The corporate headquarters for materials and technology group ThyssenKrupp, best known for its steel technology and escalators, is home to 2,000 employees. Located in the “Krupp Belt,” the new campus of four buildings and a parking garage is centered around a linear reflecting pool, which is edge lit with LED strip fixtures.

The architecture of the Q1 headquarters and Q2 Forum make use of glass as well as a metal vocabulary varying in degrees from perforated to solid. Natural and electric light complements the well-defined material palette and helps soften the massive scale of this corporate campus whose contemporary architecture relays the company’s innovation-based thinking.

The 14-story cube-shaped Q1 building, the centerpiece of the campus, contains offices for 500 people. An atrium overlooks 11 of the floors. An LED handrail accents the atrium bridges. Spot luminaires in the atrium’s glass ceiling provide crisp directional light to the ground floor despite the 50-meter height (approximately 164 feet) of the space. A façade-access gondola allows for maintenance.

The Q2 Forum building includes the staff cafeteria, main boardroom, executive restaurant, and a number of large meeting areas. All of the spaces have a high-end feel. Even where custom lighting solutions were used, energy efficiency and quality of illumination is not abandoned in designing a state-of-the-art workplace.

Jury Comments: Each space is made to feel unique, yet still connected to the overall project. • Comprehensive. • The consistency of light quality and attention to detail is spectacular given the scale of the project.

About the Author

Elizabeth Donoff

Elizabeth Donoff is Editor-at-Large of Architectural Lighting (AL). She served as Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2017. She joined the editorial team in 2003 and is a leading voice in the lighting community speaking at industry events such as Lightfair and the International Association of Lighting Designers Annual Enlighten Conference, and has twice served as a judge for the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section’s (IESNYC) Lumen Award program. In 2009, she received the Brilliance Award from the IESNYC for dedicated service and contribution to the New York City lighting community. Over the past 11 years, under her editorial direction, Architectural Lighting has received a number of prestigious B2B journalism awards. In 2017, Architectural Lighting was a Top Ten Finalist for Magazine of the Year from the American Society of Business Publication Editors' AZBEE Awards. In 2016, Donoff received the Jesse H. Neal Award for her Editor’s Comments in the category of Best Commentary/Blog, and in 2015, AL received a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Media Brand (Overall Editorial Excellence).Prior to her entry into design journalism, Donoff worked in New York City architectural offices including FXFowle where she was part of the project teams for the Reuters Building at Three Times Square and the New York Times Headquarters. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Me., and she earned her Master of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.

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