Neuruppin Workshop

Workshop | Nov 2018

This year’s international light workshop focused on the Predigerwitwenhaus, the former residence of both Theodor Fontane and Karl Friedrich Schinkel that has two courtyards, along with new lighting for the Klappgraben. It was group work and the duration was 5 days.

Klapgrabben im neuem licht

Predigerwitwenhaus Facade

The entrance was designed considering the relation of the Predigerwitwenhaus facade with the square in front of the building. Evaluating the approaching points, landscape elements were used to invite people to the event. Up lighting of trees was used to grab the attention from the distance. Tiny battery powered LED lights were placed among the cobblestones of the street to direct people to the entrance while creating a feeling of walking among the stars. Since this was the former home of two notable inhabitants Fontane and Schinkel, the façade was designed according to the concept of “lights of the past“. By using light and shadow, the facade gained back the view when it was first built. The traditional timber construction on the facade that had been painted in the same colour as the bricks had become unrecognizable. However, by using light and shadow and creating a contrast with the mapping technique, the timber construction became recognisable again and the original architecture of the building was the brought back to life. A door to the house’s history was opened with the facade, and by passing the corridor which was lit up by candles visitors were led to the courtyards where they found the traces of Schinkel.

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The entrance was designed considering the relation of the Predigerwitwenhaus facade with the square in front of the building. Evaluating the approaching points, landscape elements were used to invite people to the event. Up lighting of trees was used to grab the attention from the distance. Tiny battery powered LED lights were placed among the cobblestones of the street to direct people to the entrance while creating a feeling of walking among the stars. Since this was the former home of two notable inhabitants Fontane and Schinkel, the façade was designed according to the concept of “lights of the past“. By using light and shadow, the facade gained back the view when it was first built. The traditional timber construction on the facade that had been painted in the same colour as the bricks had become unrecognizable. However, by using light and shadow and creating a contrast with the mapping technique, the timber construction became recognisable again and the original architecture of the building was the brought back to life. A door to the house’s history was opened with the facade, and by passing the corridor which was lit up by candles visitors were led to the courtyards where they found the traces of Schinkel.

Second Entrance

In memory of Schinkel and his famous stage design of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute“, the event’s second entrance baths the walls of the house in a deep blue starry sky. Large floodlights covered with blue filters,mirror balls and highperformance projectors are used to reflect white stars onto the blue tinted walls. All of which not only servers as a farewell to the guests, but also as a greeting from Schinkel himself.

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Workshop | Nov 2018

The idea for the lighting design of the first courtyard was to represent Schinkel’s career and the style of his art.

First courtyard

ased on his career as a stage designer and his dreamy style, we tried to represent the atmosphere of one of his most famous stage designs, “The Magic Flute” by projecting stars on the wall along with artificial clouds and some blue lights to emphasize the sentiment. Some of the elements of the building such as chimney and old brick walls are lit with grazing light as well as up lighting to represent his career as an architect. Then we placed small LEDs in the old railway, which was once used for the soap factory, to invite people to go inside the big room located in the back part of the courtyard.

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ased on his career as a stage designer and his dreamy style, we tried to represent the atmosphere of one of his most famous stage designs, “The Magic Flute” by projecting stars on the wall along with artificial clouds and some blue lights to emphasize the sentiment. Some of the elements of the building such as chimney and old brick walls are lit with grazing light as well as uplighting to represent his career as an architect. Then we placed small LEDs in the old railway, which was once used for the soap factory, to invite people to go inside the big room located in the back part of the courtyard.

For the second part, we focused on his career as a romantic painter of nature and also as a classical architect. For this we used white canvases and we lit up the plants, bushes and trees that were located in front or behind them to cast shadows onto the white surfaces.

Inside of the room on one side, we had a reflection installation with cool and warm light and mirrors. On the other side, there was old stuff from this house. So we placed luminaires between them to light them up in a strange way!

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Workshop | Nov 2018

The second courtyard, formerly part of a soap factory, was connected to the back entrance via a path that has a water canal passing through it. The canal was unfortunately running dry due to rising temperatures and low rainfall.

Second courtyard

Symbolising the soap factory, we decided to bring back it’s memories using abstracted versions of bubbles. Thesebubbles, ranging from 15cm to 1m high, were geometric and constructed using transparent plastic sheets and iridescent film mimicking the actual bubble itself. The bubbles were lit with a low wattage garden luminaire inside. Also reminiscing over playful memories from one’s childhood, we decided to introduce “fireflies”, as an interactive installation that filled the entire garden. 950 fireflies made from thin wires, plastic balloon cups and battery powered low watt LEDs were spread out from the secondary entrance to the main garden. These ranged in colours, from blue near the canal, to white closer to the garden and to warm white and yellow inside the garden.

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Symbolising the soap factory, we decided to bring back it’s memories using abstracted versions of bubbles. Thesebubbles, ranging from 15cm to 1m high, were geometric and constructed using transparent plastic sheets and iridescent film mimicking the actual bubble itself. The bubbles were lit with a low wattage garden luminaire inside. Also reminiscing over playful memories from one’s childhood, we decided to introduce “fireflies”, as an interactive installation that filled the entire garden. 950 fireflies made from thin wires, plastic balloon cups and battery powered low watt LEDs were spread out from the secondary entrance to the main garden. These ranged in colours, from blue near the canal, to white closer to the garden and to warm white and yellow

As the fireflies lead one towards the back entrance, one notices the trees highlighted using spotlights covered with gel filters. The path itself was also strayed with the low watt LEDs. As one neared the canal, one could hear, a water stream. The sound coming from multiple hidden speakers. The canal was flooded with blue light inside and blue cellophane foil to remind the residents of the once thriving water stream that flowed there.

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