Light Digital

Thomas Geuder: You are renowned for your aesthetically demanding and memorable concepts, which derive their quality not least from the way you work with light. At what point in the design does contemporary lighting design ideally start in your opinion?
Andreas Schulz: Ideally, of course, during the idea generation of the architects, as it happened, for example, with the Museum der Bayerischen Könige in Hohenschwangau or, at the moment, for the conversion of the State Parliament in Stuttgart, which is currently under construction.

The digital revolution has long arrived in society, whereas it only starts to gain momentum in parts of the building industry. What chances do you see in the digitalization of buildings?
For our trade, this certainly means the digitalization of light, which will bring with it a wealth of possibilities we have only dreamt about so far. Not only is the quantity of light continuously variable, but also its quality; that means the light colors and color temperatures can be adjusted so that besides a daylight atmosphere the same luminaire can also provide an artificial light version.

Light is a component of a complex, building-internal smart grid: one which is of rather subordinate relevance for the overall energy balance, but hugely important for the perception of the user. What is the position the "factor of the user" still holds in an intelligent building?
This is, of course, still the main position because we construct buildings for people or – using your term – the user. Insofar, the smart grid also has to accept a subordinate role and must remain easy to handle for people.

In a house where all appliances are interconnected in a smart grid, a sophisticated and intelligent control of energy flows is possible, but a detailed monitoring is also conceivable. How do you still your client’s fear of the digitalization of his building?
Such fears have not been provoked yet – we would not propose a system revealing any shortcomings, which we ourselves or our client cannot fully appreciate.

In the past, many things were technologically simpler: "light on" was accomplished by pressing a rocker switch, which was always located somewhere near the door at elbow height. In the future, this shall be done in a decentralised way via one’s own smartphone. What is your personal opinion: Does the user actually want to abandon old, familiar habits?
Yes, he wants to, because a new generation of users is growing up, users who are accustomed to the smartphone and the tablet as naturally as to a light switch.

Networked building technology makes it possible that really all consumers in the house are interlinked and can, if required, even communicate with one another. For planners, too, completely new fields open up. Does you also think of things like indoor climate when working?
We always think holistically, and the indoor climate is as important to us as acoustics. In the end, all senses are addressed to reach a "state of wellbeing."

The LED already makes it possible to render a light source almost invisible. Completely different possibilities could be provided by OLEDs, which are, however, rarely applied in practice. What do you expect from this technology?
We were promised the application of OLEDs five years ago, but this technology is still in its infancy. Some day it will certainly be ready for application – but as yet, it is an almost invisible, rather diffusely shining light. Diffuse light is an important component in lighting design, but sharp, shadow-producing light is also an important ingredient in the interplay of elements. In our opinion, the OLED is only one future possibility for the further digitalization of light.

Thank you for the interview.

Translated from the original "Licht digital" on German-Architects by Bianca Murphy, Hamburg.

Practice
Andreas Schulz
Licht Kunst Licht AG
Bonn and Berlin, Germany

Illustrated Projects
Westphalien Regional Museum of Art and Cultural History (LWL - Museum für Kunst und Kultur)
Münster, Germany
Staab Architekten

Museum of the Bavarian Kings (Museum der Bayerischen Könige)
Hohenschwangau, Germany
Staab Architekten

Boulevard Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Ortner & Ortner Baukunst

City Tunnel, S-Bahn Station "Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz"
Leipzig, Germany
Max Dudler
Daily News Product feature: "Lighting the S-Bahn"

Drachenfels Plateau
Königswinter, Germany
pape + pape architekten bda

ThyssenKrupp Quartier
Essen, Germany
JSWD Architekten, Köln + Atelier d’architecture Chaix & Morel et associés, Paris