g + h - Edition 09/2014

The name of the Munich interior designer Anne Batisweiler has been synonymous with the redevelopment and/or conversion of cinemas for a number of years now. One of her latest projects was the redevelopment the historic Museum Lichtspiele cinema and the glamorous Gloria Palast cinema in Munich.

The cinema Museum Lichtspiele is situated in Munich and has cult status beyond the city’s borders for a special tradition: Every week, for nearly 40 years now, they show the ”Rocky Horror Picture Show“. The famous-infamous cinema, more than 100 years old, located next to the Deutsche Museum had seen better days and a renovation was long overdue. The focus of these efforts was the conversion of the cinema foyer including the old counter, which used to create a bottleneck in the foyer, leading to long line-ups. According to Anne Batisweiler, “The main objective was to revive the look of the old scary castle, but with a modern interpretation.” Along this key idea, the new counter was dressed in a black-red bodice. Completing the outfit, the front panels are now “held in place“ with black laces.

RGB-LED profiles manufactured by Hansen Neon, model 220 with 14.1 W/linear meters (lm) are used to light up the counter with cornice, backsplash and pedestal. The alternating red, blue and pink lighting creates a sensuous atmosphere. For ceiling and counter recess lighting spots by SLV Elektronik were selected. The Triton-6-Gimble-Spots are equipped with 6xPower-LED 1 W, 3.000 K, 680 lm. The Dome-LED-Ceiling fixture is also by SLV and provides 6xPower-LED 1 W, in warm-white.

To further enhance the scary castle feel, special wall-mounted candelabras and chandeliers were designed and then realized by a model designer. They were made by Technik und Design GmbH and fitted with LED-candle 4 W, 2,785 K, 273 lm. Golden columns and semi-columns, ornate mirrors, movie quotations painted above the entrance to the traditional Rocky Horror Auditorium and tar oozing from movie posters add to the overall scary and entertaining design. Security and notice lighting by RP-Technik Notstromsysteme is also LED-based.

The Gloria-Palast, at the Karlsplatz, or Stachus, is yet another major player in Munich. In the 1950s and 1960s, movie stars from around the world gathered here for glamorous opening nights. The Gloria-Palast, a long-held cinematic dream come true for the grand dame of German cinema, Ilse Kubaschweski, was the glitzy Mecca for the beautiful, rich and famous of German cinema. The sophisticated design of the cinema used to include impressive waterworks lit with colour-changing lights, its fountains accompanied by organ music played by an organist before the curtain rose. This cinema, too, had seen better days, until the Munich interior architect and designer, Anne Batisweiler, was commissioned with the conversion and remodeling of the cinema. She quickly realized that she wanted to revive the waterworks concept. Therefore the design includes wall and ceiling light fixtures consisting of light-reflecting rhinestones and glass pendants that scatter drops of light like water spray across the walls and into the space – in the foyer, the corridors and the auditorium. The custom lights developed by First-Light in Munich are equipped with Philips-LEDs, 2,700 K, in various intensities. Grandiose lighting fixtures combined with dark-red carpets and mother-of-pear-shimmering walls in soft champagne colours are indirectly lit using cove lighting and pilaster strips.

High-performance Isynet-P14-LED-Stripes by Seebacher from Bad Toelz are used for the cove lighting, which is operated using only one Isygit-LED driver. The front counter panels, the cloakroom and the stand-up tables present themselves in the Swing of the 50s: upholstered, quilted and decorated with rhinestone. The contours and pedestal base lighting is by Mario Dressel GmbH from Siegritz, which also provided the floor and showcase lighting. The design of the auditorium features high-pile, dark brown carpeting, extra-wide custom-designed leather chairs with footrests, foldable tables and on request, pillows and blankets round out a truly grand movie experience.

Contributing to this experience is the possibility of showing individual lighting scenarios using a cinema matrix, i.e. separate dimming using advanced cinema technology. And then, when the two red and soft-white heavy curtains open to the backlit stage, it is “Roll film”!