After a massive 10-year renovation, the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, reopened its doors in Amsterdam on April 3, 2013. The museum is now one of the first to use LED lighting exclusively to illuminate collections of art, and is one of the world's largest LED lighting installations.
The goal of the renovation was to highlight and revive the beauty of the building, and show it off as the masterpiece that it was when it was first designed by Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers in 1885.
Although the museum had originally planned to use metal halide lights, once the Color Kinetics design team showed the benefits of an LED lighting solution, the museum leaders knew it would be the best fit for their project. LED lighting solutions produce the best lighting effects, and are low maintenance and energy-efficient. Lighting designer Petra Hulst mentioned that the Color Kinetics products had a sleek design, making them easy to blend in with the architecture.
While other Philips LED lighting products were installed within the exhibits and interior hallways, Color Kinetics products were used to illuminate the exterior of the building. Designers wanted to highlight specific aspects on the outside of the building such as the crown shaped posts on the roof, entrance-ways, sidewalks, and certain textures on the exterior of the building. Lighting landscape was also essential in order to ensure safety for passersby at night. The goal was to create a feeling of safety and comfort, and to not leave any part of the building in the dark.
In order to achieve these goals, eW Graze Powercore luminaires were placed 2 to 4 m (8 to 13 ft) away from the building to highlight its structure and detail. In addition, eW Reach Powercore (now specified with
ReachElite), eW Burst Powercore, and eW Blast Powercore luminaires were installed in front of the building to soften its design.
When the installation was complete on April 1, 2013, the museum leaders, as well as the lighting design team, were happy with their decision to go with a Color Kinetics LED lighting solution.
"With the help of Color Kinetics, the exterior of this famous building is now beautifully illuminated. Their products are high-quality and give this building the attention it deserves," said Hulst.
