REGIONAL CONTROL CENTER ELMSHORN

REGIONAL CONTROL CENTER ELMSHORN, ELMSHORN, GERMANY

This is a fully integrated fire and rescue control center responsible for the districts of Dithmarschen, Segeberg, Steinburg, and Pinneberg. The center handles emergency calls, technical assistance, rescue services, patient transport, and fire response for an area of 4,492 km². Annually, approximately 250,000 emergency calls are processed. As the center operates 24/7, it was decided to implement Human Centric Lighting to provide employees with optimal working conditions.

Around 70 specially trained employees from the Pinneberg district answer emergency calls in a continuous shift system, ensuring round-the-clock availability for citizens in the cooperating districts. Okholm Lighting developed large pendant luminaires suspended from the ceiling with integrated Human Centric Lighting, providing general illumination around the clock. These pendants feature both uplight and downlight, ensuring efficient and comfortable lighting for employees regardless of the time of day.

Regarding the project, lighting designer Ulrike Brandi states on her website:

"The employer aimed to create a comfortable and health-promoting environment for employees. The two control rooms receive plenty of daylight. A human-centric lighting design utilizes the visual, biological, and psychological effects of light.

The rooms require glare protection to minimize excessive luminance from the sky, which is achieved using roller blinds with a 2% transmission factor. Skylights ensure a generous amount of natural daylight throughout the space.

Artificial lighting follows daylight in both intensity and color temperature, thereby supporting employees' circadian rhythms. Employees feel comfortable in their new control rooms."

Photo: Jörn Hustedt