Prize(s) Winners in Cultural Building Lighting Design
Lighting Design/Product Company Licht Kunst Licht AG
Lead Designers Edwin Smida, Nils von Leesen
Other Designer's names Konstantin Klaas, Jaehoon Choi, Sophie Stanitzek (formerly LKL)
Architecture Company Staab Architekten GmbH, Berlin
Client Kronberg Academy Foundation
Photo Credits Marcus Ebener
Other Credits General planner: Schütt Ingenieurbau, Münster / Acoustic designer: Peutz bv, Molenheuk
Completion Date 2023
Project Location Kronberg, Germany
Entry DescriptionThe Casals Forum in Kronberg offers an integrated and ambient lighting concept, including flexible lighting scenarios and lighting atmospheres for a holistic musical experience.
The building has the character of a sculptural pavilion and the walls of the unusually high concert hall are curved and feature an undulating arrangement of convex and concave lines. While the wall surfaces of the hall on the second floor are mostly glazed, this transparency is closed by a curtain to allow for a special dramaturgy during musical performances.
The general lighting in the upper foyer is created by downlights integrated into a seamless metal grid ceiling and the glass wall around the music hall is accompanied by a narrow LED strip light channel to illuminate the curtain with a soft light during concerts.
Diverse lighting scenes have been developed to enable a gradual change in atmosphere, from brightness to a more intimate scenario. The "Welcome" scene presents the entire room in all its splendor. To guide the visitors to their seats, the luminaires above the audience fade out in the subsequent scene and attention is increasingly drawn to the stage until maximum focussing. The potential for swarm configuration of the luminaires means that either a dramatic atmosphere can be created for speeches or a larger grouping of luminaires can be arranged to respond to the different stage sizes.
Sustainability ApproachA special feature of the innovative new building is its sustainable and regenerative energy concept: The Casals Forum is air-conditioned with an innovative ice storage system funded by the EU and the state of Hesse, making it the first concert hall that can be operated in a CO2-neutral manner. It’s also equipped with a heat pump and enables a holistic sustainable operation.
The foyer, which is glazed on the outside and inside, provides a large amount of daylight and thus reduces the need for artificial light and, as a result, the building's basic energy requirements. In this way, the comfort for visitors is increased as well.
