The Volksbank site in Freiburg is a showcase project for lighting design
The newly designed Volksbank site in Freiburg is a showcase project in terms of architecture and lighting design, which sets a strong urban accent in the centre opposite the main railway station. The building complex designed by Hadi Teherani Architects combines various uses on a gross floor area of around 43,000 m²: the Volksbank Freiburg, church foundations, the St. Ursula grammar school, the Courtyard by Marriott hotel and other companies.
A central design element is the façade, which is reminiscent of the silhouettes of Black Forest trees thanks to its vertical louvre structure. This architectural idea is emphasised by a finely tuned lighting concept from ag Licht: around 1,000 metres of dimmable LED lightlines have been integrated into the façade – most of them invisibly mounted – to make the vertical rhythm visible even at night. In the hotel area, horizontal lines of light complement the interplay of structure and luminosity.
The lighting concept is also creatively continued in the interior: A luminous barcode adorns the ceiling in the Volksbank counter hall, while vertical lines of light in the self-service area provide uniform illumination. In the hotel, light installations in the stairwell subtly allude to tree trunks – once again picking up on the Black Forest motif.
The result is a harmonious interplay of architecture, symbolism and lighting design that impresses during the day with its clear design language and in the evening with its atmospheric lighting. The Volksbank site shows how modern architecture, light and regional identity can merge into a holistic concept.