New Urban View is nominated to receive an important international award in lighting design architecture, the darc award, organised by the leading international magazines in lighting architecture, mondo*arc and darc. The illumination project of a medieval church tower in Amersfoort, the Netherlands was sent in to participate in the category Best Exterior Scheme – low budget.
The ‘Onze Lieve vrouwe’ tower now shines brightly over the geographical heart of the Netherlands. Completed in the year 1470, it is standing at 98m tall, a landmark of the vibrant city and surroundings. In the makeover project the 4 old gas discharge lamps, illuminating the tower from a distance, were replaced by 138 LED lamps, mounted onto and inside the tower structure. The project was completed November, 1st 2014.
The design concept by lighting architect Jeroen Jans was aimed at capturing the unique architectural detailing, structure and texture, yielding a true experience of the three-dimensional aspects, even better than during daylight hours.
The monumental value had to be respected. No permanent damage to the tower structure was allowed. The requirements of the Cultural Heritage Agency had to be met. In order to achieve this, the lighting had to work from the ‘inside out’, so no external shining of beams onto the building, and no fixtures and fittings could be visible. Two different colour temperatures were used, fitting with the different building textures, like brick, sandstone, lead and tiles.
The award ceremony will take place on the darc night at arts venue Testbed1 / Doodle Bar in Battersea, London on September 24th, 2015 (during London Design Festival).