A blank canvas for visions: Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels

The new spaces at Sint-Jorisstraat exemplify how the right lighting concept is able to support the optimal display and therefore also the sale of artworks in a commercial gallery. What appears from the outside to be a bold combination of a time-honoured town house with a minimalist, almost windowless concrete building reveals itself inside as a perfect architectural shell for presenting high-calibre contemporary art. Robbrecht en Daem Architects had previously converted the approximately one hundred year old existing building from a town house to a gallery in 1992, and now planned the extension as a monolithic volume. The levels are aligned in such a way that a "promenade architecturale" can pass through both parts of the building: all floor heights of the new annex match those of the existing building, meaning that the gallery’s exhibition spaces over five levels seamlessly merge.

The challenge was to find the right balance between natural and artificial light for the different spaces. "The uniform distribution of light in the rooms was an essential aspect," explains the architect. "It influenced where the track was positioned as well as the detailed design of the skylights." The lighting concept emerged in close collaboration between the Xavier Hufkens team, lighting designer Siegrid Siderius and electrical contractor Jacques Verliefden. Eclipse InTrack wallwashers and track-mounted spotlights combine uniform general lighting in all spaces with focused accent lighting for the works of art. Uniform wallwashing creates a good impression of brightness with a high level of visual comfort for gallery visitors, whilst selectively placed light accents on the individual artworks to present them optimally and in a way that supports sales.

"We organised mock-ups on site and did a number of lighting calculations to find out which wallwasher producer had the best light distribution and luminous efficacy," reports lighting designer Siegrid Siderius. "The ERCO wallwasher turned out to be the best. The uniform design of the new Eclipse where the wallwashers have the same appearance as the spotlights also won over the client and architect." All luminaire bodies as well as the track suspended under the corrugated concrete ceiling of the new foyer were specified with silver surfaces. Visually, the interior fittings and technology are kept to a minimum – nothing should distract from presenting the works of art. No superfluous detail disturbs the completely homogeneous impression of the architecture as a blank canvas that adapts with maximum flexibility to the exhibitions that change every six weeks: the Eclipse spotlights are freely positionable on the track.

The light distributions available consist of the interchangeable optics Flood, Spot and Narrow Spot, and two sets of luminaires with light colours 3000K and 3500K respectively allow the colour mood of the exhibition to be modified to the wishes of the artist. "For each show the gallery team and the artist's team work closely to realise the artist's vision for the space," explains Piet Bloquiaux, an employee at Xavier Hufkens. "In some cases, as with the Nicolas Party exhibition, the artist may even choose to paint the wall surfaces in colours matching the artworks."

The all-round carefree package with ERCO: spectacular gallery lighting and functional workplace lighting from a single source

In order to work efficiently and successfully, today’s art galleries need not only prestigious exhibition spaces, but also functional offices and meeting areas with nuanced lighting concepts. In the offices of his gallery in Sint-Jorisstraat, Xavier Hufkens opted for glare-free task lighting with dimmable Jilly LED downlights from ERCO. These provide employees at VDU workstations with a high level of visual comfort and the option of dimming the light according to the situation, also in the meeting rooms - for example for presentations or for establishing a more relaxed atmosphere when talking to clients. Gallery employee Piet Bloquiaux is completely satisfied with the lighting concept: "It responds to the specific needs and functions of each space and creates a cohesive visual experience throughout the entire building."