Pecci Museum
Lighting design
At a junction between Florence and Pistoia lies the Pecci Museum; an international hub of contemporary art with a critical collection mapping art from the 1960s to the present. Commissioned by the Municipality of Prato, from the Tuscan Region, and appointed by Maurice Nio, creative designer of the museum and founder of the eponymous architectural studio, Kino Workshop had the honor of designing the ambient lighting, developing a flexible system of:
-natural light guided through 99 Solatubes with total luxometric control
-artificial light along electrified, serpentine tracks holding directional, spherical optics to perfectly illuminate individual artworks.
In the two videos below, architects Maurice Nio and Bernardo D’Ippolito of Kino Workshop explain the idiosyncrasies of this extraordinary project.
The lighting design developed by Kino Workshop for the Pecci Museum should be regarded for its mix of natural and artificial light in which the principal focus remains the arch. D’Ippolito speaks in the interview of creating comfortable lighting conditions that highlight both the enclosure (that is, the architectural work engineered by Nio), and its contents (the artwork there displayed). A true work of ingenuity which drew up on all of the experience Bernardo D’Ippolito has gained in his many years of practice.
Natural light shines through the roof of the building by means of a channeled system of reflection – an actual tube – that filters and softens the light as it reaches the interior, imparting perfectly calibrated and digitally managed illumination.
Conversely, artificial light is supplied by a host of dimmable LED lights positioned in such a way as to awash the walls in light that is both pleasing and homogeneous.
The first lighting related challenge for us was accentuating the voluptuous curves, the intersecting heights and varying depths that give such dynamic form and volume to the space. Needing to additionally manage the light for a museum and therefore a place dedicated to an ever-changing display of contemporary art, the lighting systems had to be completely alterable in brightness and beam diversity, not to mention in enough number to cover various exhibits in the space and over time – basically a maze of necessity.
If we imagine the light as a transparent solid, the mass of external light meets that of the interior light at the windows, and if they aren’t adequately controlled the effect is that of being in a space sprayed by uncontrolled and unpleasant, parasitic light.
The perception therefore should be that of living in an interior governed by dynamic and shimmering light that adapts to different needs, while at dusk the structure begins to take precedence as its illuminated belly slowly dims the lower windows to black.
Related projects
Tenuta Monacelle – Lighting project for pool area and catering area
Tenuta Monacelle is a resort, surrounded by Selva di Fasano’s greenery . The Fasano forest is a wonderful corner of green that extends between Fasano and Monopoli.
Stand Italsofa, Salone del Mobile Milano
Un “bozzolo” di luce protettiva, morbida e avvolgente, contenitore ideale dei prodotti in esposizione che, oltre a valorizzarli, trasmetta una sensazione di comfort a 360°.
Monacelle’s Estate multipurpose room – Fasano (BR – Southern Italy)
The concept inspiring Kino Workshop is that the light has to enhance architectural shapes without being the leading actor of the scene; that is, without showing its aesthetical side.