The overall lighting concept is designed to minimize reflections in the panoramic window to ensure the best view for visitors both outside and inside The Twist. As daylight enters through the curved panoramic windows electric lighting smooths out the luminance contrasts in the space whilst adding an extra glow to the exhibited art.
“I am very satisfied with the simple and clean lighting solution we have created. It provides a nice experience without any excessive lighting or special effects. We are proud to have been a part of this extraordinary new space and I’m very happy to see our project awarded by the world’s most prestigious lighting design awards in the company of such magnificent projects” says Morten Jensen, Country Manager at Light Bureau Norway.
Overall, the lighting design at The Twist places architecture, art and the users at the centre of attention. All light levels have been carefully fitted to the natural light levels inside the building with supplementary spotlights directed towards the paintings and sculptures. No unnecessary or decorative light sources have been installed, to minimize inconvenience and distractions in the minimalistic space.
“The architects asked for well-lit exhibition rooms with a highly uniform lighting effect, which is why we decided to install wallwashers supplemented by discrete spotlights for a little extra light on the works of art. I’m very proud that our design has been recognized by the IALD” says Lighting Designer Thea Collett, who accepted the award on behalf of the entire team.
To create such a well-lit exhibition space, Light Bureau made use of a 4000K neutral white light colour. The wall washers ensure a lighting effect that is as uniform as possible and at the same time enhance the architecture. While the carefully aligned spotlights bring out the very best in the textures, shapes and colours of the exhibition. From an aesthetic point of view, the minimalist design of the luminaires with its simple cylindrical form adds a highly uniform, discrete appearance within the spectacular exhibition spaces.
The solution is a sustainable lighting design which follows the design strategy of adding light where needed, when needed, and to the amount needed, with no unnecessary luminaires installed. All luminaires are high quality LED fixtures with low energy consumption. Overall, the lighting design at The Twist places architecture, art and the users at the centre of attention.
Lighting Concept
Danish architects BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group who created this magnificent work of art specified they wanted particularly well-lit exhibition rooms and a highly uniform lighting effect. To achieve this, all light levels have been carefully fitted to the natural light levels inside the building with supplementary spotlights directed towards the paintings and sculptures. No unnecessary or decorative light sources have been installed, to minimize inconvenience and distractions in the minimalistic space.
The lighting concept for The Twist is entitled “The Art, The spectator, The space”. It is developed to accommodate the building’s main purpose, namely to allow visitors to experience and explore the art and the architectural space without any unnecessary disturbance, as well as enhance the gallery’s magnificent sculptural shape. For any lighting task, the optics used must be the ones best suited for the purpose to avoid over-illumination or glare, which will jeopardize the overall experience of a space – a task which this project perfectly demonstrates. In harmonious interplay with its natural surroundings, The Twist is a very beautiful showroom with varied light sources which enhance the architecture and exhibited art whilst ensuring undisturbed views of the river.
Daylight Design
A glass staircase leads down to the art gallery’s lower level on the northern riverbank with the full-height glass walls. The clear view of the river brings the visitors close to the surrounding nature and adds a magnificent experience of being in immersed with nature. However, the full-height glass walls posed a unique challenge for the intended video projections on the glass staircase.
Light Bureau’s daylight specialists were engaged to undertake daylight study of this area and ensure that the frosted glass projection surface could produce a crisp image with an appropriate level of contrast inside the space. The geometry of the structure, the generous daylight openings in combination with reflections from the water below, as well as shade from the surrounding hillsides, added significant complexity to the study. All elements were carefully modelled and tested for all seasons and time of the day using simulations so that the projections were feasible at all times and during all seasons. The daylight studies clearly showed that the glass staircase received high levels of daylight illumination during a specific time of the year and day, and appropriate strategies were suggested to reduce the amount of daylight in this space.
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About
The IALD International Lighting Design Awards is the longest running award program recognizing architectural lighting design excellence. The winners were announced live in an online broadcast of the 37th Annual IALD Awards on June 18th, 2020.
Facts about the project
Client: Kistefos Museum
Architects: BIG Bjarke Ingels Group, Copenhagen/ Denmark (Partner in charge: Bjarke Ingels, David Zahle; head of project: Eva Seo-Andersen; project architect: Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard)
Interior design: Guy Robertsen
Electrical planning: Rambøll, Strøm-Hansen
Lighting design: Light Bureau
Photography: Laurian Ghinitoiu, Tomasz Majewski