NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

The exhibition design was preceded by extensive conversion and remodeling works on the building. At an early stage, these established the infrastructure for the later use of the edifice. Although the Licht Kunst Licht team entered the project rather late, it was still possible to influence, for example, the location of lighting tracks for the later adaptation of exhibition spotlights. Furthermore, the spotlights for the functional lighting were adapted to those of the exhibition lighting in terms of model, size, and warm-tone color temperature to enable a uniform appearance. The lighting tracks pervade all important zones and accommodate track heads with varying light distributions and accessories. A lighting concept that works its magic especially after the meticulous aiming, brings shapes, colors and textures to life through carefully placed accents.

In chronological order, the museum takes the visitors by the hand and leads them along the timeline from the distant to the recent past. Right at the beginning, the exhibition welcomes the visitor with some highlights. While feeling sized-up by the T-Rex fossil as a possible dinner, one explores colorfully feathered small dinosaurs, ancestors of fish and birds, and ammonites, to name just a few examples. The light not only brings their three-dimensionality to life, but the shadow projections on the pedestals also create part of the staging.

As the visitor passes into the next room, he hears the bloodcurdling cry of the T-Rex before discovering the evolution of mammals. Here, among other things, are excavation elements from the Messel Pit, softly and impressively backlit on a table display. For this purpose, hidden light tiles are built into the exhibition table, which make the filigree bone formations visible in a special way.

Display cases are arranged along the windows to hold small exhibits, which are well illuminated by integrated linear lights hidden in the heritage show cases.

The showcases in the building differ significantly in their dimensions and designs as well as in their arrangement in the space, and so adapting the various integrated lighting elements to the different conditions was a challenge in itself.

In order to achieve a good balance between staging the exhibits on the one hand and blocking out the light source on the other, it was necessary to manufacture custom-made shutter profiles.

Especially on the second floor, where impressive minerals that are almost magically charged with light and color can be marveled at, the showcases are the most important displays for the exhibits. Large cabinet showcases alternate with table showcases near the windows. In between are space-dividing lower showcases – all with integrated lighting that had to fit into the built corset of the listed furniture. Thus, the visitor feels transported into an exuberant collection of beauties and curiosities, which in interaction with the light, unfolds a splendor of sparkle and radiance.

The unusually low rooms on the second upper floor exude an atmosphere of their own. At the beginning, visitors experience a meteor shower from a gallery, which pours into the two-story room. Along the parapet real meteorite fragments can be experienced. All shimmeringly staged by spotlights that carefully carve out the space and its exhibits.

Suspended luminaires are located between the meteorites with filigree ropes and provide contrasting illumination for the drill cores of the ocean floor, displayed in the building level below.

Here the visitor experiences the earth as a planet with all its layers and peculiarities. Similar to the neighboring room, the lighting here is also provided by spotlights. These are arranged in the peripheral area above balustrades and tables in such a way that the visitor does not perceive them as disturbing.