Munich just added another architectural landmark to its collection: the new ADAC headquarters. Though the design of the landscaping and outdoor lighting appears restrained, one notices immediately that a great deal of effort went into meticulously orchestrating them to provide optimum function and safety for pedestrians and drivers.
Although in the background, both lighting and landscaping play key supporting roles
The new building, located on the Hansastraße in the Sendling-Westpark section of the city, owes its distinct profile to a five-storey, star-shaped base and an 18-floor office tower. Various yellow-hewed colours, 22 in all, emphasise ADAC's corporate yellow around the building's façade, while adding a fascinating three-dimensional effect.
The 16,500-square-metre grounds with two entrance areas are actually part of an intricately planned system to guide and facilitate the swift movement of people to and from the building. Various types of luminaires furnished by Hess play an indispensable role here. "In spite of their diversity, all the lighting units work together perfectly," explains Wolfgang Ritz, landscape architect, whose firm handled the planning, approval and execution.
The results, which include excellent light quality and comparatively low electricity usage, testify to the suitability of the different lighting systems used for the specific tasks.
© J. Lichtl
Fine-tuned Lighting Design
A Complete Solution
Having a very broad product portfolio of attractive, technically advanced lighting, allows Hess to provide complete solutions with high aesthetic value. Hess' slender and versatile City Element columns illuminate the drives, walkways and parking areas throughout the ADAC grounds.
The lighting units' mounting heights are either 4 or 8 metres, depending on the specific site and task. Fit with 70- or 100-watt lamp and Hess' high-efficacy mini reflector, they homogeneously illuminate large areas virtually free of glare.
"This enabled us to reduce the number of columns, which complied with the architects' objective of creating tastefully landscaped grounds that would elegantly complement the architecture," emphasised Ritz. Hess modular columns also were the choice for sites, such as public walk and cycle ways, where they were fit with an extra module to accommodate video cameras for surveillance.
Low-key Presence, High-impact Effect
For the lighting of the drive around the base's perimeter and the other less frequented ways, the designers went with illuminating bollards due to their low-key presence during the day. For safety, all the columnar and bollard luminaires have a second electrical hook-up, connecting them to an emergency power source.
Hess answered the client's wish to accent with light solely the distinct rounded tips of the stars' points, employing Teramo in-ground luminaires, whose symmetric narrow optical systems uniformly emphasise the building's curves to the top of the 20-m high base.
Elegant Proportions
The designers allowed the luminaires in the inner courts slightly more personality. Hess Vigo illuminating columns met the criteria. Appearing to be randomly placed between the Gingko trees, the luminaires, with their elegant proportions and the graceful transition from the steel column to the translucent PMMA enclosure, enhance the courtyards' ambience. At night, their soft shimmering light makes walking across the courtyards even more pleasant. These luminaires also are wired to provide emergency lighting.
Like the modular illuminating columns and bollard luminaires, Vigo's steel shaft is finished in the same shade of grey as the building's façade. Adding to the atmosphere of the inner courtyards, Hess Ravenna in-ground luminaires illuminate the crowns of the trees in the evening and morning.
Project information
- Town / Country
- Munich, Germany
- Lighting design
- Teutsch Ritz Rebmann Landschaftsarchitekten, Munich
- Builder
- ADAC