Volksbank Area, Freiburg

Light, that connects. Central and highly visible even in the dark: Anyone stepping out of Freiburg’s main railway station looks at the newly desi- gned Volksbank area – and sees a building complex whose façade is effectively underlined by accentuated lighting de- sign. This lighting concept is continued in the interiors. The building complex comprises 43,000 sqm of gross floor area; space enough for the cooperative financial services provi- der Volksbank Freiburg, foundations of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, St. Ursula’s Grammar School and the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, among others.

The lamella structure of the façades abstractly reflects the idea of trees and thus takes up the theme of the Black Forest. The anodised aluminium profiles are invisibly anchored to the exte- rior structure. Extra profiles were drawn to integrate ADO Lights light lines in the pilaster strips. The vertical effect described above is complemented by horizontal light lines in the entran- ce area of the hotel.

On the façade alone, almost 1000 linear metres of these dim- mable light strips illuminate the building complex.

In an intelligent way, the light lines are also used again and again in the interior: in the Volksbank counter hall, they deco- rate the ceiling as a luminous barcode, and in the area of the ATMs they ensure uniform illumination of the terminals through vertical arrangement. In the staircase of the hotel, sculptural hints of tree trunks are subtly staged.

In the interior design, it was possible to limit the number of co- lours and materials despite completely different concepts of use. This kind of harmony is also reflected in the permanently installed interior lighting, limited to a few products, also from ADO Lights. The uniform illuminance and quality is ensured by the LED Gallery: elegant yet unobtrusive downlights installed in the ceilings as strips of three, six or twelve. LED Aurora spot- lights provide even more light at selected points.

Users can experience the LED Linargo in different versions. This rectangular luminaire is suitable for different scenarios and purposes because it can be recessed into the ceiling, as in the auditorium of the grammar school, or spreads just in the right amount of brightness as a discreet, glare-free pendant luminaire, for example above the recepton desk and counters. In a curved version as a wreath, it was realised as a modern concept of a halo for the chapel of the grammar school.

What light and the right amount of creativity can achieve to- gether is demonstrated once again in Freiburg by the collabo- ration between a·g Licht, Hadi Teherani Architects and ADO Lights – as was the case, incidentally, with the spectacu- lar-looking crane buildings in Cologne.

At th Volksbank’s request, the architect has carefully interpreted the company’s logo in a contemporary way. The new shape is more stylised, also with light lines. Thus, not only the vertically installed lights on the outer wall, but also the 4.25×3.5 metre logo give the Volksbank building ensemble an unmistakable, innovative look that can be seen from afar.