LED façade of the onshore power supply plant presented

(Kiel, 9th December 2020) With darkness setting in on 9th December, Kiel’s Lord Mayor Dr Ulf Kämpfer and City Councillor Doris Grondke presented the LED wall at the new onshore power supply plant building at the Ostseekai Terminal together with the Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL, Dr Dirk Claus, as well as the architects and lighting designers. Lord Mayor Dr Ulf Kämpfer: “Climate protection is one of our priority goals and I am pleased that we take another important step with the new onshore power supply plant. The PORT OF KIEL thus makes a major contribution to the realisation of our climate protection strategy – the 100 % Climate Protection Masterplan. The onshore power supply plant is an important milestone on the way to become the most ecological port in Europe.” The plant ranks among the most powerful ones of its kind and will supply the ferries of the Stena Line shipping company with eco-power in a first step. From next year onwards, two vessels can take eco-power at once, i.e. a cruise ship and a ferry. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “With this façade we have literally created a little highlight in Kiel. As from January, we will cover 44 % of the energy demand by the vessels berthing in the port of Kiel in an emission-free and climate-neutral way. In two years, it is supposed to be 60 to 70 %. Through this, Kiel takes a leading role.” The onshore power supply plant’s value for the protection of the climate now becomes visually perceptible through the LED wall. It expresses the physical processes in a visual way.

“Due to its extraordinary location – at the interface between the city centre and the promenade along the fjord – the requirements regarding urban planning and architecture have been really high right from the start. The positioning of the building and the formulation of its cubature in combination with the façade’s design achieve to set a clear architectural accent in that place”, said City Councillor Doris Grondke. Due to the different illumination options, the façade is a constantly changing highlight which will always remain interesting. The actual innovation also lies in the concealment and the surprise. The architect Jan Schulz of BSP Architekten BDA said: “This façade is so far unique in its kind. In daylight, the outer shell shows its very own character with its dynamically structured perforation. Once the LED lights hidden in the façade are switched on there is a totally new level of design that completely transforms the perception in the dark.” Almost half of the 720 m2 large metal wall has been covered with more than 12,000 LEDs of which every single one can be managed individually using special software. When all LEDs are in full operation, the wall consumes nearly 25 kWh of eco-power. Lighting Designer Hauke Giesecke at the team licht company said: “There are virtually no lim-its to the diversity and creativity of the display. It was an important aspect that the presented content takes a creative approach playing with the building’s impression. The texts and imag-es displayed are supposed to be of informative and explanatory nature offering some added value to the beholder.