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, central role in the atmosphere on the bridge. With Tunable White, the 360 lights installed in the handrails have a spectrum between warm white and cold white light (2,700 – 3,600K) that can be dimmed without a patch. Each lighting module can be controlled individually. In this way, subtle yet eye-catching lighting scenarios can transform the bridge into a stage. With the self-developed LEDTRIX technology, InstaLighting is able to create fast light scenes. From soft transitions reminiscent of the interplay of sunlight and foliage to dynamic pulses of light that travel at high speed from one end of the walkway to the other. When the bridge is open to traffic in a few months, the light will follow the trains passing over it – triggered by sensors that can send corresponding impulses to the lighting control system. Daylight and presence-dependent controls can also be implemented.
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