Lighting Concept Swanseaplatz Mannheim

Contribution to the competition for the redesign of the Swanseaplatz

Together with Huttereimann landscape architecture

Lighting scenes

1. Early night hours (lighting plan above): Full lighting level according to programmed output as per lighting concept

2. Late night hours (center images): reduced, energy-saving lighting

By means of phase-controlled half-night switching (HNS), the luminaires are switched to reduced power operation (reduced luminous flux) during the night. This ensures minimum lighting levels to ensure safety and orientation in the square. In areas without use or individual luminaires that primarily serve spatial modeling and atmosphere (e.g. at the Schaukelwäldchen), the lighting can be switched off completely, in coordination with the city of Mannheim. The path area remains illuminated even in the late half of the night in such a way that the standard-compliant illuminance is maintained. As an option, intelligent dynamic lighting control with radio-networked luminaires can be used to make the lighting dependent on use. To prevent vandalism and increase cleanliness and safety, the lighting in the kindergarten area is controlled by presence detectors.

Early night atmosphere

The downward light prevents a boring and monotonous lighting atmosphere and provides a lively carpet of light with nuances of light and dark. The luminaires can also provide accents, for example, grazing light on the trunk of the trees without scattered light into the night sky. The tree-like shape of the selected luminaires matches the park landscape.

Late night atmosphere

According to the use, rear park areas are darkened, the path remains illuminated. The square is in darkness and only the main path is fully illuminated, for safety when crossing and for orientation.

Environment

Reduced illuminance levels and directional light from above at small half-scatter angles maximally reduce unwanted stray light and prevent unnecessary light pollution. The warm light color of the luminaires in the square creates a stimulating and calm atmosphere. In addition, this lighting provides the highest possible level of insect and bird protection due to its low blue content. For optimal color recognition and improved facial recognition, to increase the safety and the subjective feeling of security, the area of the passageway and the café is illuminated with 3,000 K.

Dean’s Office University Hospital Dresden

Office lighting concept

Our lighting concept for the offices of the dean’s office of the medical faculty Carl Gustav Carus of the TU Dresden combines functionality of lighting with attractive lighting design. In addition to everyday work activities, the rooms are also used for meetings and small conferences as well as for receiving guests. These different functional areas are precisely supported by the lighting. At the same time, the luminaires and the high-quality lighting design form an important part of the interior design of the dean’s office.

The basic lighting provided by wide-area ceiling luminaires is supplemented by individual space lighting for optimal working. Wall-washers attractively highlight the artworks on the walls, and “floating” ring luminaires above the communicative areas create a visual link between the different rooms as a recurring element in a varied arrangement. Simple, flexible control of color temperature and brightness allows individual, attractive lighting moods to be created for many different situations.

Exterior lighting St. Joseph at Stift Hospital, Dresden

Lighting concept west wing hospital, Dresden

By 2018, the St. Joseph Stift Hospital in Dresden built the new West Wing. With this future central outpatient clinic, an important new main frequency point of the hospital was created. Ruairí O’Brien developed the lighting design and a holistic orientation system for the exterior of the hospital.
For the exterior lighting, we considered this new hospital area in five local areas / spaces with different functions and developed appropriate lighting proposals for each.

• Access and entrance area emergency ambulance (night entrance, ambulance access)
• Entrance underground parking
• Bicycle parking
• Entrance area with canopy, external staircase, ramp
• Patient garden
• Entrance to residential area for nuns

In addition to supporting the various functions, our lighting design also takes into account the legal lighting requirements and the optimal fulfillment of safety aspects, such as a glare- and shadow-free design for the lighting of circulation areas, good facial recognition and optimal illumination of the space. Supporting the hospital’s new exterior orientation system was another design concern. Different brightnesses, colors of light and accentuations, e.g. of the entrance, creating a lighting hierarchy that supports intuitive human orientation. For the canopy as an asymmetrical element, we proposed a lighting design that supports its architecture and creates a strong visual connection between the exterior and interior. The entrance becomes more easily perceived as such from far and near.

Marketplace Torgau

Lighting for marketplace and town hall

For the city of Torgau we developed lighting proposals for a contemporary individual illumination of the market place, the town hall and the adjacent central streets within the scope of the redesign of the illumination of the historic city center.

The concept respectfully integrates the lighting into the valuable historic townscape.

Lighting Concept House 1, University Hospital Dresden

Façade lighting concept for the central administration building

The main focus of Ruairi O’Brien’s lighting concept was on the central administration building of Dresden University Hospital. The carefully accentuated illumination of the façade and the roof, which was approved under monument protection law, increases the perceptibility of the building and thus does justice to its central importance.
Elements in the surroundings, such as the pedestrian entrance and the avenue of trees in front of the main portal of the building, were also integrated into the lighting design.

Light and Word, Cities by the Sea

Light Performance by Ruairí O’Brien

Three arts, one theme: Ronald Lippok (sound), Thomas Kunst (poetry) and Ruairí O’Brien (light) presented the BARDINALE theme “Cities by the Sea” in 2005.

The focus was on the diversity of poetic forms of expression and at the same time the uniqueness of poetry, sound art and light poetry was emphasized. The three artistic interpretations were presented in separate sequences, so that the audience had the chance to experience and compare the realizations of one and the same theme within the three poetic expressions. The dramaturgy of this synthesis of the arts in terms of time and content allowed each genre the greatest possible creative freedom and sole attention.

www.bardinale.de

Winter Light Leipzig

Urban lighting concept for the city center of Leipzig

At the invitation of the city of Leipzig, a winter or Christmas light concept was developed by Ruairí O’Brien in a workshop process. The concept follows the title “inside-outside” and, under the motto “Zeitgeist with heart”, pursues the goal of contrasting a “city ring frozen in light” with the warmly illuminated city center. The aim is to create a fairytale experience. This is achieved through “bulbous thermodynamic lighting” that bathes the ring in a cold white neutral light and the downtown area within it in a warm and homey light. This urban gradation is proposed not only as a Christmas lighting concept, but as “winter lighting” as a whole, corresponding to the temporal dynamics of the winter and advent season.

The concept was recommended for further development for realization with a special appreciation mainly due to its urban design approach.

Client: City of Leipzig, Urban Planning Office

Services: Lighting concept