Licht Kunst Licht illuminates Cologne Cathedral’s historic facade with "largely invisible" lights

Lighting scheme of Cologne cathedral by Licht Kunst Licht

Lighting design studio Licht Kunst Licht has used more than 700 surface-mounted LED luminaires to transform nighttime views of the world’s tallest cathedral without drilling a single hole in its delicate stonework.

Licht Kunst Licht (LKL) collaborated with RheinEnergie and the Dombauhütte Köln restoration workshop to develop a lighting concept for Cologne‘s historic cathedral, which is also Germany’s most visited landmark.

Prior to the intervention, it was primarily illuminated using floodlights placed atop nearby buildings. These 1,000-watt metal halide lamps consumed a great deal of energy and, according to LKL, flooded the building in an unflattering neutral white light.

LKL replaced this broad-brush approach with discreet, warm-spectrum LED fixtures, illuminating the building’s Gothic features by providing subtle backlighting combined with vertical grazing light to enliven the ornate facades.

Lighting design for Cologne cathedral by Licht Kunst Licht

“The central concept ‘light follows architecture’ replaces indiscriminate floodlighting with targeted illumination,” the studio explained.

“Instead of flattening the facade, light is directed to articulate depth, rhythm and verticality. The outcome is a sculptural night presence while the luminaires remain largely invisible by day.”

The project’s key innovation was the development of bespoke, multifunctional lighting poles that are covertly integrated into the structure using custom clamps to protect the stonework. The aim was to render the fixtures “largely invisible” during the day and allow them to be dismantled without impacting the historic structure.

Each pole contains a glare-free light module used to provide facade or circulation lighting that is fully dimmable and can be adapted to events, seasons and ecological needs.

According to lighting designer and LKL project lead Philipp Schmitz, a lack of detailed architectural plans necessitated an extensive study of the facades to ensure the intricate Gothic details were suitably illuminated.

“Because digital simulations were insufficient for such a complex, heterogeneous structure, we conducted years of extensive on-site lighting tests, experimenting with optics, angles and positions to achieve the desired effects through empirical observation,” he pointed out.

Only 10 per cent of the light now comes from fixtures located away from the building, compared to 80 per cent previously. This reduces unwanted light scatter and improves precision, while long-wave light reduces disruption to nocturnal species.

A series of minimalist stainless-steel lighting pylons on the cathedral plaza now illuminate entrances and highlight selected facade elements.

Sustainability was a key consideration throughout the project, with overall energy consumption reduced by 80 per cent while delivering improved visual quality, according to LKL.

Cologne Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture.

Construction began in 1248 but was halted around 1560 and then restarted in the 19th century, with the building finally completed to its original medieval plan in 1880. The cathedral, which was briefly the world’s tallest building upon its completion, went on to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Dezeen readers crowned LKL’s scheme lighting design of the year in the public vote at this year’s Dezeen Awards. The project is now in the running to be crowned overall winner by a jury of leading industry figures including Norman Foster, Michael Anastassiades and Jaime Hayon.

Licht Kunst Licht illuminates Cologne Cathedral’s historic facade with "largely invisible" lights

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