If light could think

From the outside, the Apartment Hotel Hamburg Mitte looks rather unspectacular. But its interior shows what optimal lighting can do. Its recently redesigned premises appear in new splendour thanks to an impressively coordinated lighting concept.

Buildings such as religious buildings, offices or hotels, often aim to appeal to a variety of different people, and therefore pose particular challenges for interior design. At the same time, lighting has one of the most crucial roles. The lighting of a room shapes its character, giving it additional warmth or a sober appearance, making it look bigger or highlighting its details. In short: light creates the indoor climate, determines its atmosphere and subsequently has a decisive influence on the well-being of the people within it.

Interior design
Raumkonzept Innenarchitektur

Lighting designer
Lichtja
Saseler Chaussee 109
22393 Hamburg, Germany

Photograph
Jan Haeselich

The premises of the owner-managed Apartment Hotel in Hamburg Mitte demonstrate this in an impressive way. It is popular with business people, tourists and families alike, and is visited by a wide variety of customers. As a certified 3-star hotel with high standards it wants to fulfil the varying wishes of all its guests. In addition to 121 spacious rooms, it offers, among other things, three conference rooms for meetings, workshops or group work. As part of the modernisation of the premises, the Hamburg company Lichtja developed a lighting concept, which now skilfully meets the individual requirements of the rooms.

Modern lighting technology

The customer’s request was to find a solution outside of the usual standards. So not only individual rooms, but also the walls in the hallway were placed in the right light. "The main focus of this project was on the lighting effect," explains Antje Kröplin, Managing Director of Lichtja. The choice of lighting fixtures was therefore often RIBAG models: "They are quite impressive, not only with their simple appearance, but especially with their lighting technology," stresses the lighting designer. The quality of the lights is noticeable, among other things in the rendering of colour. The hall walls now stand out with their minimalist retro design of black and white circles and squares. Circular ARVA ceiling-mounted lights in different sizes round off this created mood. Focusable VERTICO spotlights on black rails highlight individual design elements. They are supported by long, narrow METRON downlights with integrated lens optics.

The lighting centrepiece of the Apartment Hotel is the conference facility lighting. "This is where biodynamic light comes in," explains Antje Kröplin. This means, specifically: lighting colour changes, on its basic setting following the natural course of the sun. The conference table is decorated with two long MESH pendant lights fixed by steel cables. These illuminate both the table and indirectly, the ceiling. In the morning, the light appears rather cold and bluish, encouraging you to wake up and become active. After a long meeting warm, cosy light brings a pleasant, more personal atmosphere, which provides an ideal environment for relaxation.

The small bar, which serves as a transition to the kitchen, is adorned by two ARVA lights. These filigree pendant lights with lens optics and adjustable light colour, are able to adapt to any situation: a warm shade of light provides the perfect atmosphere for a cosy glass of wine after work, while cool white light colour encourages concentration at meetings. The basic lighting in the conference room is provided by the soft lighting of the VERTICO spotlights. Not only wall surfaces, but also pictures or temporary posters for workshops can be equipped with adjustable spotlights. These versatile and formally reduced lighting fixtures also harmonise with the clear and formal language of the room.

Products used:

ARVA with acrylic glass diffuser fine matt finish

Mounted lamps Ø 270/440 mm Pendant lamps Ø 270/440 mm

VERTICO

Mounted spotlights with external control gear

ARVA with lens optics

Pendant lamps Ceiling lamps with external control gear

METRON downlight with lens optics

Ceiling lamps Pendant lamps

If light could think

Modern lighting technology

cultivated