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29 LiD 11-12/15
Multisensory experience at railway museum
TrainWorld, a Belgian railway museum, opened on
September 25 after ten years of work and an invest-
ment of 25 million euros. Lightemotion, creative
office in Montreal, was involved in lighting this past,
present and future railway showcase, which exhibits
the most beautiful original pieces of the country’s
historical collection.
The scenography, designed by Belgian artist
François Schuiten and Expoduo, plunges visitors
into a multisensory and theatrical universe. The
staging of spaces and objects had to be supported
by an exclusive lighting layout and Schuiten re-
quested the services of Lightemotion, which has
worked on more than twenty international projects.
The first act of this ‘opera of the train’ starts
in Schaerbeek Station, the architectural jewel of
Belgian railway and one of the oldest stations in the
country. Located in the heart of Europe it was con-
structed on the first rail track of the continent linking
Brussels and Mechelen and is now connected to a
new industrial hangar via the railway garden.
The 8 000 m2 hangar contains four exhibition
halls where visitors can admire several locomotives,
including the Pays de Waes, the oldest preserved
steam locomotive in Europe, as well as hundreds
of objects, drawings and models relating to the
railway world. To accommodate the diversity and
difference in scale of the exhibits, the creators of
Lightemotion used lighting systems, architectural
technology and unusual applications.
"We had to think outside the box. For example,
we used lighting systems designed for outdoor ap-
plication to obtain the power and durability required
to highlight the locomotives," explains Roupinian,
President, Design Director at Lightemotion. The
project required more than 2 000 LEDs and metal
halide lamps; the latter are known as ‘Metalarc’ and
widely used in movie projectors and theatres. Every
detail was carefully embraced by the light through
a thorough study of exposed volumes. Each light
source was custom tailored to the scenography
needs and context. Simulations using 3D software
have achieved an unprecedented level of precision
for highlighting the project.
The lighting at times is dramatic; at times
vibrant; at times animated. Each exhibition hall is
unique and presents a variety of environments.The
space, object, light, image and sound combine to
create a multisensory experience designed to carry
visitors into the world of Belgian railway, the oldest
network on the European continent.