Lecture building at the University of Osnabrück

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In which environment can we learn the most? The University of Osnabrück has been enlarging its new campus. Rising up in places, almost as if levitating, the lecture hall has attracted much attention. ERCO Quintessence recessed spotlights deliver precise accentuation of individual room sections.

Since 2010, a former barracks site to the northwest of Osnabrück’s city centre has been developed into a new campus for the rapidly growing number of students attending the university. The heart of the facilities, beside the cafeteria and the library, is the lecture building opened in early 2014. So as not to interrupt the existing circulation areas, Benthem Crouwel as the responsible architectural firm cut out some of the building mass at one corner to create a generously sized entrance zone. Today, it offers an informal meeting point and – together with the foyer – is frequently used for events. The building houses eight lecture halls along with numerous meeting rooms connecting to a topographic learning landscape. The rising plane is provided with ramps, seating steps and table areas used for learning purposes or discussions, while comfortable armchairs offer times of rest.

The lighting design for the learning landscape and the outdoor facilities was entrusted to Lichtwerke GmbH. Rather than opting for uniform illumination, it was decided to create a reduced lighting scenario using Quintessence recessed spotlights to accentuate the individual room sections. The directional luminaires were fitted into metal cylinders which are integrated into the slat ceiling and now direct the light precisely and without glare onto the learning clusters and objects, bridging a distance of up to eight metres. The resulting spatial quality of the sizeable openplan volume of the hall now offers an intimate and cosy room setting that encourages concentrated working as much as it invites a personal exchange in a quiet ambience. Aside from the superior quality of their light, ERCO’s lighting tools stand out with optimum energy efficiency and excellent maintenance cycles.