Light That Follows the Day

Anyone walking through an interior corridor without daylight quickly loses track of the time. At the Arcaden Zwickau, this was to change: the corridor lighting was to recreate the natural course of the day – from the first morning light to dusk.

The Project

MA-SE GmbH from Zwickau was commissioned with the implementation. The operator’s brief was clear: corridor lighting that automatically adapts to the time of day. In the morning, the light was to brighten out of the darkness like a sunrise, create a bright, friendly atmosphere during the day and fade out in the warm tones of a sunset in the evening.

The requirement was therefore not just brightness, but a vibrant lighting scene with smooth colour transitions – reliable and without any manual intervention during operation.

The Right Lighting Solution

The lighting concept was developed together with MA-SE GmbH and Steffen Tschernich, Sales East at hansen. The choice fell on the hansen RGBW LED panel in the Rainbow version. Unlike a conventional RGB panel, the LEDs can be controlled in groups. This creates soft colour gradients across the entire surface – ideal for recreating the moving light of a sunrise or sunset. The additional white LED channel with 4000 K provides clear, natural light during the day.

The system is controlled by the COLEEN LED controller with integrated clock. For this project, it was equipped with custom programming by Toni Maroni, so that the lighting moods change automatically according to the time of day. The Rainbow interfaces convert the DMX signal into the LED protocol of the panels.

The Implementation

A total of 13 RGBW Rainbow LED panels in two sizes were custom-made by hansen in Haselund. With a depth of just 14 mm and a satin-finish opal acrylic cover, they provide homogeneous illumination without visible light spots.

Thanks to the substructure designed by MA-SE GmbH, the panels, including cabling, sit just 50 mm in front of the wall. The required power supplies are housed in the ceiling.

The lighting was divided into two systems – one for the supplier corridor and one for the customer corridor – each running on its own COLEEN controller.

The finishing touch was added by the customer: the illuminated surfaces were refined with a custom-cut front panel in the form of a black grille. This gives the surface a striking structure and turns the play of light into a design element in the space.

In summer 2026, all components – LED panels, power supplies, interfaces and controllers – were delivered as a coordinated complete system from a single source.

The Result

Today, the light in the corridor follows the rhythm of the day: in the morning, the surface slowly awakens in soft colours, bright natural white dominates during the day, and in the evening warm gradients bathe the space in a sunset atmosphere. Fully automatically, without anyone having to intervene.

A mere passageway has become a place with an atmosphere all its own. Both MA-SE GmbH and the end customer are entirely satisfied with the result. They particularly appreciated the close and straightforward collaboration with hansen, from planning to delivery of the complete system.

Technical Details

• 13 × hansen RGBW LED panel, Rainbow version
  • 7 × 1,635 × 980 mm
  • 6 × 1,905 × 980 mm
• Depth: 14 mm
• 2 LED rows along the long sides, LED spacing: 15 mm
• LED colour: RGB + white 4000 K
• Opal acrylic cover, satin finish
• Version: 24 V technology
• 4 × Rainbow interface (DMX to LED protocol)
• 2 × LED controller COLEEN with clock, custom programming
• Finishing by the customer: custom-cut front panel (black grille)