For the SAE Institute in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, an old mill storehouse on the banks of the Spree river was completely gutted and renovated. A school of media has emerged offering around 300 students an attractive environment for learning and working on creative projects. The lighting solution from LTS highlights the modern, almost homely interior concept and simultaneously creates the optimum conditions for working at a screen.

The SAE Institute is an internationally active private educational institution for careers in the creative and media industries. The curricula of over 50 SAE Institutes worldwide cover everything necessary for the subject areas of Games, Animation, Audio, Film, Music Business, Cross Media and Web. Learning is strictly practice-based in nature. As a result, the Institutes are fitted with modern studios and workstations, spacious working and project spaces and professional equipment. The aim is to provide an environment that promotes creativity, productivity and also the joy of learning.

The SAE campus in Berlin-Kreuzberg is a perfect example of how this objective can be put into action. In 2,000 m2, around 300 students have access to everything they need for their training and further education. Of course, alongside sound studios, film suites, a green screen studio and any number of computer workstations, the Institute has also been fitted with a premium-quality lighting solution.

Thomas Stark, of Stark Design, is the architect and interior designer and he and his team were responsible for the interior and lighting concept for the Berlin-Kreuzberg SAE campus near to the famous Oberbaum Bridge.

With this approach in mind he opted for luminaires from the Lichtkanal family. The architectural light line is characterised by its modular variety. It is available in four different basic types which differ in terms of their width. In length, shape and colour however, Lichtkanal is produced according to client specifications. Different lighting inserts are also available. In terms of mounting style, the client can choose between recessed, surface-mounted and pendant.

In the SAE Institute in Berlin, the interior designers focused entirely on the pendant version. From the workstations, the tailor-made lighting concept is carried through to the corridors and common areas. At prominent points, the linear lighting solution is consciously used to follow the contours of and stage the characteristic elements in the space, such as tables or stairs. The geometric variety of the system allowed for full freedom of design – be it a corner, triangle, wall-ceiling solution or uneven polygon, LTS rises to the challenge of creating project-specific special shapes that go way beyond the orthogonal arrangement of light lines. And it’s this kind of individuality and dynamism that gives the lighting solution at the SAE campus its own signature style, while also incorporating outstanding lighting technology: All requirements in terms of illumination intensity, uniformity and glare-free lighting for the screen workstations have been masterfully fulfilled. 


Customer: SAE Institute

Lighting designer: Stark Design

Photographer: Daniel Horn Photography