OSRAM and Barrisol reveal the lobby of the U-Center in Bucharest in uniform tunable white light

Lobby lighting, Bucharest, Romania

The U-Center is an office building in the heart of Bucharest. With its high-quality finishes, glazed façade, automated lighting to minimize energy consumption, seven high-speed elevators and extensive parking, the structure complies with the highest standards of architecture, technology, infrastructure and sustainability. The new lighting for the 210 m2 ceiling features tunable white backlighting boards powered by DALI power supplies from OSRAM and a double-layer stretch ceiling from Barrisol.

Details:

Category: Backlighting/Signage
Subcategory: Luminous ceiling/decorative backlighting
Technology/Services: Light engines and LED modules
Year: 2021

The U-Center in Bucharest is an ultra-modern office complex that leaves nothing to be desired. Even its location could hardly be better. Right in the heart of the city, with two of the most beautiful parks in the immediate vicinity and excellent public transport links. The architecture is rectilinear and uncluttered. The requirement for the large lobby – in effect the calling card for the entire building – was that the lighting should match the rest of the complex in terms of prestige. Alibi Gloria, Barrisol’s partner tasked with selecting the lighting components and installing the lighting system, followed the minimalist design of the interior. Together with Barrisol, a world’s leading manufacturer of stretch ceilings, the experts created a 210 m2 uniformly backlit stretch ceiling that would simulate the sky and thus convey a feeling of space and openness.

Strong partners for the perfect solution

After a thorough investigation, taking into account the energy consumption, the cost of the lighting modules, ease of installation and maintenance, and the best light source to illuminate that vast ceiling, the choice eventually fell on an OSRAM product range specifically designed for the purpose.

A superior combination: BackLED and OTi DALI

The BackLED Area Tunable White LED modules offered a number of benefits for the project including the combination of homogeneous light output and a color rendering index (CRI) of over 90 with up-to-date efficiency and excellent thermal management. For Alibi Gloria such a solution meant that they did not have to worry about module placement or the shallow luminaire depth of only 9 cm. In terms of the time needed for installation, there are clear benefits since the LED boards can be easily installed and wired thanks to the plastic bars provided and onboard plug connectors.

OSRAM also had the right product in its portfolio for powering and controlling BackLED Area in the TW version. OTi DALI constant voltage LED drivers in the tunable white version are considered among the best in class. Their DALI-DT8 control interface helps to keep the luminous flux stable during color temperature shifts. This also enables the overall number of DALI addresses used to be reduced and energy savings to be made. Another benefit is that the intelligent OPTOTRONIC drivers offer outstanding compatibility, so the installers could choose from a wide range of suppliers for the DALI-2 light management system.

State of the art extends to support

The components from OSRAM were impressive. After seeing the initial mock-ups, Manuel Cristian and Alin Cosma, the client partner and project manager from Alibi Gloria, stated: “We were simply captivated by the performance – full homogeneity, full compatibility and, despite the small spacing from the membrane, no problems with heat build-up. And to cap it all, we had fantastic technical support from OSRAM product management.” The lighting simulates daylight perfectly, minimizes shadows and increases visual comfort. Thanks to the high color rendering index, the ceiling structure (artificial sky) presents all the materials in the lobby – marble, wood, and green wall – in natural vibrant colors, contributing to the premium impression of the U-Center in every respect.