LED linear luminaires in the Haus Marteau concert hall

Concert hall Haus Marteau with linear lights

The Haus Marteau concert hall, designed by Munich architect Peter Haimerl, presents its visitors with an awe-inspiring interplay of architecture and acoustics. 33 granite splinters weighing several tons define the extraordinary spatial impression of the hall and at the same time shape the fabulous sound experience. Customized LED linear luminaires from Barthelme with 48 V technology were implemented for the indirect illumination of this new highlight in the Upper Franconian town of Lichtenberg.

Nestled in the rolling hills of the Franconian Forest on the outskirts of the small town of Lichtenberg is the international music meeting place Haus Marteau. The three-story villa has been a venue for musical high culture since its construction in the early 19th century. The builder at the time, Henri Marteau, was a violin virtuoso of international standing and a celebrated teacher, and his legacy continues to this day. Every year, numerous master classes with distinguished instructors are held in the heritage-protected building, where outstanding young musicians from all over the world hone their craft. After four years of construction, a spectacular concert hall now provides a worthy setting for the regular graduation concerts.

Old villa with park

With his design, the architect embraced Upper Franconia's mining legacy and relocated the new concert hall under a grassy hill right next to Haus Marteau. This completely preserved the view of the villa with its striking silhouette and at the same time conserved the elegant park that surrounds the house.

The underground concert hall is reached via the basement of the building through a narrow, gallery-like corridor, which is harmoniously illuminated by two continuous LED light lines with a color temperature of 3000 Kelvin. For the implementation of this solution, the electrical installers relied on Barthelme LEDlight flex 48 V LED strips, which were installed in LED profiles of the BARdolino series. The use of 48 V technology offers the advantage that significantly longer feed lengths of the LED solution can be achieved. Depending on the feed line and the line cross-section, it is possible to operate more than 20 m of LED strips with only one feed. On the one hand, this reduces installation costs enormously and, on the other hand, conserves resources, since fewer LED controllers and power supplies are required to operate the LED strips.

Stollen walk to the concert hall Haus Marteau

From the confines of the hallway, you emerge into the breathtaking concert hall. Tetrahedron-shaped granite splinters weighing tons define the overall appearance of the room, which measures just under 170 square meters, and create a unique atmospheric highlight. Indirect lighting is provided exclusively by backlighting the granite splinters. This has created an impressive interplay of light and shadow that gives the magnificent room an infinite depth. Again, the electrical installers took advantage of the LEDlight flex 48 V LED strips, which were installed in LED profiles from the BARdolino series. The longest light line in the concert hall measures 9.40 m. To achieve this length, individual profiles were trimmed to size and then mounted end to end on pivoting brackets. At the joints, the LED strips were separated and reconnected with flexible cable bridges. This prevents damage to the LED strip due to the thermal expansion of the aluminum profiles. The LED strips of the LEDlight flex 12 8p 48 V series achieve a luminous intensity of 2,170 lm/m at a color temperature of 4000 K.

Linear luminaires from Barthelme LED Solutions

In addition to the use of 48 V LED strips, the swiveling retaining clips were also of particular importance in this project. They allowed the installed linear luminaires to be precisely aligned after they had been fitted. Another decisive aspect in the selection of this solution was that the LED profiles are motion-mounted in the retaining clips. This avoids any potentially disturbing noise when the aluminum profiles expand during ongoing operation at the musical events.

Indirectly illuminated concert hall with piano

A total of 140 m of dimensional luminaires with 48 V technology were installed in the concert hall, controlled by the CHROMOFLEX PRO DALI LED devices connected to the in-house KNX control system via a DALI gateway. This means that the lighting is fully embedded in the building's network and can be conveniently programmed and controlled.

Client District of Upper Franconia Architecture Peter Haimerl, Suttgart Technical implementation + Electrical installation Elektro Eberlein ©Photographer Max Hörath