The New Museum

Another milestone for our team: the lighting of a world heritage site and a large, internationally famous collection. In 2009, after ten years of intensive planning, we were able to handover the realized lighting concept in the restored Neues Museum. The discreet light atmosphere and the soft, yet precise
illumination of the objects – particularly Nefertiti – are highly admired by museum specialists and visitors. For the overall architecture, David Chipperfield received the 2011 German Architecture Prize, among other recognitions.
 

Related projects

    • Palace of Berlin – Humboldtforum

      Project

      The lighting design firm Lichtvision was commissioned to develop a concept to illuminate the facades of the Humboldt Forum. The result was an intentional lighting of the facades in terms of intensities of illumination and their distribution.
      The lighting design bathes the building in a uniform light. It accentuates the mighty presence of the Royal Palace in the heart of Berlin. The flat evenness of the light without much shadowing places priority on the building's three-dimensionality over its details so that it appears imposing and grand, especially from a distance. The height of the light points is necessary to avoid casting hard shadows and to create a uniform lighting.
      The designers' lighting specifications were based on standard luminaires. Their design then needed to be integrated into the light columns that also illuminated the exterior areas. KARDORFF was commissioned with achieving these two tasks by using one type of light column.
      First, the positions for the light columns were chosen by Kardorff Ingenieure to ensure that the entrances and views of the palace remained unobstructed. The desired light distribution at the defined positions had to be recalculated for the luminaires that can be used in Selux's LIF light column. The LIF light column was custom designed by Kardorff Ingenieure and has highly complex facade modules which can precisely aim individual LED using many separately adjustable deflective mirrors.
      This made it possible to achieve the same lighting effect even with another product and at other positions than Lichtvision had originally designed.
      As a result, the illumination of the square and the facade have been integrated into one luminaire.

      Building type
      Mon­u­ment, Cul­ture, Mu­se­um, Ur­ban Space, Sys­tem De­vel­op­ment
      Location
      Europe, Germany, Berlin
      Project time frame
      2018 — 2022
    • Swedish Nationalmuseum

      Project

      With the motto: „Nationalmuseum in a New Light“, the Swedish National Museum reopened its doors in October 2018 after an extensive renovation. The museum, originally built by August Stüler, has been a landmark in Sweden since its opening in 1866 and is the largest art museum in the Nordic region. The combination of daylight and artificial light interfering with the historically inspired colour concept for the interior walls provides a unique museum experience.

      Building type
      Mon­u­ment, Cul­ture, Mu­se­um
      Location
      Europe, Sweden, Stockholm
      Project time frame
      2018
    • Liljevalchs+

      Project

      Liljevalchs+ in Stockholm (architect: Wingårdhs) is the extension on the renowned Liljevalchs Museum for Contemporary Art.
      The interplay between daylight and artificial light with the pronounced roofline design posed a particular challenge. The 170-square-meter roof sits atop the building above the two large exhibit halls like a crown with its 166 exposed concrete skylights.
      The aim of our lighting design was to achieve the required high flexibility to light the exhibits while, depending on angle and position in the room, concealing the busbars and spotlights. Due to the skylights' height and geometry, direct sunlight is blocked out in the exhibit halls when the sun is low. We intensively analyzed the positions of the luminaires using simulations and 1:1 model tests (see graphics), so as not to disturb the clarity of the skylights' form.
      In the absence of daylight, the exhibit halls are lit flexibly using spots on busbars and in the more level rooms using an additional linear lighting system that sits parallel to the walls. In the café and museum shop, backlit cloth panels hang under the ceiling.
      Liljevalchs+ is the culmination of a holistic approach and close collaboration between all participants, in which every aspect concerning light in its complex relationship to architecture could be addressed.

      Building type
      Mon­u­ment, Cul­ture, Mu­se­um
      Location
      Europe, Sweden, Stockholm
      Project time frame
      2014 — 2020
    • Castle Ziesar

      Project

      The old fortress structure is a modern center for culture and administration with the museum for medieval church and cultural history in Brandenburg, the chapel, the Bergfried tower, the local historical museum, the tourist information, the library, and the Ziesar government office.

      Building type
      Mon­u­ment, Cul­ture, Mu­se­um, Sys­tem De­vel­op­ment
      Location
      Europe, Germany, Ziesar
      Project time frame
      2006
    • Hessen State Museum

      Project

      Reopening following
      general refurbishment of one of the largest museums in Germany. Drawing on state-of-the-art LED technology, the exhibit lighting highlights the diversity of this historic and universal museum by Alfred Messel.

      Building type
      Mon­u­ment, Cul­ture, Mu­se­um
      Location
      Europe, Germany, Darmstadt
      Project time frame
      2014