4 Amersfoort Centraal

4.1 Test lighting Tunable White on the indoor passage

The indoor passage at Amersfoort Centraal was lit by the same mercury lamps as the train hall in Deventer. Light on the floor was spotty and the (train hall) roof seemed dirty grey in the evening.

Amersfoort Centraal is a Mega-type station. The indoor passage is the busiest part of the station. That is why the mercury lamps were replaced with ‘breathing light’ in accordance with the 2015 light vision by Bureau Spoorbouwmeester. Breathing light means that the light colour breathes along with the colour of daylight (cool white in the morning and warm white in the evening). This was visionary back in 2015, but come 2022 and almost all manufacturers offer it under the name of Tunable White. Light colour is expressed in degrees Kelvin. In the morning, daylight is around 5000K (cool white from the bright early morning) and 2700K around sunset (warm white or the yellowish light of a sunset).

When lighting also has the purpose of achieving a better atmosphere and experience, a trial is the best method. Trial lighting (with one or two fixtures) can be used to assess whether the intended effect actually occurs in practice. Adjustments can still be made based on the test, for example in the number of fixtures, suspension height, illuminance (lux), centre-to-centre distance, the optic (uniformity) or light colour.

Tips and conclusions:

– Tunable White is a good solution for busy locations with a cluttered appearance.

– But the less busy the location, the less likely Tunable White will be cost effective.

4.2 Trial lighting for monumental roofs with LED fixtures in 2 colours

Amersfoort Centraal has 3 platforms. Platform 2 has a monumental canopy. All 3 platforms are much longer than the indoor passage, which makes them much less busy. As a result, Tunable White is too expensive for application on the platforms.

In order to improve the visibility of the architecture and illuminate the (train hall) roof more evenly, the light designer had the new chalice fixtures suspended on a pendant in the centre of the arches. In addition, we had an LED chalice fixture developed with a gold-coloured mirror ring inside. The LED light source in the chalice has a light colour of 3000K, but the mirror ring makes for warmer light hitting the canopy at 2200K.

After the assessment of the trial lighting, all new chalice fixtures were put up under the canopy.

Tips and conclusions:

– When Tunable White is too expensive, coloured mirrors can help illuminate a monumental ceiling with warmer light than the floor.

A fixture on a pendant lights the ceiling much more evenly than a fixture installed close to the ceiling, without much extra cost.