Enhancing the Luther Monument in Berlin

Through the Interplay of Architecture, Light, and Art

Proposal for the Negotiated Procedure: Monuments and Memorials, Contracting Authority: GRÜN BERLIN GmbH

Artistic Concept

This proposal is founded on the belief that powerful public spaces do not require many elements.

Rather than elevating Luther above the people, the monument returns him to ground level, restoring a direct human relationship. The sculpture is part of everyday life, inviting reflection rather than reverence. There are no monumental barriers, no stone seating, walls or physical obstacles that separate the figure from the public street. Instead, the design expresses the idea of Volksnähe—Luther among the people.

The intervention is composed of four elements:

• Luther
• The Ground
• A Light Mast
• An Information Point

Concentric circles radiate from the monument, expressing the continuing influence of Luther’s ideas. They represent the outward expansion of his revolutionary thinking—from the individual to society, from the local to the global. The black and white stone circles suggest a pulsating energy going out from Luther’s revolutionary personality and moment in time that resonates today and into the future.

Light is used with precision and restraint. A single luminaire illuminates Luther’s face and the open book, drawing attention to the moment of reading. It symbolises the light of the Reformation—the illumination of knowledge, language and individual thought. Here, light becomes more than illumination; it becomes the medium through which an idea continues to be heard and seen across time.

The illuminated information point provides historical interpretation through text and QR access to further digital content. Its dichroic glass changes continuously with daylight, weather and the movement of the observer, while after dark it becomes a quiet beacon within the square. The monument is therefore never static, but constantly renewed through the changing qualities of natural and artificial light and movement of the viewer.

The result is a place of reflection that is historically sensitive, spatially calm and unmistakably contemporary—a restrained intervention where architecture, art and light work together to make history present and accessible.

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Light Sculpture and Welcome Signage for Thermalbad Wiesenbad

Architectural city-marketing and orientation elements for the spa town

For the well-known Saxon spa town of Thermalbad Wiesenbad, we developed a cohesive and distinctive welcome and wayfinding system that combines orientation, recognizability, and a strong culture of hospitality within the public realm. The objective is a clear, high-quality address to all arriving visitors, as well as a positive and friendly farewell for those departing.

At all town entrances, welcome signs approximately three meters in height are planned. Designed in a contemporary, reduced formal language, they mark the transitions into and out of the town. Clear typography, high-quality materials, and an individual mode of address create trust, provide orientation, and leave a positive first impression.

The system is complemented by a four-meter-high artistic-architectural light sculpture serving as a central landmark within the roundabout. It translates the signet of the thermal baths into a contemporary three-dimensional form, uniting regional heritage, the power of the thermal springs, and the spa tradition into a clearly legible symbol. Its perforated metal structure and integrated lighting ensure a strong presence by day and a powerful long-range visibility at night. As a visual guiding element, the sculpture structures space, directs sightlines, and supports intuitive orientation at a key traffic node.

Together, the sculpture and the welcome signs form a coherent city-marketing and orientation system. They translate the identity of the spa town into a contemporary design language, strengthen its presence within the urban space, and shape the image of Thermalbad Wiesenbad — clear, welcoming, and memorably enduring.

Guidelines for optimising commercial outdoor lighting

Our lighting design for a dark sky

Sustainable and environmentally friendly outdoor lighting for commercial and industrial areas offers great potential. Our guide to optimising commercial lighting reduces light pollution – while maintaining safety and efficiency.

The basis is a study carried out by Ruairí O’Brien on behalf of the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment in the Premnitz Industrial Park, located in the Westhavelland Nature and Star Park (approx. 70 km west of Berlin). The region was recognised as Germany’s first star park in 2014 and is committed to preserving natural nocturnal landscapes through responsible lighting. The measures presented here were developed in collaboration with two local companies and serve as a model for other locations.

Core measures:

• Targeted lighting (only where necessary)
• Optimised light distribution (minimised light spill)
• Shielding against stray light
• Reduced reflection (through darker surfaces)

Advantages:

• Environmental protection (nature, night and climate)
• Cost reduction (lower energy consumption)

The guideline serves as a model and is suitable for commercial and industrial areas.

23.08.2024

Design guidelines for Lehnin Monastery

20.08.2024

Transformation 1.535° COAL

Jesse Owens Information Sculpture

Place of Remembrance at Olympic Stadium Berlin

Ruairí O’Brien developed the concept for a place of remembrance in front of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, dedicated to the American track and field athlete James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens. At the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Owens won four gold medals in the 100 metres, long jump, 200 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay, becoming the most successful athlete of the Games. His triumph powerfully disproved the racist ideology of National Socialism.

The memorial sculpture combines architecture, light, history and movement to create a spatial experience. A transparent structure in front of the stadium takes the 100-metre track as its narrative line. Reflective and optical elements direct sunlight during the day and, at night, create a precise drawing in light that makes Owens’ run, his speed and the moment of victory tangible.

The result is a place between remembrance, perception and physical experience. Visitors do not simply look at a sculpture; they move along a story. Light, reflection, scale and rhythm make speed and time visible — inviting visitors to see, think, read, learn, ask and enjoy.

Tharandt

The House of Sustainability is an architectural study as the result of a multi-stage participatory planning process for the future use/development of a central area in the center of the forestry town of Tharandt. In the past, the German House (host cities, cultural hall, cinema) was located on this area. With the demolition of the former Deutsches Haus hotel and inn in 2014, a central inner-city fallow or empty area was created. The design presented here (tree house / house of sustainability) is the result of a feasibility study on the district development of the central inner-city location in the forestry town of Tharandt from 2014. The House of Sustainability design for Tharandt reflects the genius loci of the forestry town of Tharandt, brings together modern hi-tech and original nature and creates a symbiosis of city and natural landscape in dialogue with the traditional architecture of the surrounding area (church, castle, town hall). The glass facade creates transparency and draws attention into the interior. There is a large space there for trees and plants that need special protection in our climatic conditions or their own climate. In this way, the building also creates a link to the forest botanical garden, which can be expanded with the tree house/house of sustainability to include plants and plants from other latitudes on earth.

Re-Thinking Bismarck

Artificial Eclipse – Light, Shadow, and the Re-Reading of History

The project introduces a large-scale “sun blocker” that casts a moving shadow across the Bismarck monument.
Rather than altering or removing the monument, the intervention reframes it — placing it under a continuous condition of light and darkness.

This artificial eclipse interrupts the monument’s visual authority. At certain moments, the figure is fully illuminated; at others, it is partially or completely obscured.
The monument is no longer a fixed image, but a surface subjected to change.

Light and shadow become a medium of critique. They expose the instability of historical meaning and reflect the evolving nature of public perception — particularly in relation to colonialism, nationalism, and the monument’s reception over time.

A mirror integrated into the disc introduces a second layer of reflection. It reverses the traditional relationship between monument and viewer: instead of being looked up to, the monument is observed from above.

The visitor becomes part of the act of interpretation.

The intervention creates a spatial and atmospheric field — a place of shade, altered temperature, and sensory awareness — where physical experience and critical reflection overlap.

Simple in form but precise in effect, the project transforms the monument from a static object into a dynamic condition: a site where history is not only remembered, but actively re-examined.