Appreciation of the Lighting Design for the "Werdendes Ruhrgebiet" Exhibition

The exhibition halls were created by connecting former coal bunkers. They form a church-like three-nave space. The exhibition architecture reacts to the structure defining the rooms, with installations extending across multiple room partitions. Flat platforms and display items, along with pedestals, meander through the rooms, separating the interior space from the previous coal bunker architecture.

The grid of light spots extends across the entire exhibition hall. Light passes through backlit panels to create indoor lighting, aiming to protect exhibits in semi-dark areas.


The route through the exhibition hall follows a spiral pattern, weaving left and right before reaching the center of the room, where the most famous and precious exhibits are displayed: early medieval objects from the abbeys of Werden and Essen. The entrance is marked by three inclined planes lined with prehistoric artifacts.

The two halves of the room have different structures. On the right, exhibiting prehistoric artifacts, the route is curved. This "introverted" exhibition area is used mostly for small, sporadic, and less light-sensitive objects. Exhibits are placed in corners or protrude into tower-like display cases illuminated by spotlights.


On the left side of the room, early medieval artifacts are displayed individually in strict geometric patterns, parallel to the corners. The path leads at right angles to the center of the room, where the region's first manuscripts are concentrated in separate display cases.

Book lights were specifically designed for this project's lighting, providing uniform light distribution that allows for detailed inspection.

As a reference to the New Objectivity industrial monuments of the 1920s, the room divisions are marked and partitioned by black-painted industrial chains defining the room's boundaries. These "chains" evoke the armor of medieval warriors and their use as components in bridges, ship lifts, and conveyor systems in early industrial and transport architecture.