With the Powalla Forum, the main Protestant church Sankt Michaelis Hamburg has a visitor centre that relieves the sacred building of tourist functions and reorganises the visitor routes. The heritage-protected former pastorate, dating from the 1950s, was preserved, refurbished from the outside in line with heritage requirements, completely gutted on the inside and extended from the north-east with a new enclosure.

Old building and new building – our lighting concept connects the buildings and at the same time exposes their uniqueness. A black ceiling channel emphasises the architectural concept, accommodates different types of luminaires and connects the entrance to the old building with the lower entrance in the new building. Narrow-beam spotlights direct the light, while wallwashers illuminate the central element, the leitmotif of St Michaelis, on the large wall.

The new ceiling is separated from the existing building by a wide lighting gap. The gentle illumination of the historic façade from above and its base from below, by the surrounding recessed floor lights, makes the visual separation of the building parts even more visible.

Old building and shop - the main lighting design element is the suspended ceiling, which supports vertically installed illuminated ceiling panels all round. They illuminate the historic interior façade uniformly and diffusely. Individual recessed ceiling luminaires with extremely narrow-beam spotlights illuminate the circulation zones. Alignable LED profile luminaires are integrated into the surrounding steel profile as an additional lighting option for the entire interior façade. Former ceiling connections are emphasised in a three-dimensional way, making the scale of the historic rooms of the former residential building perceptible.

An approx. 6 metre long special luminaire is suspended above the checkout area. Excellently glare-free optics emphasise the high-quality materials of the reception desk and make it a focal point for visitors.

Outside, the lighting design is restrained. The building with its large glass surfaces shines out of itself. Only the accentuation of the planting and the light line in the natural stone cladding emphasise the forecourt area and the elongated ramp to the building entrance on the St. Michaelis Church forecourt.

Client: St Michaelis Church, Hamburg
Architect: Stölken Schmidt Architekten BDA, Hamburg
Communication design: Büro Uebele, Stuttgart
Media planning: jangled nerves, Stuttgart
Photos: Sabine Vielmo