With its transparent, geometrical façade, the new headquarters of electricity grid operator 50Hertz in the Europacity district close to Berlin's Central Station stands resplendent. For interior architecture too, planners at the Love Architecture and Urbanism bureau have made use of open and flexible workspaces. For optimal lighting, an individual LED lighting solution was developed by Selux in close cooperation with the ceiling manufacturer Haufe. Here the recess depth of the luminaires has been reduced from 72 mm to just under 25 mm so that the light strips can be inserted harmoniously into the ceiling without any interruptions to the ceiling system carrier rails for lighting installation.

Following 5 years of planning and construction, the new 50 Hertz company HQ, also known as the ‘grid district’, opened at the start of September 2016 in Berlin-Mitte. The main office has been designed by the young architects' bureau Love Architecture and Urbanism, with the result a 56-metre high, transparent construction providing space for 650 workers on around 12,000 m². Its exterior appearance is characterised by a striking, geometrical structure, with white slanting, steel-clad concrete columns making for an eye-catching zig-zagged façade.

On the inside, the building's transparent architecture is reflected in the open workspaces. Based on consultations of staff, communicative office landscapes have been developed to promoter employee interaction and facilitate collaboration on a day-to-day basis.

The modular system of LED luminaires by Selux guarantees optimal and efficient light. One particular feature of this special lighting solution is how the M36 luminaires are integrated flush with the adjacent areas into a special, acoustic louvred ceiling by Haufe using a lower installation height of just under 25 mm. This low construction height enables them to be positioned directly under the carrier rail, thus simplifying installation and removing any need to interrupt the carrier rails for lighting. The special office optics – a combination of microlouvres and a microprism diffuser – ensures balanced illumination of work surfaces, walls and ceilings – without any disruptive glare or casting of shadows. The linear path of the ceiling system is emphasised by the lines of light, lending the office spaces and foyers a spacious appearance, while at the same time providing orientation in corridors. At a total length of around 2,400 metres, the light lines add a designer touch on the one hand while at the same time ensuring a pleasant office atmosphere for staff at 50Hertz.

buyer: Altmann und Böhning, Berlin
architect: Mark Jenewein, love architecture and urbanism, Graz
lighting designer: Aurelia Design Lighting Planning
design: Kinzo Berlin GmbH
electrical installation: Inros Lackner, Rostock
photographer: Werner Huthmacher