BERNEXPO, New Festhalle
Client
Messepark Bern AG
Project location
Bern, Switzerland
Project date
2025
Certification
Minergie P Standard
Main contractor
HRS Real Estate AG, Gümligen
Architectural consortium
mrh architektur, iaag architekten ag, Bern
Lighting design
Reflexion AG, Zurich
Electrical planning
Amstein + Walthert AG
Electricians
ETAVIS Bern-Mittelland AG, Liebefeld
A real-time lighting experience
The new Festhalle on the Bernexpo site has created a venue that inspires people – culturally, economically and socially. As the overall lighting solutions partner, Zumtobel provided the lighting for all areas, from the concert hall and foyer to the conference rooms. Today, around 4,500 light points ensure that every event is given the right atmosphere. Precisely controlled, energy-efficiently implemented and architecturally integrated.
Built for diversity.
Architecturally, the new Festhalle is divided into three structures that together form a single unit. It hosts concerts and cultural events, congresses and conferences, trade fairs and sporting events. A wide variety of room sizes, changing usage scenarios and parallel events place the highest demands on everything, including the lighting.
Together with project partner Ervotech AG, Zumtobel implemented the complete interior and safety lighting and developed experience-oriented lighting solutions that combine flexibility with sustainability.
‘Diversity is the key to our success: both in terms of venue size and our standards of hospitality, services and catering.’
Tom Winter, CEO of Bernexpo AG
DMX: Real-time lighting scenes
The new event venue can accommodate up to 9,000 people and is designed for maximum versatility. In the ‘Stage’ multifunctional hall, it is possible to create uniform general lighting for various visual tasks despite complete blackout. The ‘Cube’ event hall is equipped with tunableWhite luminaires for all usage scenarios.
This flexibility is largely enabled by a dynamic lighting solution. It handles a wide variety of tasks, capable of creating dramatic effects or providing functional illumination. The entire room lighting is controlled via DMX. CRAFT high-bay luminaires, the TECTON C continuous-row system and VIVO II spotlights have been adapted as a bespoke solution for DMX.
All luminaires are directly integrated into the event technology. This allows the lighting technology to confidently adapt to any situation and respond flexibly. Lighting scenarios can be adjusted in real time, with colour moods and intensities becoming part of the dramatic effect.
TunableWhite: Atmospheric Dynamics
In the event hall, visual quality and adaptability are paramount. The integrated tunableWhite technology enables flexible control of light intensity and colour temperature. This gives every event its own lighting identity and ensures optimal viewing conditions for every use. Bernexpo can thus offer its customers the right lighting atmosphere at any time of day: warm light for festive occasions, neutral white light for exhibitions, or daylight-like 6500 Kelvin for conferences.
For Tom Winter, it is precisely this flexibility that is crucial. “Light isn’t always the first thing you notice. Yet it has a decisive influence on the feel of a space. The feedback regarding comfort, atmosphere and quality of stay is very positive. Lighting is a key factor in the well-being of our guests.”
Certification to the Minergie-P standard
The new event hall is certified to the Minergie-P standard and forms part of Bernexpo’s comprehensive sustainability strategy. The overall concept is characterised by the avoidance of fossil fuels, high energy standards and smart building technology.
For Isabelle Kummer-Ritschi, project manager at HRS Real Estate AG, lighting plays a central role in this: “A hall of this size naturally requires energy. And lighting is a really important factor in reducing energy consumption. Today’s state-of-the-art technology allows us to get the most out of our lighting.”
The following factors in particular contribute to the sustainability of the lighting:
- energy-efficient LED technology
- precise control options
- demand-based night-time dimming
- seasonal and time-of-day adjustments
Safety as an integral part
At a venue hosting thousands of visitors, safety is paramount. In the new festival hall, emergency lighting is not an add-on, but an integral part of the lighting solution. General and emergency lighting were implemented as a single package. This reduces interfaces, simplifies coordination and establishes clear lines of responsibility with a single point of contact.
Over 1,000 emergency and escape route lights have been installed in the new festival hall. Four networked eBox supply centres power the safety lighting and communicate with one another as well as with existing systems on the site. This allows the systems to be monitored centrally and maintained efficiently.
A structured process for a complex project
The installation of 4,500 light points within a short construction period required precise organisation. The project involved, amongst other things, around two kilometres of continuous lighting, hall luminaires, spotlights, downlights and bespoke light lines.
In addition to product delivery, Zumtobel handled the entire ordering process in accordance with the implementation, materialisation and scheduling plans. The luminaires were manufactured in various configurations and delivered on time in line with the progress of the construction work.
Detailed on-site measurements, the coordination of all interfaces and a structured luminaire catalogue ensured that each luminaire could be clearly assigned. For the main contractor, this meant clear responsibilities, fewer interfaces and a high degree of planning certainty – crucial factors for smooth implementation within the specified construction period.
A partnership of equals
A short construction period, high complexity and close coordination characterised the project. For Isabelle Kummer-Ritschi, this collaboration was a key factor in its success: “Zumtobel has always been a reliable partner; we communicated as equals. Things got heated at times, but we always kept our eyes on the prize and found a way forward together.”
Bernexpo and Zumtobel share a long-standing partnership that extends far beyond the new Festhalle. Zumtobel supports the ongoing development of the halls and buildings with its products and services. The consistent use of the TECTON continuous row lighting system is just one example of many – it epitomises a collaboration that also enables modernisation to be carried out efficiently and sustainably.