Architect / civil engineer / lighting designer
schlaich bergermann partner, Stuttgart (www.sbp.de)
bridge building
Max Bögl, Neumarkt (www.max-boegl.de)
Prebeck Stahlbau Straubing (www.prebeck-stahlbau.de)
photo and video
Boris Golz
Strictly speaking, the new railway bridge over the Neckar consists of two bridges. While long-distance trains are running above, a pedestrian and bicycle footbridge leads directly below the tracks over the river and a multi-lane federal road into the park landscape around the Wilhelma. 360 OHR1 4020 handrail lights from InstaLighting provide surprising moments and a new quality of stay in public space.
At night, dynamic pulses of cold white light migrate through the warm white lighting of the jetty. The lighting effects are barely perceptible from the street – but they are all the more impressive under the railway bridge thanks to the reflection from the ceiling.
However, the lighting plays another key role in the atmosphere on the bridge. The 360 luminaires installed in the handrails have a spectrum of Tunable White between warm white and cool white light (2,700 - 6,500K), which can be dimmed without patches. Each luminaire module can be controlled individually. This means that subtle yet eye-catching lighting scenarios can transform the bridge into a stage. With the LEDTRIX technology developed in-house, InstaLighting is able to create fast lighting scenes. From soft transitions reminiscent of the interplay of sunlight and foliage to dynamic pulses of light travelling at high speed from one end of the bridge to the other. When the bridge is opened to traffic in a few months' time, the light will follow the trains travelling over it - triggered by sensors that can be used to transmit corresponding pulses to the lighting control system. Daylight and presence-dependent controls can also be realised.
Well-being and safety are prerequisites for public spaces to be usable for all citizens. Dynamic light with Tunable White can play a special role here. At the same time, the light intensity can be lowered to a low level with Tunable White in order to comply with the strict requirements for environmental protection and insect protection.
To the project report of the trade journal Light: LINK
