Soesterberg, The Netherlands - King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands has opened a
prestigious new cultural and historical institution at The Netherlands' former
Soesterberg air base. The National Military Museum (NMM) is the largest of its kind
in Europe and displays the significance of The Netherlands' armed forces in the
past, present and future, with an array of Philips Selecon luminaires lighting the
majority of the exhibits.
Amsterdam-based agency Rapenburg Plaza was in charge of the lighting design, AV and
control systems for the entire Museum, choosing 42 x Philips Selecon PLcyc1, 12 x
PLprofile1 RGBW and 269 x PLfresnel1 RGBW luminaires for key lighting in six of the
museum's themed halls.
"The concept for the space is that each of the halls are interactive and follow a
storyline," says lighting designer and Rapenburg Plaza partner Pelle Herfst. "We
selected Selecon fixtures as excellent tools to achieve this. The DMX-controlled
colour changing possibilities meant we were able to create a wide range of ambiences
for the different thematic spaces. I am also very impressed by the optics of the
PLprofile1."
The NMM is a specifically designed building by architects Felix Claus Dick van
Wageningen with a floor area of 35,000 metres squared and an overall height of 17
metres. Rapenburg Plaza designed sophisticated technical lighting bridges installed
in the high ceilings for access to lighting and AV equipment for maintenance as well
as long distance cable runs and multiple server rooms. As visitors wander through
the space they experience real life soldier stories, live action demonstrations and
numerous awe-inspiring historical images, artifacts, large objects such as tanks and
aircraft, carefully illuminated by the energy efficient and intelligent Selecon
luminaires.
"All the Selecon luminaires are currently working really well with no big issues,"
concludes Herfst.
The National Military Museum is open every Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm and is
open on Mondays during school holidays.