LUCE estratti LUCE 325 _Antico_Cattedrale di Anversa | Page 7

The new lighting for
the Cathedral of Antwerp
F
ollowing the first implementation of the
Antwerp lighting masterplan and the new
lighting for the historical city centre and its
surroundings, both designed by Susanna Antico
Lighting Design, the city launched a series of
competitions for the lighting of heritage sights,
the most prominent of which was the Cathedral
of Our Lady. Studio Susanna Antico reached the
first place and was commissioned to design the
project, the conclusion of which had to coincide
with the celebration of the 500 years of the
cathedral completion.
We are very pleased to host on LUCE, two weeks
after the official presentation of the new lighting
of one of the greatest masterpieces of the
Brabantine Gothic, in an evening of great
celebration for the city of Antwerp, the cultural
and design account by Susanna Antico herself,
whom we thank.
Previous situation
The surroundings of the cathedral, in addition to
the square on which it overlooks, is made up of
narrow historic streets that wind through the
many historic buildings, some of which are
adorned by Dutch stepped gables, some with
historical façades decorated with small statues of
the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus. Picturesque
public spaces provide shelter during the summer
in the shade of beautiful trees. In the cathedral
forecourt there is a 16th century well in stone and
wrought iron (Put Quinten Matsijs, named after
the blacksmith and painter who made it), and a
monument depicting the 14th century stone
workers directed by one of the architects of the
cathedral, Pieter Appelmans, located at the base
of the lower tower of the cathedral facade. The
surroundings of the cathedral are pedestrian
areas with very limited access to motorized
vehicles.
The existing lighting of the cathedral consisted of
51 remote HPS projectors, consuming annually
60.5 MWh. Most of them were located on
rooftops and façades of the surrounding
buildings, creating glare and deep shadows,
leaving large areas of the cathedral completely
dark at night, and flattening all the details and
the three-dimensional qualities of the gothic
structure, the belfry tower of which is a UNESCO
World Heritage site.
Some buildings’ owners had taken the initiative
of lighting their own facades, some more
successfully than others, and there was an
unfortunate profusion of garish coloured neon
lighting on restaurants and bars’ signs.
The pedestrian lighting was provided by a few
wall mounted lanterns, with 150W and 70W HPS
lamps, and by some linear projectors in the
cathedral’s forecourt – like those usually used in
tunnel lighting – with 2 150W HPS lamps in each.
The lack of uniformity, the glare, the creation of
very dark areas, all contribute to an unpleasant
and insecure feeling when walking around the
cathedral at night-time.
Analysis
The cathedral is the most prominent and
important monument of the city. With its belfry
tower, it is visible from most parts of the city and
from great distances, being thus part of the
corporate image of the city and an obvious
orientation clue.
The guidelines of the masterplan required an
attentive approach to the lighting of its heritage.
They demanded for the lighting solutions to be a
part of the night-time visual vocabulary of the
CATHEDRAL OF ANTWERP SPECIAL REPORT / LUCE 325
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