Two radiant automotive brands under one roof thanks to Ansorg

The elegantly curved lines of the gleaming, polished body captivate the beholder and the vehicle’s exterior design appeals to all the senses. Beneath the shiny surfaces the fascination continues. Over 10,000 individual parts keep the entire unit running smoothly and harmoniously over the years. The lighting concept developed and implemented by Ansorg for the Welcomcar Hoche Automobiles car showroom in Orléans has a similarly complex interior and sublime exterior. Like the automobiles, the understated design of the lighting system gives no hint of the sophisticated engineering that allows it to perform its sales-promoting function. Soft reflections casually caress and graphically emphasise the vehicles’ curves and surfaces. In Orléans, the first impression that the customer gets is one of the long-lasting and multifaceted asset that the automobile represents.

Integrative individuality 

Ansorg’s lighting concept for Welcomcar completes and enhances the vehicle designers’ attempts to establish a connection between man and machine. “The light emphasises the emotional dynamics of the design”, said Martin Duprez, Corporate Design Project Manager at Volkswagen Group in France. “At the same time, it optimally showcases the sophisticated product technology and the brand world.”

In Orléans there are actually two physically separated brand worlds under one roof, because the dealer sells both Volkswagen and Seat cars at the same showroom. Each brand world has similar, though not identical lighting requirements. Both areas have 800 lux ambient brightness and a 2,000 lux arrangement for the vehicles. However, the Seat sales scenario features a spirited and dynamic presentation of just a few vehicles, whereas VW focuses on the aspects of vehicle reliability and product range diversity. The VW area has clearly structured geometries, unlike the dynamic positioning of the Seat vehicles in their area to represent the individual desire for freedom that the brand represents. The lighting concept also integrates the brand-typical spatial elements, colours and materials into a harmonious overall customer experience. For example, the big, freestanding VW welcome wall and the large-format wall motives in the Seat showroom are both flattered by and incorporated into the lighting concept.

The comfort factor

To maximise glare-free visual comfort in both brand areas, the designers at Ansorg harmoniously combined the fixtures, light sources and reflectors in the same way that automotive engineers combine gear wheels, pistons and valves. The lighting expert profits in this process from a comprehensive portfolio of products and decades of experience in the development of reflectors because they are what ultimately determine the luminaire’s beam characteristics. In combination with flexible spotlights on power tracks, this ensures very efficient and finely structured ambient luminance with brilliant product accentuation. Ansorg’s concept for Orléans creates a bright, friendly and inviting atmosphere that can only be realised with a very few luminaires. It also delivers a high level of efficiency as a result of the low lifelong operating costs without compromising on the overall lighting effect. Both light and luminaires harmoniously blend in with the building’s architecture. Suspended power tracks are used to compensate different ceiling heights and ensure that each of the areas can be accentuated with the perfect lighting.