Bridge at Baakenhafen Mitte

Baakenhafen is the largest port basin in HafenCity Hamburg. In addition to the large road bridge in the far west, the new crossing forms the second connection between the northern development and the southern peninsula. The self-supporting steel structure of the bridge has a span of around 65 meters.

Our competition entry and goal was to create glare-free lighting in order to provide a free 360 ° view over the water at night from the Elbphilharmonie to the Elbbrücken train station. For this purpose, an LED light strip with a warm 3000 K light color with asymmetrical radiation geometry was positioned under the wide handrail. Slat inserts are used for longitudinal glare control. Passers-by cross the bridge without being exposed to directional light. Only the pleasant reflection of the tread surface illuminates the scene, the side carrier plates and the railing posts are not illuminated. The radiation limitation also prevents reflections of the LED points on the water surface. As a result, the bridge is free of any visual ballast in terms of its external appearance, and a visually quieter environment can be created above the water.
The challenge was to equip the handrail lighting with submersible IP68 lights, including electrical wiring, because of the location, flooding of the bridge cannot be ruled out. In order to avoid the risk of an electric shock, the system is operated with low voltage and the control gear is housed externally in a higher-level control cabinet. The trouble-free implementation of the 60 m long bridge lighting with approx. 75 m supply line in combination with the dimmability was also challenging. The luminaire as a unit from the control gear to the luminaire was part of our planning order.
The result is a quiet lighting concept that blends in harmoniously with the surroundings.