GE Lighting Lights the ancient prison of the KGB in Potsdam

The foundation Gedenk-und Begegnungsstätte Leistikowstrabe Potsdam was founded in 2008. From April of 2012, a permanent exhibition in the building of the ancient prison informs to the visitors on the history of this place, centring in 50 biographies of ex arrested persons explained in these impressesive exhibitions.

With the end to present the permanent exhibition of the most real way, all the rooms have kept in his original state. Likewise, the foundation looked for the solution of lighting more adapted for the exhibitions since the lighting is fundamental in the impressesion of the visitor and also can damage the exhibitions.

The challenge in Leistikowstrabe was to achieve that the solution of lighting preserved the atmosphere as much as was possible and that lit the exposed objects of a professional way and without damaging them. The study of architecture Trucksten Gerhards architekten und ausstellungsgestalter of Berlin accepted this challenge and the luminarias were designed and customised for the proposal.

Birke Leuchten, company quality consultancy situated in Pegau near of Leipzig was chosen to design the solutions to measure in the lighting of the exposed objects in Leistikowstrabe. Matthias Birke opted by the system modulate LED InfusionTM of GE Lighting: “This system offers an ease of unprecedented use. The modules LED and reflectors allow a connection without tools and combine through a simple twist and blockade of hygiene. This mechanism allows a combination of the different modules LED and reflectors to fulfil with the multiple needs of lighting. This is an only characteristic of the system GE InfusionTM. Like this, the system offers to his customers a high degree of flexibility and gives us the opportunity to fulfil a series of requirements of applications of lighting with an alone solution”.

The soft light of the system LED InfusionTM of GE does not issue any infrared radiation neither ultraviolet, since the radiations could damage the exhibitions. This allows that the module InfusionÒ of GE was the perfect solution for the lighting of the museum and the gallery.

“The big challenge of this project was that it did only with 60 luminarias personalised that were the required by the customer”, says the engineer Wolfgang Scheffler, the one who supervised the project of GE Lighting like OEM Salts Manager, Central Europe. "The manufacture of applications of personalised lighting is in general very expensive and the customer has to do an in advance considerable payment. Here, our system of module InfusionTM is a true innovation: it is a fast solution, with efficient cost, since it is designed like a combinable system and that always is smart to use . Apart from the necklace and the module LED current, GE Lighting also offers optical accessories designed to adapt to the system. Like result, was not necessary the personalización additional of the reflector, saving like this no only time but also money to the customer".

In comparison with the lamps halógenas, the modules LED GE InfusionTM installed in the ancient prison of the KGB in Postdam reduce the energetic consumption in 75%. Besides, the system LED improves the hygiene of the visitors: “Often they are schools those who visit the exhibition and many of the installations are near at hand of the boys”, says Scheffler. “Whereas the lamps halógenas can ocasionar easily burns by contact, the LEDs hardly issue heat and are therefore a much safer option.”

The aim of the exhibition is to show the suffering of the ex interns of Leistikowstrabe. This stresses with the way to light the installations. The true state of the exhibition combines with the way to light it doing that the visit was an unforgettable experience and very enriquecedora.