PROJECT DETAILS
VOLKSBANK FREIBURG
FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY
Installed Products
Poetic luminaires for a landmark building
Anyone passing by the new Volksbank Freiburg building in the evening will see striking light rings shining through the façade: the distinctive free-standing ELOQUIA luminaires were designed by Zumtobel together with respected architectural and design firm Hadi Teherani and lighting designers a·g Licht. Tailoring the luminaires to the imposing rooms, the partners succeeded in combining lightness, minimalist aesthetics, excellent glare elimination and maximum visual comfort in a ring of light. The lighting scheme for interior spaces and boardrooms was part of a complex construction project for Volksbank Freiburg: over the course of three years, a new structure was developed with a total floor space of 43,000 square metres, creating a striking focal point in the urban landscape.
At the intersection between nature and culture
The new Volksbank building is close to Freiburg’s central railway station and acts as a gateway to the city. The pioneering new bank building reflects the vibrant character of Freiburg itself, and stands at the intersection between nature and culture, between the Black Forest national park region and the tradition-rich University of Freiburg (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität).
Iconic form meets outstanding functionality
The austere louvre-blade structure of the façades makes an intriguing contrast to the circular ELOQUIA luminaires in the interior. Another high-end luminaire from Zumtobel’s range is used on the building’s board level: the AMBITUS pendant luminaire combines diffuse indirect light with precise, direct light that is ideal for workplaces, and is a Red Dot Award-winning design.
“The aim of the partnership was to find interior lighting that combined an iconic shape with outstanding functionality. We wanted it to subtly emphasise the branding of Volksbank Freiburg, while also creating a focussed working ambience with excellent lighting quality in the interior,” explains Matthias Menke, Vice President Atelier of Light, Zumtobel.
Modern design vocabulary for a contemporary office setting.
ELOQUIA comes from the Latin meaning speech, language or expression. The name of the luminaire emphasises its communicative aspects: “It is used in a modern, open-plan office setting where the focus is on collaboration and networking,” says Matthias Menke, Vice President Atelier of Light, Zumtobel.
The free-standing luminaire for the interior rooms of Volksbank Freiburg came about through a three-way partnership: Zumtobel managed the technical design process and brought its expertise in lighting technology, product development and sales to the table. Designer Hadi Teherani and a·g Licht with lighting designer Daniel Walden also contributed their expertise.
ELOQUIA – a unique creation process for a unique luminaire.
“We gathered different views and objectives for the new office free-standing luminaire as the basis for our design process,” explains Elke Malek, Head of Design, Hadi Teherani Design. “We wanted to achieve the best possible results in terms of lighting quality, product design, and also costs.” At the same time, the luminaire was to be unique and expressive in itself: “It was important to us to find a design that was not comparable with the current, visually similar products on the market.”
Emotional quality of a natural light source
The end product was a simple, minimalist and timeless luminaire, with an emotional impact too. With its rounded shape and circular head, it forms the perfect contrast to the straight lines of the building’s façade. “The source of all natural light is the sun. Because of this, the round shape of a luminaire stirs our emotions,” explains Elke Malek from Hadi Teherani Design. “It creates a pleasant atmosphere in office spaces, lending them a more organic and natural interior design.”
A clear view, like the open air
ELOQUIA, which can be used as a free-standing, pendant or wall-mounted luminaire, for single or double workplaces, is impressive thanks to its outstanding glare elimination and uniform light. The user has an unlimited field of vision, almost as though they are in the open air, thanks to the permeable luminaire head. “The basis of the design is a consistent line from which the lamp base, column and luminaire head emerge,” explains Matthias Menke, Vice President Atelier of Light, Zumtobel. “The finer details, such as the presence sensor and control panel, round off the harmonious overall look.”
ELOQUIA also sets high standards when it comes to light quality – combining high lumen packages with a remarkable absence of glare. The widely projecting luminaire brings light deep into the room, raising the bar among free-standing luminaires for this aspect of German workplace regulations (Arbeitsstättenrichtlinie (ASR)). The first-class glare elimination with MPO+ technology ensures perfectly controlled light refraction and a harmonious balance between diffuse and directed light. Perfect for all desk-based screen work.
AMBITUS – a statement luminaire.
The board level is situated on the seventh floor of the Volksbank Freiburg building. It has a generous conference room over two storeys and spectacular views of the nearby Black Forest. The new building is embedded in its natural environment, retaining links to the local building tradition. To match these unique rooms, a special luminaire is used in them: the AMBITUS pendant luminaire designed by Yorgo Lykouria, founder and creative director of Rainlight Studio, London.
The anodised aluminium light ring with a thickness of just 24 mm is captivating due to its minimalist shape and maximum luminosity. Delicately suspended in the room, it creates dramatic tension with the contrast between the dark luminaire body and brilliant light.
Person-centred light supports office work
A successful combination of aesthetics and technology that brings the visual comfort of a person-centred lighting solution to the seventh floor, thanks to tunableWhite: “The light temperature ranges from warm white to daylight white, and can be adjusted to harmoniously assist work at different times of the day,” explains Davide Siciliano, Head of CPM / Atelier of Light at Zumtobel. Diffuse, undirected light and precise direct light can be controlled separately. “The natural lighting effect emanating from this luminaire also leads to a positive sense of spatiality,” said the jury of the Red Dot Design Awards 2021 in its statement about the award-winning AMBITUS.
Poetic luminaires as successful self-expression.
Once again, the project shows how light can successfully be used as part of effective branding. It also demonstrates the importance of collaboration across different professions for a future-oriented lighting project: the creation of two unique, unparalleled luminaires was only possible due to the successful interplay between lighting technology, product development and sales from Zumtobel, lighting design from a·g Licht, and product design from Hadi Teherani Design and Rainlight Studio. “Zumtobel’s engineers have done an outstanding job – the light from ELOQUIA is functional, emotional and magical,” sums up Elke Malek, Head of Design, Hadi Teherani Design.
Customer: Volksbank Freiburg eG, Freiburg (DE)
Architect: Hadi Teherani Architects, Hamburg (DE)
Lighting Designer: a·g Licht, Köln (DE)
Designer: ELOQUIA: Hadi Teherani Design, Hamburg (DE)
Designer: AMBITUS: Rainlight Studio, London (UK)
Project year: 2021
Anyone passing by the new Volksbank Freiburg building in the evening will see striking light rings shining through the façade: the distinctive free-standing ELOQUIA luminaires were designed by Zumtobel together with respected architectural and design firm Hadi Teherani and lighting designers a·g Licht. Tailoring the luminaires to the imposing rooms, the partners succeeded in combining lightness, minimalist aesthetics, excellent glare elimination and maximum visual comfort in a ring of light. The lighting scheme for interior spaces and boardrooms was part of a complex construction project for Volksbank Freiburg: over the course of three years, a new structure was developed with a total floor space of 43,000 square metres, creating a striking focal point in the urban landscape.
At the intersection between nature and culture
The new Volksbank building is close to Freiburg’s central railway station and acts as a gateway to the city. The pioneering new bank building reflects the vibrant character of Freiburg itself, and stands at the intersection between nature and culture, between the Black Forest national park region and the tradition-rich University of Freiburg (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität).
Iconic form meets outstanding functionality
The austere louvre-blade structure of the façades makes an intriguing contrast to the circular ELOQUIA luminaires in the interior. Another high-end luminaire from Zumtobel’s range is used on the building’s board level: the AMBITUS pendant luminaire combines diffuse indirect light with precise, direct light that is ideal for workplaces, and is a Red Dot Award-winning design.
“The aim of the partnership was to find interior lighting that combined an iconic shape with outstanding functionality. We wanted it to subtly emphasise the branding of Volksbank Freiburg, while also creating a focussed working ambience with excellent lighting quality in the interior,” explains Matthias Menke, Vice President Atelier of Light, Zumtobel.
Modern design vocabulary for a contemporary office setting.
ELOQUIA comes from the Latin meaning speech, language or expression. The name of the luminaire emphasises its communicative aspects: “It is used in a modern, open-plan office setting where the focus is on collaboration and networking,” says Matthias Menke, Vice President Atelier of Light, Zumtobel.
The free-standing luminaire for the interior rooms of Volksbank Freiburg came about through a three-way partnership: Zumtobel managed the technical design process and brought its expertise in lighting technology, product development and sales to the table. Designer Hadi Teherani and a·g Licht with lighting designer Daniel Walden also contributed their expertise.
ELOQUIA – a unique creation process for a unique luminaire.
“We gathered different views and objectives for the new office free-standing luminaire as the basis for our design process,” explains Elke Malek, Head of Design, Hadi Teherani Design. “We wanted to achieve the best possible results in terms of lighting quality, product design, and also costs.” At the same time, the luminaire was to be unique and expressive in itself: “It was important to us to find a design that was not comparable with the current, visually similar products on the market.”
Emotional quality of a natural light source
The end product was a simple, minimalist and timeless luminaire, with an emotional impact too. With its rounded shape and circular head, it forms the perfect contrast to the straight lines of the building’s façade. “The source of all natural light is the sun. Because of this, the round shape of a luminaire stirs our emotions,” explains Elke Malek from Hadi Teherani Design. “It creates a pleasant atmosphere in office spaces, lending them a more organic and natural interior design.”
A clear view, like the open air
ELOQUIA, which can be used as a free-standing, pendant or wall-mounted luminaire, for single or double workplaces, is impressive thanks to its outstanding glare elimination and uniform light. The user has an unlimited field of vision, almost as though they are in the open air, thanks to the permeable luminaire head. “The basis of the design is a consistent line from which the lamp base, column and luminaire head emerge,” explains Matthias Menke, Vice President Atelier of Light, Zumtobel. “The finer details, such as the presence sensor and control panel, round off the harmonious overall look.”
ELOQUIA also sets high standards when it comes to light quality – combining high lumen packages with a remarkable absence of glare. The widely projecting luminaire brings light deep into the room, raising the bar among free-standing luminaires for this aspect of German workplace regulations (Arbeitsstättenrichtlinie (ASR)). The first-class glare elimination with MPO+ technology ensures perfectly controlled light refraction and a harmonious balance between diffuse and directed light. Perfect for all desk-based screen work.
AMBITUS – a statement luminaire.
The board level is situated on the seventh floor of the Volksbank Freiburg building. It has a generous conference room over two storeys and spectacular views of the nearby Black Forest. The new building is embedded in its natural environment, retaining links to the local building tradition. To match these unique rooms, a special luminaire is used in them: the AMBITUS pendant luminaire designed by Yorgo Lykouria, founder and creative director of Rainlight Studio, London.
The anodised aluminium light ring with a thickness of just 24 mm is captivating due to its minimalist shape and maximum luminosity. Delicately suspended in the room, it creates dramatic tension with the contrast between the dark luminaire body and brilliant light.
Person-centred light supports office work
A successful combination of aesthetics and technology that brings the visual comfort of a person-centred lighting solution to the seventh floor, thanks to tunableWhite: “The light temperature ranges from warm white to daylight white, and can be adjusted to harmoniously assist work at different times of the day,” explains Davide Siciliano, Head of CPM / Atelier of Light at Zumtobel. Diffuse, undirected light and precise direct light can be controlled separately. “The natural lighting effect emanating from this luminaire also leads to a positive sense of spatiality,” said the jury of the Red Dot Design Awards 2021 in its statement about the award-winning AMBITUS.
Poetic luminaires as successful self-expression.
Once again, the project shows how light can successfully be used as part of effective branding. It also demonstrates the importance of collaboration across different professions for a future-oriented lighting project: the creation of two unique, unparalleled luminaires was only possible due to the successful interplay between lighting technology, product development and sales from Zumtobel, lighting design from a·g Licht, and product design from Hadi Teherani Design and Rainlight Studio. “Zumtobel’s engineers have done an outstanding job – the light from ELOQUIA is functional, emotional and magical,” sums up Elke Malek, Head of Design, Hadi Teherani Design.
Customer: Volksbank Freiburg eG, Freiburg (DE)
Architect: Hadi Teherani Architects, Hamburg (DE)
Lighting Designer: a·g Licht, Köln (DE)
Designer: ELOQUIA: Hadi Teherani Design, Hamburg (DE)
Designer: AMBITUS: Rainlight Studio, London (UK)
Project year: 2021
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