Day-and-Night Lighting Design for the Market Square in Floeha, Germany

Precision Lighting Design for Vibrant Urban Spaces – Enriched by the Poetry of Light

At the “Alte Baumwolle” in Flöha, light is helping transform a former cotton mill into a new city center. After two decades of decay, outstanding industrial architecture, new public spaces and light come together to create a market square with a strong identity — by day and by night.

Four layers of light shape the experience. Custom-designed lighting masts provide precise, standards-compliant illumination while revealing the texture of the historic cobblestones and giving rhythm and depth to the square. Carefully controlled optics keep functional light away from façades, windows and planting.

As evening becomes night, changing lighting scenes connect the square with the surrounding mill buildings. Light animates the water and seating areas, inviting people to meet, sit and stay, while small artistic interventions add moments of surprise and poetry.

By day, sunlight becomes part of the design. Reflection, transmission and colour create changing patterns across the square. They move with the sun, disappear and return with the seasons — making light itself something to discover.

Lighting for the new restaurant and glasshouse will complete the composition: old and new, architecture and public space, day and night — connected through light.

“Contemporary Heritage” begins with the decision to preserve and revitalize the existing buildings and space. Then we add contemporary design to sThe historic Alte Baumwolle is transforming an industrial site into a new center for Flöha. Light supports this renewal, making the square welcoming and safe throughout the year. Our principle is simple: light where we need it, darkness where we do not. Precise optics protect homes from intrusive light, while planted areas remain dark for insects and wildlife. Light levels follow activity, reducing from 100% in the early evening to 75% and finally 25% at night, when decorative lighting is switched off. But sustainability is also about people. A market square that becomes the town’s “living room” — to meet, play, sit and talk — has lasting value. A public space that people enjoy, use and care about is a sustainable public space.

Fotos: Peter Fischer