Kevin Fehling, Hamburg's only three-Michelin-star chef and owner of The Table restaurant, operates Puzzle Bar on the 15th floor of Campus Tower at Baakenhafen. The lighting design by notholt lighting design was developed and implemented in close collaboration with the interior architects at Cubik³, who oversaw the interior design. The guiding principle of The Table—where all guests dine together at a single table, creating a shared experience—carries through to Puzzle Bar as well. To address the venue's distinctive geometry—an impressive 20-meter length with only 5 meters of width and a three-sided acute-angled glass façade—a 15-meter undulating bar in crystalline forms was designed. This sculptural element brings considerable visual dynamism to the space while offering guests varied sightlines between interior and exterior, balancing both privacy and opportunities for social interaction. The back of the bar is wrapped in contrasting fabric, while the continuous velour curtain creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Simultaneously, the curtain serves as the stage for the bartenders and their extraordinary cocktail creations.

And they are undoubtedly the stars of Puzzle Bar. The lighting, therefore, deliberately takes a supporting role. Decorative fixtures were intentionally avoided. The selected recessed downlights are precisely shielded to eliminate distracting reflections on the window glass. The LEDs in the downlights emulate the quality of incandescent bulbs, shifting to warmer color temperatures as they dim—creating especially warm ambiance in darker lighting scenes. This effect is amplified by directing the downlights precisely onto the bar surface, where the warm wood tone reflects the light back even warmer. To ensure that drinks and especially the complex colors of cocktails remain undistorted, exceptional color rendering was prioritized. Views of the darkened exterior are framed only by carefully considered atmospheric reflections of the deliberately illuminated surfaces.
All other fixtures similarly conceal direct light source visibility. The slightly cooler lighting of bottles is hidden within the shelf brackets. Vertical illumination comes from a cove that gently washes the curtain with light. The LEDs are focused precisely so that only the curtain itself is illuminated, with no spillover to surrounding areas. Even the bar's work surface is lit with a specialized profile that remains invisible from all angles, including from the sides.

Along the window side runs a ceiling installation of golden threads. Dynamic white light profiles illuminate the golden threads with a cooler tone during the day and warm light in the evening. This allows the warm colors of the sunset to merge seamlessly with the warm lighting of the bar, creating a harmonious whole.

www.notholt.de
www.cubik3.de
www.puzzle-bar.de

Photography Credits:

Nele Martensen
www.nele-martensen.de

(Published in CUBE Hamburg 04|21)