Bucerius Law School, Hamburg

Bucerius Law School is a private law school located in a historic building in central Hamburg. Its “Moot Court” is now illuminated with ERCO Parscan.

Bucerius Law School is the first private and state-accredited law school in Germany. Built in 1907 under architect Albert Erbe, the building was used for almost a century by the Institute of General and Applied Botany of the University of Hamburg. In 1999 the listed building was purchased and renovated by the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius. Commissioning MOW Architekten, the instructions given were to develop a concept that would meet the needs of a modern university but also preserve the existing Neo-Baroque structure. Whereas the building itself was left untouched, the facilities inside were transformed into modern lecture halls, seminar and training rooms, an “electronic classroom” with the latest technology and media equipment, library and work areas, and a cafeteria.

Bucerius Law School centres around a large auditorium with an oval dome, which provides room for around 100 people. The name “Moot Court” alludes to the legal competitions held here, with different teams simulating court cases. The domed hall of Bucerius Law School serves as a multifunctional room for events such as talks, discussion forums and receptions. Among other aspects, the Moot Court is used by the ZEIT-Stiftung on a biennial basis to award Medals of Honour for outstanding contributions to law and legal development.

ERCO has now redesigned the lighting for the Moot Court dome. The primary stipulation was to ensure optimum visual comfort to suit the different usage requirements of the hall. As a result, the area around the daylight ceiling was fitted with versatile ERCO Parscan spotlights. So as not to detract from the dome as a striking feature of the room, a total of 24 spotlights were mounted next to the pillars in accordance with accepted preservation practices. As the lighting concept is based on a synthesis of daylight and artificial light, special attention was paid initially to a balanced mix of light sources for uniform shadowing. The symmetrical arrangement of the dimmable 24W spotlights around the ceiling ensures that the lighting on the whole is calm and unobtrusive, thereby fostering an optimal working atmosphere.