Making the invisible visible

Spotlights merge into jagged light: as soon as it grows dark in Berlin’s Europacity district hundreds of spotlights by ewo illuminate the new company headquarters of 50Hertz Transmission GmbH. In simulating an alternating current curve on the office facade it visualises the work of the network operator, who is responsible for the smooth transmission of electricity to Hamburg Berlin and Hamburg, Berlin and Eastern Germany. 

Ewo is a firm from Northern Italy renowned for high-quality lighting systems in the public domain. With its facade illumination the family run business has decisively influenced the appearance of the 56-meter tall building close to the city’s main station. Designed by Graz-based office LOVE architecture and urbanism the slender, transparent structure with 13 storeys has space for 650 employees. Only recently it received a DGNB Diamond certificate from the German Sustainable Building Council for the quality of its design and building culture.

The accent lights by ewo are customized models based on the company’s own R60-spotlights. The spotlights are flush-mounted into the lower side of the covering of the horizontal supports and can be easily removed for maintenance. In all, eight different housings were installed. They ensure the ideal inclination of the light so it strikes parallel to the column, and creates the desired jagged curves in the twilight. ewo relies solely on LED units. The company places importance on energy-saving and sustainable lighting. With its customized lighting concepts, it has not only illuminated the 50Hertz Network District. St. Mark’s Square, Venice and the ST Martin Tower in Frankfurt/Main also both benefit from its innovative ideas. (af)