Part of National Museums Northern Ireland, the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum is one of Ireland’s foremost visitor attractions. Situated in County Down, it comprises two distinct areas – the Folk Museum which is a living history museum created to illustrate life and traditions in Ulster from over a century ago and the Transport Museum which explores and exhibits methods of transport by land, sea and air, and houses one of Europe’s most comprehensive transport collections. This includes the Irish Railway Collection, Road Transport Galleries and Titanic Exhibition.
Concord was tasked with upgrading the current lighting system in the Transport Museum’s rail and road galleries to enhance the visitor experience and improve the energy efficiency of the system. Working across three levels, the installation was carried out by electrical contractor, JD McGeown and Raymond McAllister, consulting engineer at the Central Procurement Directorate.
Chris Stevenson, Regional Business Manager (Ireland) for Concord, explained, "The rail and road galleries were using old metal halide fittings and the resultant poor colour rendering meant that vehicles and locomotives appeared very flat. Our lighting design was focused on highlighting the sheer scale of the galleries but also making the most of the individual exhibits. We are delighted with the final result and to have been involved with such a prestigious client as National Museums Northern Ireland."
In addition to improving the lit effect in the galleries, the new system also has improved energy efficiency and controllability, as Chris Stevenson relates: "With regular functions held in some of the galleries, the museum wanted to be able to scene set with the lighting and also dim the lights. The improvement in LED in recent years has enabled this additional functionality and our solutions have helped put the staff in complete control of the lighting. The result is that energy consumption levels are reduced by ensuring that unnecessary lighting can be switched off."
Stephen Johnston, Head of Buildings and Estates for National Museums Northern Ireland, also praised the new system: "We are delighted with the quality of the lighting and the enhanced colours that have been achieved. In particular, our locomotives look fantastic in the new light. The additional control we now have has also made a significant difference and we are looking forward to seeing energy saving benefits as well as reduced maintenance costs in the future."
Concord integrated various fittings into the overall design which features large spaces including ceiling heights of up to 15m. The state-of-the-art LyteLab spotlight is designed for areas with high ceilings and features a unique adjustable and lockable Fresnel lens, which allows the beam angle to adjust from 14 to 45 degrees. LyteLab provides significant energy savings due to its total power consumption being just 45W, while its high powered LED lamps have an impressive output of 800 Lux at a five metre distance. Lytelab also comes with on-board DALI track dimming while promising 50,000 hours of life at 70% luminous flux, providing maintenance-free operation and resulting in quicker ROI for the museum. The final product used was the award-winning Concord Beacon range which is stylish, functional and easy-to-install.
With a strong manufacturing base in the UK, Concord is renowned for its strong design ethos, high technical performance and aesthetic form. Concord focuses on bringing lighting solutions to meet the needs of architects and lighting designers.
Concord’s innovative portfolio is one of the most comprehensive on the market, encompassing track and spot, downlights, ambient lighting, recessed and linear solutions for a variety of application segments. The company provides segment specific lighting application advice; and the entire product range is underpinned by in-house technical expertise, from optical system design through to photometric measurement and testing.
For more information visit www.concord-lighting.com.
