Castle courtyard of the porcelain manufactory Fürstenberg

"Growing out of the ground, as it were"

The new guidance system for the castle courtyard of the porcelain manufactory FÜRSTENBERG

Unique Craftsmanship and exclusive manufactory porcelain - this is what FÜRSTENBERG has stood for since 1747, and today the traditional company from Lower Saxony sets new standards in porcelain production with premium collections. With the demand for passion, creativity, precision and empathy, the majority of porcelain production is still based on manual work. The new signage system in the modernised and barrier-free courtyard of the castle was also designed to meet this demand. As windows to the past, the information steles reflect the history of the castle and the manufactory with their contents.

Requirements

In the planning and design of the Berlin office Iglhaut + von Grote, daylight-illuminated monoglass steles were planned as well as night-illuminated glass steles with the smallest possible construction depth. Especially in the historical ambience of the medieval castle courtyard, sensitivity between history and modernity was required. The stelae were to be so far back in their transparency that they would not be disturbing. A special task was also to reproduce the representations in such a way that small filigree characters and texts were displayed in pin-sharp detail with high resolution and could be read effortlessly, despite the preservation of transparency. The biggest challenge for the control system specialist meng from Birkenfeld, however, was the requirement - for some of the stelae - to achieve homogeneous illumination of the information areas without losing the defined transparency. The visual appearance of these elements was not to be disturbed by conspicuous frames or too much construction depth. The glass panels were to "grow out of the ground", as it were, without visible screws or fastenings.

Implementation

As a manufacturer, meng was able to score with a construction depth of only 38 mm and a minimum edge of 13.5 mm. Nevertheless, high-intensity LEDs had to be integrated into the narrow edge profile in such a way that the punctual injection of light was not disturbing or even dazzling.but: How do you make transparency shine? tempered glass, also Optiwhite glass, is very scratch-resistant, but offers significantly lower light conductivity than clear acrylic glass. Acrylic on the other hand has sensitive surfaces. To the extent that white texts and satinised surfaces glow, unfortunately fingerprints, rubbing clouds and scratches also glow. Without protective gloves during processing or at the latest after installation in public areas, irreparable damage would be pre-programmed. The challenge and solution was a combination of three layers of glass and two designed levels. The transparency was finally balanced in such a way that a reading level is defined and yet the building structures behind it remain visible. The lightness with which the glass steles now grow out of the ground will delight many visitors to the modernised historical castle courtyard.