On the way in light 2020, Potsdam

Temporary event lighting Potsdamer Mitte

The images show excerpts from Ruairí O’Brien’s lighting composition for Potsdam Unterwegs im Licht 2020, including the Brandenburg State Parliament, the Nikolaikirche and the Filmmuseum Potsdam. “With an authentic concept, high-quality technology and a selective choice, you can achieve more in lighting design. To create poetic and exciting lighting atmospheres, you have to understand how time, space, materials, darkness and light can be brought together and how they can be set against each other.” Ruairí O’Brien

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Obermarkt Freiberg

Lighting concept for the market square

The new market square lighting in Freiberg broke new ground in lighting design in urban development. The unique light poles, specially designed for the historic Obermarkt Freiberg, combine the technically functional object with the artistic light sculpture in their own duality.

Innovative technology meets contemporary architecture, art meets science. In addition to illuminating the market square in the evening, the light poles (reflector system) can also be individually controlled or dimmed depending on the need for use in the public space. During the day, dichroic glasses in the upper mast act in a solar-geometric play with the sun, immersing the market square in a subtle, lively play of colour. This work of light and architecture, tailor-made for the historic Obermarkt, is complemented by the illumination of the historic Otto fountain, the listed façade of the town hall, as well as the water features and the unique granite seating furniture, also designed for the Obermarkt, which invite visitors to linger on the prestigious market square.

The lighting of Freiberg’s Upper Market was nominated for Elisa – the Energy Efficiency Award of Saxony 2014. With the nomination, the lighting of Freiberg’s Upper Market was distinguished by the expert jury as a practical example and highlighted as a multipliable, proven, sustainable as well as efficient example of Saxony or for Saxony as a corresponding incentive for energy-efficient solutions.

Hotel The Westin Bellevue Dresden

Lighting in the conference / banqueting area

The aim was to convert to LED luminaires, replacing the existing lighting while retaining the luminaire locations. New LED ceiling downlights in warm white and cool white light replace the old luminaires with compact fluorescent lamps. They can be controlled in different lighting moods depending on the use (whether conference or evening event).

The ceiling downlights, planned to match the interior design and available in three different sizes, blend perfectly into the redesign of the rooms and provide a high quality of light. At the same time, the new luminaires consume only about ¼ of the energy previously required. The maintenance effort can also be significantly reduced, as the previously frequent replacement of lamps will no longer be necessary in the future due to the long operating life of the LED luminaires.

The traditional Dresden hotel has been given a contemporary new lighting system, which supports its character as a modern conference and congress centre as well as an event location in the best possible way, both functionally and in terms of design.

Photo: Hotel The Westin Bellevue Dresden

High-rise residential buildings Pirna Sonnenstein

Lighting concept for the corridor areas

Within the measures for redesigning the public corridor areas, we developed an individual, attractive and energy-efficient lighting concept that generally increases the quality of stay and also takes into account the needs of older residents in particular.
Square surface-mounted luminaires with neutral white light illuminate the corridor area, ensure low shadow casting and very good facial recognition. Individual spots with warm white light above the apartment doors mark the entrances and serve as permanent lighting for orientation and safety. At the end of the long windowless corridors, an illuminated wall motif provides a special focal point. Through the interplay of the various elements, materials, colors and lighting moods, an attractive positive overall image was created in the public high-rise areas where people meet, whose optimistic basic mood welcomes residents and visitors.

House of Architects, Dresden

Facade lighting for the Saxony Chamber of Architects

For the House of Architects in Dresden, headquarters of the Saxony Chamber of Architects, Ruairí O`Brien developed appropriate and sophisticated permanent architectural lighting that incorporates architectural elements on the building. The row of trees in front of the building shines in a warm white light, the vertical elements of the façade are illuminated with a discreet cool light, and can also be illuminated in colour for special occasions.

Exhibition lighting memorial Ehrenhain, Zeithain

With the literal planting of a new architectural-thematic heart, the “walk-in showcase” as a micro-architectural implantation in the historical RAD barracks preserved from the former Zeithain prisoner-of-war camp, the bridge between the (structural) past and the present is successfully built.
This glass building, a microclimatic sound-proof object, thematizes not only time but also space in a special way and, as a time capsule in a place with a special auratic effect, creates a deliberate irritation that sensitizes the visitor to the exhibition theme. In the document house, the visitor has the possibility to work on the offered thematic focuses in the operable micro-architectural information sculptures, which are executed in the same exhibition language, on their own, whereby new visual axes are offered again and again and an intensive reference to the content material is created with light/ mirrors.

Dean’s Office University Hospital Dresden

Office lighting concept

Our lighting concept for the offices of the Dean’s Office of the Carl Gustav Carus Medical Faculty of TU Dresden combines lighting functionality with attractive lighting design. In addition to everyday work activities, the rooms are also used for meetings and small conferences as well as for receiving guests. These different functional areas are precisely supported by the lighting. At the same time, the luminaires and the high-quality lighting design form an important part of the interior design of the deanery.

The basic lighting provided by wide-area ceiling luminaires is supplemented by individual task lighting for optimal working. Wallwashers attractively highlight the artworks on the walls, and “floating” ring luminaires above the communicative areas create a visual link between the different rooms as a recurring element in a varied arrangement. Individual, attractive lighting moods can be created for many different situations through simple, flexible control of colour temperature and brightness.

Radebeul Cultural Railway Station – East

Lighting concept for the Kulturbahnhof area

The city of Radebeul intends to redevelop / convert the Kulturbahnhof Radebeul-Ost area into the new citycenter east. Our lighting concept, proposed on the basis of an urban development analysis, takes up the urban development significance and use of the central square in an identity-forming way. Our luminaire design integrates organic elements of the existing forms in the art nouveau building (Kulturbahnhof) in a modern way. The sub-project Bahnhofsvorplatz Kulturbahnhof Radebeul-Ost received recognition as part of the 2013 Saxon State Prize for Building Culture.

Colour and lighting concept Villa Regerstraße

Psychotherapy Institute for Children and Adolescents

German Society for Behaviour Therapy in Saxony, Germany. Institute for Children and Adolescents in Dresden (2021-2022).

The new location of the institute is a freshly renovated, listed villa in Dresden-Blasewitz, Germany.

Light, colour and choice of materials play an important role in creating the right atmosphere for all age groups and the different scenarios of discussions, presentations and meetings that take place at the institute. As those responsible for the interior design, it was of utmost importance for us to balance the heaviness of the old, characterful building with bright, friendly, appealing and even thought-provoking interiors. The choice and use of different colours, lighting fixtures, mirrors, materials and decorative elements that tell stories give the reception, offices and therapy rooms their own identity. The impressive staircase is celebrated as a special space that connects the floors. The dark basement needed special attention to be able to use it for seminars and training purposes. At the Psychotherapeutic Institute in Dresden, child and youth psychotherapists and psychological psychotherapists are trained with a strong practical orientation. In addition, outpatient psychotherapeutic treatments are offered in the institute’s outpatient clinic.

Requirements for the current use are as follows:

• Working Office / Administration
• Treatment patients / therapy rooms
• Training / seminar rooms
• Flexible uses – adaptation / change between seminar and group therapy uses

Photos: Peter Fischer

Exterior lighting St. Joseph Stift Hospital, Dresden

Lighting concept west wing hospital, Dresden

By 2018, the St. Joseph Stift Hospital in Dresden had constructed the new west wing. With this future central outpatient clinic, an important new main frequency point of the hospital was created.  Ruairí O’Brien developed the lighting design and a holistic orientation system for the exterior of the hospital.
For the exterior lighting, we considered this new hospital area in five local areas / spaces with different functions and developed appropriate lighting proposals for each.

Access and entrance area emergency ambulance (night entrance, ambulance access)
Entrance underground parking
Bicycle parking
Entrance area with canopy, external stairs, ramp
Patient garden
Entrance to residential area for nun

In addition to supporting the various functions, our lighting design also takes into account the legal lighting requirements and the optimal fulfillment of safety aspects, such as a glare- and shadow-free design of the lighting of circulation areas, good facial recognition and optimal illumination of the space. Supporting the hospital’s new exterior orientation system was another design concern. Different brightnesses, light colors and accentuations, e.g. of the entrance, create a lighting hierarchy that supports intuitive human orientation. For the canopy as an asymmetrical element, we proposed a lighting design that supports its architecture and creates a strong visual connection between the exterior and interior. The entrance becomes more easily perceived as such from far and near.

Lighting concept and lighting master plan for a historic industrial monument

In Chemnitz Spinnereimaschinenbau, where around 2,200 people worked in GDR times, more and more smaller companies have been settling for several years, using the old industrial halls as open spaces, workshops or storage rooms. The future lighting situation is intended to remove the current scary spaces, some of which are caused by darkness. These were created by the lack of scattered light from the industrial halls, which used to be lit 24 hours a day. To support the long-term and sustainable development of the building complex, which is partly listed, into a lively and actively used area, Ruairí O’Brien.Lichtdesign was commissioned by the city of Chemnitz to develop a lighting concept that does justice to the many new possible uses.

The lighting picks up on the historical lighting situation while at the same time taking into account current lighting requirements. The industrial heritage value of the building ensemble can still be experienced after dark. With the help of a sustainable lighting concept consisting of energy-saving, reduced lighting that avoids unnecessary light emissions, visitors are intuitively guided to the site. The realisation on the entire grounds of the Altchemnitz spinning mill can take place gradually over the next few years, as various intermediate scenarios have already been considered in the lighting concept.

The lighting concept for the Altchemnitz spinning mill was developed as part of the EU project “URBACT 2nd Chance”, which aims to revive the large old factory complex of the Altchemnitz spinning mill.

You can download the lighting concept at the following link: https://www.chemnitz.de/chemnitz/media/unsere-stadt/stadtentwicklung/eu-foerderung/urbact/2018-08-28-lichtkonzept_spinnereimaschinenbau_kurz.pdf