tells us what it is all about and what the 400 stakeholders involved in the project hope to gain from it.

12.30 Short presentations by companies on the sustainable city in Pecha Kucha format

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch break

14.00 Making space for water
Dieter Grau, Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl, reports on the functional and aesthetic networking of rainwater management.

14.45 Luminosity
Lighting is what makes urban spaces tangible at night. Light in outdoor spaces can transform unsightly areas of public transport, dark sections of parks and uninviting places such as underpasses into attractive places to spend time. Gerhard Fuchs from the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation will explain the positive impact of light on its surroundings and how luminaires can improve the safety aspect of outdoor spaces.

15.30 – 15.45 Coffee break

15.45 On Stage! – Street furniture
If the city were a stage, the furniture would probably be the protagonists. The choice of suitable street furniture often determines whether an urban space is accepted or not. It must not only function, but also cut a good figure. But what objects does an urban space need? And what do they look like in the 21st century? Martin Rein-Cano, Topotek 1, will address these questions.

16.30 Short presentations by companies on the sustainable city in Pecha Kucha format

17.00 Get Together