Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Antwerp's historic opera house shines at night thanks to sustainable architectural lighting
The Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Antwerp's Opera House, is an architectural masterpiece from the early 1900s, designed by Belgian architects Alexis Van Mechelen and Emiel Van Averbeke.
For many years, the City of Antwerp has paid special attention to its public lighting, including the illumination of its historic buildings. In 2012, it adopted a lighting plan that aims to provide a coherent and sustainable vision for the different areas of the city.
The benefits of lighting heritage
For the city of Antwerp, lighting up its heritage at night allows it to:
- enhance landmarks and captivate passers-by;
- improve the cultural appeal of the city;
- create a welcoming night-time ambiance;
- reinforce the sense of safety in a neighbourhood.
After the City Hall, Antwerp Central Station, Cathedral of Notre-Dame and Het Steen, it decided to shine a light on the emblematic Antwerp Opera House at night.
This illumination was carried out in collaboration with the City of Antwerp, Radiance 35, Fluvius and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen.
Meticulously designed architectural lighting
In the past, the Opera was not illuminated, but was lit indirectly by the street lighting on Place de l'Opéra, the square in front of the building.
To illuminate the architectural details of this neo-Baroque building, the city commissioned the lighting design agency Radiance 35. After a competitive selection process, our SCULP floodlights were chosen to bring the Opera House to life.
Radiance 35’s layered lighting concept enhances the building's unique features:
- facade lighting accentuates the vertical elements and highlights carefully chosen details;
- illumination of the window frames and loggias adds depth and drama to the building;
- soft, indirect lighting bathes the building, bringing unity to the lighting scheme;
- spotlights highlight the staircases and the outdoor square, inviting passers-by to discover the cultural offerings of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen.
SCULP floodlights for precise, efficient lighting
The project team placed their trust in Schréder's expertise in architectural lighting solutions.
The SCULPFLOOD 150 and SCULPFLOOD 60 LED floodlights, installed at a distance, bathe the façade of the Opera House with a gentle light, optimising the architectural enhancement while minimising energy consumption. These robust floodlights direct the luminous flux to exactly where it is needed. They provide high-performing photometry that can be adjusted on-site to ensure an uniform illumination of the building.
Facade mounted SCULPLINE floodlights provide a grazing effect to accentuate the vertical elements of the building. These linear luminaires are discreetly integrated into the facades without compromising the magnificent daytime aesthetics of the building.
The SCULPDOT floodlight, with its easy installation and discreet integration was chosen for the accent lighting. It enhances the intricate details and ornate features of the façade chosen by the lighting designers. Thanks to its external refractor and mounting bracket with inclination angle, the photometry can be adjusted on site to shape the beam and achieve an architectural lighting in perfect harmony with the desired concept.
SCULPFLOOD 150 floodlights, housed in the bespoke light trees on the Operaplein in front of the Opera House, illuminate the staircase and square to draw passers-by's attention to the events taking place inside the Opera House.
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Our role in this project extended beyond simply supplying floodlights. We provided advice and technical support to ensure that the lighting designer’s vision was brought to life and that the architectural lighting met the expectation of all stakeholders involved. We carried out a series of on-site tests to accurately determine the right lenses to achieve the desired result.
Finely-tuned lighting control system
All the floodlights are managed by a control system that enables different lighting scenarios to be programmed. During peak hours in the morning and evening, the Opera House becomes a captivating landmark, illuminated in various shades of white. Later in the evening, the lighting is dimmed to provide a more subdued illumination throughout the night.
The control system can also be used to adapt the lighting on performance nights, highlighting certain details of the building and/or playing with the colour palette to attract the attention of passers-by. The aim is not to create a light show, but to adapt the lighting to suit the show programme with more contrasting lighting effects or a subtle touch of colour.
The Opéra Garnier in Paris, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Vienna State Opera. Every major city has an opera house to be proud of. Whereas Antwerp's magnificent opera building used to be hidden behind a wall of cars and relied solely on street lighting, its unique details are now highlighted by brilliant architectural lighting." says Erica Caluwaerts, Alderwoman for Public Domain.
Source: City of Antwerp
The city of Antwerp and the director of the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen are very pleased with the new architectural lighting scheme. This sustainable solution ensures that this historic building will continue to shine brightly for many years to come.
