Over 60 years of experience

Light Academy

Our enthusiasm for light is reflected daily in our projects and the uniqueness of our lighting design, product development, research department and the Bartenbach Academy.

Our philosophy

“Light is the medium of vision and of the soul. It affects the rhythm of our lives, our mood and our productivity. Proper lighting in the workplace invigorates us. Darkness in public spaces makes people uneasy, whereas light creates a feeling of security. The interaction between light and shadows brings architecture to life. Light accentuates and shows us the way forward. I’ve been working with the fascinating phenomenon of light for over 40 years. It requires professionalism and passion, and combines the fundamentals of physics and technology with a knowledge of perceptual psychology and a passion and talent for design. All this comes together in the professional field of lighting design.”

Professor Christian Bartenbach

Learning about light

Within the framework of our courses, participants have an opportunity to get to know more about a variety of lighting topics.

These courses are currently on offer:

Lighting Seminars for architects

Individually designed lighting seminars at the Bartenbach academy teach both the technical and physical basics as well as design and aspects of perception psychology. Our aim is to create a deeper understanding of the design of lighting and spatial environments for people. The main topics of these seminars are: Building with Daylighting, Designing with Artificial Light, LED Technology, Light and Health, Light and Surfaces.

University Courses

The Bartenbach academy is closely linked to universities through the offering of numerous courses. Knowledge of lighting is incorporated into courses of study such as architecture and design.

University Symposium

Students can gain insights into the World of Light at Bartenbach academy's University Symposium or in courses at various universities.

LIGHT ON! Theme day for architects

Groups of architects can spend a day getting inspired at the Bartenbach academy's World of Light. Individual programmes are available.

Workshops

In a workshop in the Artificial Sky, light can be SEEN, MEASURED and EXPLORED. Studies of materials directly show the interaction of light and surface. Daylighting as a design parameter creates a comfortable atmosphere and spatial quality. Experimental model studies allow for the optimisation of the design process using simple methods.

Whether as part of a Light on! day or upon request, we offer architectural firms the opportunity to make use of the unique Artificial Sky. Daylight can thus be incorporated into the design process, the creation of different daylight atmospheres can be modelled and tested, and measurements of natural light availability can be made.

In the Artificial Sky models can be shown and examined under all conceivable daylight situations. The natural conditions of the sky can be perfectly simulated in terms of brightness, light distribution, colour temperature and sunlight.

Spend a theme day at the Bartenbach academy.
Request an individual course: academy@bartenbach.com

Künstlicher Himmel:

Unser Künstlicher Himmel bietet Eigenschaften, die weltweit einzigartig sind:

Controllable luminance distribution
Steuerbare Farbtemperaturen
A moveable artificial sun
Vault diameter of approx. 6 meters
Carry out shading and radiation studies
Light measurements (e.g. daylight factor)
Facade studies (light control, sun protection, glare protection)
Interior appearance, daylight atmosphere

Experiments & Studies

The Bartenbach academy sees itself as a platform for experiments that are separate from everyday project work. In teaching, the first step is to focus on “building with daylight”. Project work by students at the Bartenbach academy illustrates the design potential of light and visualises various daylight atmospheres.

Goals:

Understanding the different effects of light and using them in the interest of human beings
To gain up-to-date knowledge of lighting (LEDs, light & health, the use of daylight, facade design)
To be inspired by the potential of designing with light
To use daylight as a design parameter and explore its use in the Artificial Sky
To learn about the effects light has on people (visual, emotional, biological)
To create atmospheric light and understand the interaction between light and materials

History

2003

Founding the Bartenbach Light Academy by Prof. Dr. h.c. Christian Bartenbach. Introduction of the Master's course "Lighting Design" in cooperation with the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck.

2004

The University Symposium is launched: A free, inter-university course aimed at students of numerous architecture and design faculties.

2007

Introduction of the part-time, one-year lighting programme.

2014

Christian Bartenbach takes over the Bartenbach academy from his father. The focus is on tailor-made, part-time light seminars and a unique light exhibition: the World of Light.

2015

The opening of the World of Light: Christian Bartenbach expands the Bartenbach academy with the World of Light – a light exhibition with lighting models and full-scale lighted spaces. Knowledge of lighting is put into practice!

About Bartenbach

Bartenbach was founded in 1976 and since then has been active as a manufacturer-independent lighting design office in Aldrans, Austria. The highly specialised family business has become the world market leader for lighting design and lighting solutions. To date, more than 10,000 projects have been realized worldwide.

You will find an excerpt of the most important projects and more information about the company in the following link.