Lübeck city hall: modern technology in historical spaces

The city hall of Hanseatic city Lübeck is among the most well-known buildings of gothic architecture. In medieval times, Lübeck was a major trade center of the Hanseatic cities and the place where representatives of the most important trade cities met. Lübeck city hall is one of the largest medieval city halls in Germany and is still serving as seat of the mayor and aldermen to this day.

Challenge

To equip themselves for the digital future, the Hanseatic city Lübeck wished to include a future-proof conference and streaming solution for the meeting room. Following the strict guidelines to protect monumental, cultural, and architectural interests was top priority when developing the concept and during the installation. By cooperating with the state office for monuments, architects, and the engineers from Hornecker, Mediasystem developed custom solutions.

Solution

Two PTZ-cameras from Vaddio were installed on custom-made column mounts to protect the historical masonry. Two others were placed on decorative fireplaces. Mediasystem programmed them to support smooth switching to the correct camera as a different person starts speaking. For example, if one of the individually numbered desks activates, the related camera automatically switches from the meeting leader to the active speaker.

The Council of Aldermen has a preview display where they can choose how the voting results, camera images or livestream are displayed in real time. A central touch panel from Crestron aids the intuitive operation of the conference technology: this is where it’s decided which content is projected on both displays. One finger tap starts the live stream and chooses the look of the stream – for example picture-in-picture display. Authorized users can change the automated camera settings and include their own settings. The sound system is also controlled via the touch panel. With predetermined presets sessions can be shared with other hallways and offices using the existing sound system.

In addition, 110 microphones, two projectors, two projector screens, two displays and several HDMI connectors were installed in strategic places. The Mediasystem team programmed these to seamlessly work together and created a solution that is usable by nontechnical personnel.

Result

“Mediasystem GmbH is a reliable partner for Lübeck city hall – with advice and installation but also afterwards with the warranty and service efforts.” – Ms. Beate Lege, Head of public tendering of Hanseatic City Lübeck

To accomplish the best possible result from the technology, the city Lübeck has a service level agreement with Mediasystem which includes remote services and monitoring. Within this agreement, Mediasystem continually watches over the status of the various media technologies in Lübeck city hall. Individual service requests can be submitted directly to Mediasystem through a personal online portal. This way, status changes are spotted before they cause problems.