The best light for the highest culinary standards

schanz.restaurant celebrates good food at three-star level. Perfect illumination sets the scene for gourmet art.

As part of the redesign of his three-star restaurant on the Moselle, Thomas Schanz relied on noble interiors and atmospheric lighting. The light is so finely adjusted that it transforms every plate into a stage for delicacies - and itself remains discreetly in the background.

project Details

GASTRONOMIC REFINEMENT

In Piesport on the Moselle, gourmets will find a top address for upscale enjoyment: Thomas Schanz runs his restaurant and hotel there as a family business. He has already received several awards for his culinary compositions, and in 2022 the Michelin Guide awarded him three stars. Even before the current redesign of his restaurant, Tobias Link GmbH was entrusted with the lighting design..

PERCEIVABLE THROUGH ALL SENSES

The main actors within the lighting concept are the dishes, which are draped delicately on the plate and transport the guest into a world full of culinary delights. Each dish was to shine in all natural colours, glare-free and with the best visual quality. An ambience full of intimacy was desired via the light, which makes it possible to recognise one's counterpart well while at the same time gently fading out the surroundings.

"INVISIBLE" LIGHT FROM THE CEILING

The interior was designed by the architectural studio Britta Tibo. Materials such as slate and oak wood, bronze-coloured fabrics and light natural tones characterise the interior. In addition, there is a dark floor, which also appears in the ceiling colours. Darkening the ceiling was part of the lighting concept in order to integrate the main light there "invisibly". The ideal luminaire was found in the form of a glare-reduced recessed spotlight from Dydell. It provides a narrow beam angle (20°/40°) as well as high colour rendering via CRI 90 and can be controlled via Casambi. The luminaire can be flexibly adjusted and provides an extremely small light outlet of only 8 mm in diameter. The entire concept is based on this one luminaire type.

PRIVATE ISLANDS OF LIGHT

The light is directed towards the centre of each table. The food is always the centre of attention, and at the same time the reflection across the table surface is sufficient to illuminate the faces of the people. The mood of the room lives from these deliberately placed islands of light. The colour temperature is 3000 K, the luminaires are dimmable. If required, individual tables can be lit individually via the Casambi control system while the overall harmonious impression is maintained.

HOMAGE TO THE REGION

With translucent curtains, it is possible to separate tables a little. In the evening, the delicate fabric appears as a luminous waterfall: spotlights cast fine scattered light downwards from the upper cove. This design element is intended to be reminiscent of the waters of the Moselle.

ALL IN HARMONY

After dark, it is pleasant for restaurant guests to still be able to see the exterior from the inside. Thanks to the low vertical lighting, very little is reflected in the windows. The lighting outside only covers selected details. A grazing light runs from below over the natural stone pillars, bollard luminaires draw graphic light patterns on the floor of the terrace. In interaction, this creates a harmonious transition.

Photos: Susanne Schug

CUTTING-EDGE LIGHT

Dynamic lighting design as a communications concept at G Data

G Data Software from Bochum has designed antivirus software for over 30 years. The lighting in the reception area, canteen and events space is based on an intelligent network structure, reflecting the firm’s key business.

Case Study

LIGHT CREATES IDENTITY

G Data’s head offices are on an former industrial site; the central entrance into the main building houses the reception with a counter. The firm’s core business is the development of IT security systems; this was the starting point for the design approach in order to come up with a functional and representative lighting plan.

VIBRANT CONNECTION

At the time the contract to create a lighting concept was awarded, the ceilings were entirely clad with sound proofing. They were replaced by a new layer, which appears as an open grid linked by individual cells. An abstract World Wide Web depicted by using complex general lighting and energising lighting schemes.

LIGHT AS AN INDICATOR

The white network structure in the reception area describes a striking architecture constructed with custom-designed moulded parts made from plasterboard . They supply two fundamental lighting components: indirect and direct light. The rounded honeycomb structures serve as cornice lighting; they provide the indirect light with integral rows of RGB LEDs and the colour temperature can be adjusted. A 4-cm-wide light channel runs along the linear axes, through which direct light with two beam angles is generated. Highly efficient tunable white LED lights are used here, the colour temperature of which can be regulated. Star-like lines of light also radiate across the floor towards the counter.

VISUAL STATEMENT

The three-dimensional ceiling sculpture leads from the reception area to the canteen in a modified form as stepped wood facets. The structure appears to float light as a feather and creates a homelike atmosphere; slender pendant lights are used for selective accent lighting and deliberately break up the branching structure.

FOCUS ON THE INDIVIDUAL

The user-friendly controls provide for four different lighting schemes: a natural light setting, which is sent information via an external sensor and transmits it into the inside; two party settings with changing colours, which use saturated colours in warm or cooler shades, as well as task lighting for cleaning and maintenance work. The lighting system operates biodynamically, by adjusting to the natural light and supporting people’s natural day/night rhythm in line with aspects of human-centric lighting (HCL).

MULTIPURPOSE APPLICATION

Cubic exterior lights are used in the events hall. They emphasise the sober industrial architecture, can be dimmed separately and the colour temperature can be varied. General lighting for training courses and lectures as well as changing coloured lighting moods breathe fresh life into the room as needed.

Photos: Tom Gundelwein