Grand Hall Lighting
The lighting in the grand hall is an ornamental element with the conceptual intent of creating a warm and vibrant atmosphere that matches the space. Each individual fixing appears as a dot or globe hanging from the ceiling, picking up another recurring theme of the building. Handmade by a family-owned business in the Czech Republic, the
Herzog and DeMeuron made the decision to change the light path directly at the fixing and case the LED in a glass globe that changes the velocity of the rays, making the space appear gentler and warmer. Due to the refractive properties of glass, the rays of light are either reflected at the glass surface or transmitted through it at a different angle and speed19. Essentially, the rays are being diffused by
globular lights posed a problem to construct as the
the glass casings and their velocity decreased so that
glass had to be blown in a way that goes against
the lighting is less harsh.
traditional manufacturing
methods18.
In order to
capture the light and guide it the way Herzog and DeMeuron intended, the globes had to be thicker at the bottom and thinner towards the fixing; however, in traditional hand blowing, the part furthest away from the pipe (in this case the bottom of the globe) would be the thinnest. This made the manufacture of the lights intensely time consuming and expensive. All fixings are lit by LEDs which are more environmentally friendly but also usually appear
Fig. 10 Light Fixtures, Grand Hall; Architect: Herzog and DeMeuron
technical and sterile so in order to change this, 18
Mack, “Die Elbphilharmonie: Hamburgs Neues Wahrzeichen | HD | ARTE | Doku.”
19
Kopp Glass. 2016. THE PROPERTIES of GLASS. Kopp Glass.
12
Fig. 11 Traditional Glass Structure vs. the one used for the Grand Hall, (Author’s own)
