Exceptional lighting strategy in Lüdenscheid

That passway lighting does not always mean uniformly arranged luminaire poles is shown in a light planning project completed by DIAL. The town of Lüdenscheid awarded a contract to DIAL for the illumination of the area between the Phänomenta exhibition building and the EGC (business development centre) building standing opposite. This was a project for a pedestrian footpath in an inner city area.

Conventional luminaire poles would have impaired the special historic atmosphere between the buildings and unintentionally illuminated the interior space through the existing windows and restricted the use of the space available between the buildings. »From the very beginning it was clear to us that we would aim for lighting which focuses on people, their perception and the aesthetics of the location«, said Klaus Bieckmann, Team Leader Light at DIAL. Conventional, street lighting does not, in most cases, create lighting which encourages one to linger. The aim was to awaken awareness of the architecture even in hours of darkness and to create a special atmosphere.

Very quickly the idea was born to design passway lighting to reflect the historic façade of the EGC - not only is the street illuminated but the architecture also comes alive. It was a conscious decision by DIAL's lighting designers to choose the façade since vertical elements take priority over horizontal elements in human perception. »When it came to the details, we decided to accentuate façade elements. Adjustable luminaires with a narrow beam are placed at the top of the façade and light is projected downwards onto the pillars. To create the right lighting mood we chose warm white with a correlated colour temperature of 3 000 Kelvin«, Bieckmann continued.

In this particular case, the choice of this unusual lighting strategy, although not covering the required standard for street lighting (DIN EN 13201), created a special atmosphere.