Hercules Machine Factory – Canteen

Meuselwitz, Germany

Photo © Thomas Ott

Office Buildings

Architects: Ian Shaw Architekten BDA RIBA

Location: Meuselwitz, Germany
Year: 2008

The new direct and indirect light sources clarify and stimulate this once dreary, non-descript room, transforming it into an atmospheric, versatile space used not only now as a canteen, but also as a gallery for design and award presentations.

The specially designed conical forms deliver an arresting source of natural light; their prefabrication ensured minimal disruption during installation. Within one working day the existing roof was demolished and replaced with the new roof structure incorporating the bespoke light wells.

Classical proportioning was used to determine their size in relation to the canteen as a whole; that is, the measurement ratio of the roof lights’ collective circumference to the floor plan is the golden section.

This lighting theme is continued in the entrance hall. A well proportioned, stainless steel plane sits authoritatively within the glazed entranceway. Seeming to hover, this robust rectilinear form provides a strong accent to the non-descript 1940s building.

During daylight hours, the reflectivity of the material animates the ambient daylight conditions; at night, its underside is bathed in the company’s corporate blue, courtesy of the LED lighting recessed into the floor plinth.