053 FINE DETAIL Beersnielsen was responsible for the detailing and tuning of the custom lighting solutions...
Beersnielsen lighting designers first got involved with the project in March 2012, after the Rijksmuseum had chosen Philips as its partner. At that moment Philips was developing a LED fixture especially for the lighting of the exhibitions and the studio was asked to make the final lighting plans. With these plans the total number of spots, their positions and the lenses were determined. One of the set goals for the total lighting design of the Rijksmuseum was to achieve consistency in the quality of the light through out the whole museum and improve the simplicity in execution and maintenance by using only one type of spot fixture. With only two engineering samples at their disposal there was little opportunity for mock ups. The biggest challenge was that only one type of fixture had to be used at different heights ranging from three to almost ten meters. To learn about the characteristics of the fixture, the samples were tested on site measuring the output when used at different distances and with different lenses. Based on the outcome of these tests, main lighting principles were set up for each collection. This, combined with the impressive package of drawings made by Wilmotte and Cruz y Ortiz with detailed information of the 8,000 artworks for each of the 80 exhibition spaces, resulted in the final lighting layout plan that was realised in only two months. The drawings showed the positions of the fixtures and what they where aimed at, the type of fixture (with mono point fixing or with rail adapter) and the needed lenses to make different beam angles. With this information Philips could proceed to produce the final amount of 3,640 fixtures and 2,500 lenses.
CUSTOM LIGHTING SOLUTIONS Beersnielsen was also responsible for the design and detailing of custom lighting solutions for several special objects which individually took a lot of time, testing and care. This included:
• Developing the lighting racks for the two 17th century dollhouses, four evenings of trials and measuring resulted in the design of two racks with 27 custom made individually dimmable LED fixtures.
• Finding the right LED candles to fit the fragile glass chandelier in the Kopskamer.
• Achieving the ‘daylight’ feeling in the Beuningkamer through the three big windows.
• Lighting the sensitive dresses more dramatically in the special collection. • Finding the right material and solution to for the backlighting of the medieval stained glass panels.
Beersnielsen also contributed, working closely in a team with Philips, Bronnenberg and Wilmotte, on the detailing of the chandeliers in the main hall and staircases and the fixtures for the reading tables in the library, making the lighting calculations and proposing the right diffuser material.
AIMING AND TUNING THE LIGHT In November 2012 the first batch of spots were delivered. The spots first had to be addressed for the Dali system and put into place according to the drawings this was done by Philips partner Toverli. After installation Beersnielsen aimed the fixtures, added lenses and if necessary repositioned the fixtures when, for example, art was relocated in the galleries. As a Dali system was used for dimming, the relocation, adding of extra fixtures and removing spots needed some extra effort.
The tuning of the light consisted of aiming the fixtures and shaping the light by adding the lenses per artwork and choosing the right positions avoiding unwanted shadows, glare and reflections. Finally the light levels were tuned to not exceed the maximum amount of lux levels tolerated and was also balanced with the light levels of the surrounding objects and the spatial lighting created with the uplights and lay lights.
In the process of tuning the light the input of the curators was crucial. Beforehand the curators were asked what the desired atmosphere of the collection would be, which objects needed to be highlighted, which objects were sensitive to light and so on. As a final step, the ‘fine-tuning’ was done together with the curators. Following these steps each collection got its own atmosphere whilst balance was created throughout the whole museum.
On the ground level the Special Collections galleries with low vault ceilings needed to feel like a treasury. The light was therefore
focused only on the objects using no additional spatial light making the objects stand out. On the other hand in the galleries of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, also located on the ground floor, the vaults were illuminated and thus enhanced the medieval ambience of the exhibition.
On the first floor where the 18th and 19th century collection are on show a more spatial, romantic and elegant lighting was preferred. The light, in combination with the colour on the walls provides a warm atmosphere, without explicitly highlighting every individual work of art.
At the Gallery of Honour and the 17th century collections on the second floor, a daylight feeling was important as this was part of the ideology of the architect of the building Pierre Cuypers. The diffuse cooler light from the lay lights is balanced with the exhibition lighting in such a way that the spotlights are almost invisible. The warm light appears to come out of the paintings themselves. On the third floor, the 20th century collection is presented in a white modernistic space. Here the lighting is even and smooth using wide beams to light the art works. At the newly designed Asian pavilion the light adds to the feeling of peace and contemplation but also ads a little sparkle and theatrical expression to some of the main objects like the two Japanese temple guards.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
The new technology has provided us with new possibilities and advantages tuning the light. The exchangeable lenses made it very easy to light each artwork to its best. The consistent colour through dimming made it possible to achieve a great balance within the total lighting scheme. And the remote dimming of the spots and uplights (DALI) either individually or per group of fixtures made it possible to tune the light real time, making the changes visible not only to us as lighting designers but most importantly to the curators and decision makers. It was of key importance that the museum staff was involved in the fine tuning of the light so the lighting plan became the lighting plan OF the Rijksmuseum, and not a plan FOR the Rijksmuseum.
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