A lighting concept that impresses...
The Stadtoval (City Oval) is one of Aalen's most important urban development projects for the coming years. Approximately 250 residential units, commercial spaces, cultural facilities, and high-quality open spaces are being created on the former freight yard site. The direct connection to Aalen's main train station, the central location, and excellent accessibility offer great potential for a vibrant urban district. This project not only repurposes a disused industrial and railway area for urban use, but also restores the original urban topography by removing the existing seven-meter-high embankment.
"Environmentally friendly mobility and short, direct routes for pedestrians are important for our urban development. Due to its special location and excellent design, the footbridge is not only an important pedestrian bridge, but also an architectural highlight."
First Mayor Wolfgang Steidle
In November 2023, a new pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks was officially opened to the public. It is intended to connect the new urban area and the city center in an attractive and comfortable way.
The plans for the 141-meter-long footbridge, which spans the tracks of Aalen's main train station at a height of 8.5 meters, were designed by Werner Sobek, an architecture professor from Aalen.
A spiral staircase clad in larch wood slats leads up to the footbridge on both sides. Integrated LED light strips in the railing provide glare-free illumination of the walkway and, at the same time, create an impressive lighting effect on the bridge at night.
The NauticProfil® system impressed in several aspects of this lighting concept.
The challenge was to meet the required illuminance levels according to DIN standards, while implementing the lighting via LED strips in the handrails. For this purpose, NauticProfil® Sta. Maria-6 luminaires were installed on the right and left sides of the superstructure handrails, on one side of the stairway handrails (spirals), and additionally behind the louvers of the entire bridge. Suitable linear lenses ensure optimal illumination of the walkways, safe, glare-free wayfinding, and fulfillment of the required lighting specifications (louver lighting = LAF-2 and handrails = CFW).
Thanks to the integrated through-wiring, based on our patented contacting technology, two feed points were sufficient for the over 140-meter- long light line in the handrail – one on each side at the ends of the bridge.
Freedom in designing with light – that's what our LED modular system stands for – it offers us the ability to adapt quickly and easily to changing requirements. In this project, we were able to confidently respond to existing construction tolerances and score points with individually customized luminaire lengths .
The new pedestrian bridge was designed entirely by Werner Sobek. The supervising architect was Tobias Speck of Werner Sobek Design GmbH.
Lighting design concept:
altena GmbH Engineering office for lighting technology
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