ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING FOR ART

GALLERY

IN

AN

ART GALLERY SPAC E,

ARTIFICIAL

LIGHT

ARE

D AYL I G H T AN D

OF

FU N D A ME N TAL

IMPO RTAN C E .

THE ARCHITECTURE AND TYPE OF LIGHTING

USED

IN

THESE

SPACES

H AVE

FAR-

R E A C H I N G I N F L U E N C E O N T H E I R I D E N T I T Y.

THE

LIGHTING

ILLU MIN ATE

MAKES

ALL

THE

IT

POSSIBLE

FACTS

OF

TO
THE

ARTWORK.

LIGH T FU N D A ME N TALLY AFFE C TS MATE R I ALS

THROUGH
RADIANT

PHOTO-CHEMICAL
H EATI N G

EFFECTS

ACTION
FROM

UV

AND
&

IR

R AYS.

PROLONGED

EXPOSURE

OF

SENSITIVE

M ATE R I A L S T O L I G H T, E S P E C I A L LY D AYL I G H T,
IS

D E TR I ME N TAL

P R E S E R VATI O N
ARTEFACTS.

TO

OF

THE
THOSE

LONGEVITY
ARTWORKS

AND
OR

THOUGH THE DAYLIGHT IS THE

MOST DESIREABLE SOURCE OF
LIGHT, DUE TO UNCONTROLABLE
NATURE AND HEATING EFFECT OF
IT

THE

ROLE

OF

ARTIFICIAL

LIGHTING BECOMES LARGER IN

ART GALLERIES.
CONTROLLABLE QUALITIES OF
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING ARE
1.AVAILABLILITY
2.ANGLE
3.INTENSITY
4.DISTRIBUTION
5.COLOR
6.MOVEMENT

THE ANNUAL LIGHT EXPOSURE IS THE CUMULATIVE AMOUNT OF VISIBLE LIGHT

INCIDENT AT A POINT, WITHIN THE BUILDING, OVER A 1-YEAR PERIOD (ANNUALLY).
IN AN ART GALLERY THE MAXIMUM ANNUAL LIGHT EXPOSURE FOR VERY LIGHT
SENSITIVE OBJECTS SUCH AS WATER COLOURS IS 150,000 LUX HOURS, WHEREAS
MORE LIGHT FAST PIGMENTS SUCH AS OIL HAVE A HIGHER VALUE OF 600,000 LUX
HOURS. INTELLIGENT LIGHTING SOLUTIONS STRIKE A PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN
LIGHTING QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

MAXXI NATIONAL MUSEUM OF XXI CENTURY

ARTS, ROME, ARCHITECTURE: ZAHA HADID AND
PATRIK SCHUMACHER, LONDON / GB

CIT DE LARCHITECTURE ET DU PATRIMOINE

(Paris)
USE OF DAYLIGHT FROM NORTH GIVES A
CONSTANT SOURCE OF LIGHT WHICH HAS
BEST CRI AND THE LIGHT LUX LEVEL
REMAINS CONSTANT MOST OF THE DAYS.
AFTER ITS COMPREHENSIVE RENOVATION, THE
WILHELM HACK MUSEUM IN LUDWIGSHAFEN
HAS TURNED INTO A PARAGON OF ENERGY
EFFICIENCY. THE MUSEUMS ENERGY COSTS
HAVE BEEN SLASHED BY AS MUCH AS 70 %.
DEPENDING ON LIGHTING CONDITIONS AND
REQUIREMENTS, THE LIGHTING CAN NOW BE
CONTROLLED
USING
SCENARIOS;
EACH
LUMINAIRE
CAN
ALSO
BE
DIMMED
INDIVIDUALLY.
THIS
ENSURES
OPTIMAL
ILLUMINATION
OF
EXHIBITS
AND
ALSO
ENSURES THAT EXTREMELY OLD, PRECIOUS
OBJECTS ARE PROTECTED FROM HEAT AND UV

THE IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS Of GOOD

LIGHTINGS ARE:

Color :Rendering Index(cri) Of Lighting

Fixture.
Lux :Level Required.
Dimming To Greatly Extend Lamp Life.

WEISHAUPT
MARKED

ART

THE

GALLERY

SUCCESSFUL

BUILDING
USE

OF

MIXTURE OF DAYLIGHT AND ARTIFICIAL

LIGHTING. DAYLIGHT IS PREDOMINANTLY
SCREENED OUT SO THAT THE AMOUNT OF
INCIDENT

NATURAL

LIGHT

CONTROLLED AT ALL TIMES.

CAN

BE

CRI OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIGHTS

INCANDESCENTS BRING OUT THE WARM COLORS WITHIN
THE COLOR SPECTRUM SUCH AS THE RED, BROWN,
ORANGE, AND YELLOW TONES.
BUT ITS BAD THE COOLER COLORS SUCH AS VIOLET, BLUE
AND GREENS.
THE BLUES, GREENS, AND VIOLETS WITHIN THE ART
WORKS OF ART WILL BE FLATTENED OUT BY
INCANDESCENT LIGHTS.
THESE LIGHTS ARE BETTER THAN FLUORESCENCE BUT
ARE NOT THE ENTIRE SOLUTION TO THE LIGHTING
PROBLEM.
FLUORESCENT LIGHTS AREN'T USED AS A COMMON
PRACTICE BECAUSE THEY GIVE OFF A HIGH AMOUNT OF UV
RAYS WHICH ARE HARMFUL.
IN ADDITION, FLUORESCENT LIGHTS DO NOT EMIT LIGHT
ACROSS THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF COLORS AND THIS IS
PROBLEMATIC.
HALOGEN :
A STRONG WHITE LIGHT.
A VERY GOOD CRI VALUE.
BUT EMITS A LOT OF HEAT.
HENCE SOLUTION FOR THE HALOGEN MAY BE USING A
LOW WATT HALOGEN LIGHT MAY PROVE TO BE A VERY
GOOD LIGHTING SOLUTION.

ROSE GALLERY AT THE SMITHSONIAN

AMERICAN ART MUSEUM ILLUMINATED WITH
INCANDESCENT FIXTURES.

COLOR
2800K

TEMPERATURE

AT

3000K

&

A FEW DATA REGARDING THE LUMENS OUTPUT FOR THE

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIGHTS AND LIFE SPAN FOR THE SAME.

LUX LEVEL REQUIRED:

LIMITING ILLUMINANCES AND ANNUAL EXPOSURES FOR MATERIAL SENSITIVITY

CLASSIFICATIONS (CIE DIV. 3 TC3-22, MUSEUM LIGHTING AND PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION
DAMAGE)

TYPES OF LIGHTING
SYSTEMS :
THE MOST IMPORTANT LIGHTING SYSTEMS USED IN EXHIBITION ROOMS ARE:
LUMINOUS CEILINGS WITH OPAL GLASS ENCLOSURE (DIFFUSE LIGHT)
OR SATINISED AND TEXTURED GLASS (DIFFUSE/ DIRECTIONAL),
INDIRECT LUMINAIRES (DIFFUSE),
COVE LUMINAIRES (DIFFUSE),
WALLWASHERS (DIRECTIONAL OR DIFFUSE/DIRECTIONAL),
SPOT LAMPS.

LUMINOUS CEILINGS:
THE IDEA IS TO EMULATE THE SKY FOR THIS KIND OF LIGHTING SYSTEM.
LUMINOUS CEILINGS DELIVER
LIGHT WHICH IS PARTICULARLY
SUITABLE FOR PAINTING GALLERIES
PREDOMINANTLY DIFFUSE WITH AN
OPAL ENCLOSURE,
THE LIGHT SOURCES OF CHOICE
ARE TUBULAR FLUORESCENT
LAMPS ARRANGED ACCORDING TO
THE STRUCTURAL GRID OF THE
LUMINOUS CEILING.
FOR GOOD UNIFORMITY THEY
SHOULD BE SPACED NO FURTHER
APART THAN THE DISTANCE TO THE
CEILING ENCLOSURE.

INDIRECT LIGHTING:
INDIRECT LIGHTING ADDS BRIGHTNESS TO THE ARTS WITHOUT CREATING ANY DIRECT OR
INDIRECT GLARE.
AN IMPACT SIMILAR TO THAT OF A LUMINOUS
CEILING IS ACHIEVED WITH INDIRECT LIGHT
BOUNCED OFF THE CEILING AND UPPER
WALL SURFACES INTO THE ROOM.
THIS DIFFUSE, UNIFORM LIGHT IS
PREDOMINANTLY USED IN ROOMS WHERE NO
DAYLIGHT ENTERS.
IT IS PRODUCED BY SUSPENDED
LUMINAIRES RADIATING LIGHT UPWARDS.
IN EXHIBITION ROOMS, LUMINAIRES FOR
SUSPENDED POWER TRACK SYSTEMS ARE
AN OPTION: THEY ARE INSERTED IN THE
TRACK FROM ABOVE WHILE SPOTS FOR
DIRECTIONAL LIGHTING ARE
ACCOMMODATED IN THE LOWER CHANNEL.

COVE LIGHTING:
THE DIFFUSE LIGHT OF LUMINARIES INSTALLED IN THE CURVING TRANSITION BETWEEN WALL
AND CEILING THE COVE OR COVING IS ANOTHER INDIRECT LIGHTING SOLUTION.
THE DIFFUSE LIGHT OF LUMINARIES INSTALLED
IN THE CURVING TRANSITION BETWEEN WALL
AND CEILING THE COVE OR COVING IS
ANOTHER INDIRECT LIGHTING SOLUTION.
THE MAIN DIRECTION OF LIGHT WITH COVE
LIGHTING IS CLOSER TO THE HORIZONTAL THAN
WITH A LUMINOUS CEILING.
THE LIGHT IS LARGELY SHADOW-FREE.
LINEAR

LAMPS

GENERALLY

TUBULAR

FLUORESCENT LAMPS ARE THE MOST WIDELY

USED LIGHT SOURCE.
EXCESSIVE LUMINANCE AT THE CEILING AND
ON THE UPPER PART OF WALLS CAUSES GLARE
AND INTERFERES WITH SPATIAL EXPERIENCE.
THIS CAN OCCUR IN COVES WHERE NO STEPS
ARE TAKEN TO PROVIDE OPTICAL CONTROL.

WALL WASHERS:
WALL WASHERS BRING ATTENTION TO THE WALL THAT CONTAIN THE ARTS AND ARTEFACT,
WHICH IS CALLED ACCENT LIGHTING. TEHY BRING DRAMA & FOCUS TO THE OBJECT.
LED WALL WASHERS ARE DESIGNED FOR LARGER INDOOR/OUTDOOR ACCENT LIGHTING
APPLICATIONS.
WITH A NUMBER OF COLOR, ANGLE AND CONTROL OPTIONS, THE LED WALL WASHERS ALLOWS
USERS TO INTERFACE THE APPROPRIATE COLOR, SCENE AND INTENSITY SCHEMES NECESSARY
TO COMPLETE LARGE INTERIOR LIGHTING TASK.
WALL WASHING PROVIDES AN EVEN
SPREAD OF ILLUMINATION.
FOR VERTICAL SURFACES SUCH AS
WALLS, LARGE PAINTINGS, WALL
HANGINGS,

BOOKCASES

AND

SHELVING, CABINET FRONTS, OR

STAIRWELLS. THE DIFFUSE NATURE
OF WALL-WASH ILLUMINATION HAS
THE EFFECT OF FLATTENING OUT
TEXTURED SURFACES.

SPOT LIGHTS:
THE DIFFUSE LIGHT OF LUMINARIES INSTALLED IN THE CURVING TRANSITION BETWEEN WALL
AND CEILING THE COVE OR COVING IS ANOTHER INDIRECT LIGHTING SOLUTION.
"KEY AND FILL" IS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE FOR ACCENTUATING THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL
CHARACTER OF AN OBJECT.
THIS TECHNIQUE ENTAILS THE USE OF KEY AND FILL LIGHTING FROM TWO SIDES OF THE
OBJECT.
KEY LIGHTING IS A HARD-ACCENT LIGHT USED TO CREATE SHADOWS AND TO HIGHLIGHT AN
OBJECT'S FORM AND TEXTURE.
FILL LIGHT IS A SOFTER LIGHT THROWN FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE OBJECT TO
SOFTEN THE SHADOWS.
MAKING THE OBJECT APPEAR MORE
NATURAL. OTHER TECHNIQUES CAN
ALSO

BE

APPLIED

TO

FURTHER

ACCENTUATE THE UNIQUE CHARACTER

OF

AN

OBJECT,

SILHOUETTING.

SUCH

AS

SPOTLIGHT WITH A PROTECTIVE UV FILTER HAS BEEN USED. THE

SPOTLIGHTS CAN ALSO BE DIMMED INDIVIDUALLY BECAUSE THE
PAINTINGS MUST NOT BE EXPOSED TO BRIGHTNESS IN EXCESS OF
50 LUX. THE GLASS SLOPES AT JUST THE RIGHT ANGLE TO
PREVENT DISTRACTING REFLECTIONS ON DISPLAY CABINETS; THIS
SLOPE

ANGLE

WAS

DETERMINED

ESPECIALLY

FOR

THIS

PARTICULAR EXHIBITION. MUSEUM BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN

BOIJMANS VAN
AN ARTIFICIALLY RECLAIMED ISLAND SOME 60 M FROM THE SEASIDE
PROMENADE IN DOHA WITH A PALM-FRINGED APPROACH ROAD
EMPHASISES THE EXTRAORDINARY STATUS OF THE UNIQUE DISPALY
OF ISLAMIC ART. THE RATHER RESERVED AND SELF-CONTAINED
EXTERIOR SURPRISES THE VISITOR WITH AN AMAZING OPENNESS
INSIDE. PERFECT ILLUMINATION OF THE TREASURES OF ISLAMIC ART
IN THE SPACIOUS HALLS AND GALLERIES IS ACHIEVED USING A
CUSTOMISED SOLUTION DEVELOPED BY THE LIGHTING DESIGNERS
IN CONJUNCTION WITH ZUMTOBEL. THE TALL, SLENDER GLASS
DISPLAY CABINETS AND THEIR PRECIOUS EXHIBITS ARE PRECISELY
ACCENT LIT BY OPTICAL FIBRES AND SPECIAL LIGHT OUTLETS. UVFREE

LIGHT

PROVIDED

BY

ESPECIALLY GENTLE LIGHTING

STARFLEX

ALSO

GUARANTEES

FOR

DELICATE

EXHIBITS.

THE

SMALL

SPOTLIGHTS

WHICH

SUPPLEMENT THE DISPLAY CABINET LIGHTING AS REQUIRED AND

ALSO SHOW THE WAY AROUND ARE NOT TIED TO THE DISPLAY
CABINETS AND ARE THEREFORE AS FLEXIBLE AS POSSIBLE. THE
DECISION WAS MADE TO DISPENSE WITH ADDITIONAL AMBIENT
LIGHTING IN ORDER TO RETAIN AN ATMOSPHERE WHICH IS AS
EXCITING AS POSSIBLE. THE LOW-VOLTAGE SPOTLIGHTS HERE
ARE SPECIAL MOTORDRIVEN
VERSIONS, WHICH CAN BE ALIGNED VIA A TOUCH PANEL AND
DIMMED USING DMX CONTROL.

A SOPHISTICATEDLY DRAMATIC CHIAROSCURO CONCEPT WITH PRECISELY SET CONTRASTS

USING HIGH-POWER FRAMING SPOTLIGHTS PRODUCES AN EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBITION
EXPERIENCE. ROOMS WITH ACCENT LIGHTING RANGING FROM GREEN AND SLATE BLUE TO RED
GLARE-FREE AND SURROUNDED BY A SUBTLE AURA ALSO HELP CONVEY A
SENSE OF SPACE PERFECTLY AND LIT BY ARCOS FRAMING SPOTLIGHTS TO MINIMISE THE
ILLUMINATED WALL SURFACE AREA AND TURN EACH INDIVIDUAL WORK OF ART INTO A
GLEAMING ISLAND IN ITS OWN RIGHT. THE ACCENT SPOTLIGHTS ARE DALI DIMMABLE; THIS
ALLOWS FAST SETTING OF AND STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH SPECIFIED ILLUMINANCE LEVELS TO
CONSERVE EXHIBITS THAT ARE SENSITIVE TO RADIATION.

SHARP OUTLINES EVEN IN HIGH-CEILINGED

ROOMS
LANDESGALERIE AT THE UPPER AUSTRIAN
MUSEUM IN LINZ