Natural lighting makes collection stand out

Fast facts
Client MEXX Project/location Haarlem, Netherlands Architect Arjan van der Bliek Luminaires and light sources SceneOn, MASTERColour CDM-TC Elite, TL5, UnicOne, Savio, Fugato, Afnium Posterbox, Spot LED, LEDstring Lighting solutions Ton Akkermans, Mirjam van der Kaaij, Philips Lighting effect Changing cool-white and warm-white light

Background
MEXX sells fashionable clothing and accessories and wants to project the image of a store that is optimistic, non-conformist, inspiring and fun. Since its foundation in 1986 MEXX has opened outlets in over 65 countries.

light of outstanding quality. Its per-fect colour rendering and very stable light output during its long lifetime make it ideally suited to fashion outlets. Applying the AmbiScene concept, the lighting design incorporates

The challenge
For the Haarlem store a pilot project was started to nd ways to create and project the MEXX feel more effectively. Individual zones, each with their own identity, have been created to highlight special clothing and accessories. In the changing area we wanted to create a light that adapts to the collection for a given season.

The solution
The general lighting has been kept to a pleasant minimum so that accent lighting can cre-ate sharp contrasts that will draw the customers attention to the various zones. At the same time, tunable white light has been installed to support the changing collections, e.g. in the changing area, where the light adapts to the specic season for which a collection is intended. The energy-efcient MASTERColour CDM Elite 35 W is used to provide natural light. This unique lamp offers crisp, sparkling white

surprising innova-tions, such as the Afnium Posterbox concealed in the banners below the skylight, thus creating the effect of a chandelier. The Savio luminaires below the skylight vary in colour temperature between 5000 and 3000 K throughout the day according to a dened rhythm. Thanks to SceneOn, the exible lighting in the tting rooms is tailored to the current collection this means refreshing light for spring, cool light for summer, warm light for autumn and neutral white light for winter. Spots illuminating the perimeter are concealed in grooves in the ceiling so they do not detract from the clothing on display.

Benets
Branch manager Famke Roeterdink frequently hears customers exclaim: Good light at last as they enter the store. The pleasant high lighting levels and exible lighting possibilities do not, therefore, go unnoticed. Its great for customers because the collection is shown in such an authentic light. This means they no longer have to go outside to see what an item of clothing will look like in daylight.