also important. Even when the
lighting is not on. We considered
many different options here:
from the idea of having an
artwork hung by an artist, to
floating bronze leaves all round.
We were not totally convinced
by any of these.”
Daan Van den Branden: “The
requirements in terms of lighting
were very clear. It had to stand
out, people should take notice of
it and the total concept should
be unique and meaningful.
At the same time, the right
lighting is extremely important
in a restaurant: no shadows,
the food must not appear
discoloured, etc. The culinary
aspect remains the essence. The
lighting should be in function of
the dishes and the guests.”
Bert Meeuwis: “We also didn’t
want to be tied to a fixed table
layout. So direct lighting above
a table was out of the question.
We want to be flexible and be
able to move tables around, to
change our set-up.”
Carol Pareit: “We knew we
had to come up with a unique
concept here. Internally, we
had already racked our brains
about how best to approach
this, when we actually had a
stroke of genius while at the
coffee machine (laughs). We
had already made several
designs but none of them had
felt right so far. We had recently
the deadline. Bert and Karlijn
preferred local partners such
as Jansen Group for the interior
finishing and kreon for the
lighting. We had a meeting
with everyone well in time and
worked out the appropriate
arrangements. The schedules
were constantly adjusted along
the way and the deadline was
met perfectly.”
Daan Van den Branden: “We
usually first conduct a lighting
study to calculate the amount
of light that should be in the
room. We then make a proposal
based on this lighting plan and
briefings from the client and
the architect. This is where we
usually make some adjustments
and make some changes
along the way. In this case
however, there was little need
for that with regard to functional
lighting.”
Stefanie Coninx: “True, the
functional lighting throughout
the building was spot on right
from the start. That happens
when you perfectly understand
each other.
As regards the eye-catcher in
the restaurant, we had to search
much harder to find the perfect
match.”
Bert Meeuwis: “We wanted
to make a statement. It’s not
just lighting – the atmosphere
and ambience you create is
↑
kreon holon 40
and kreon oran
stone in custom
bronze finish
introduced a new product -
lighting fixtures using alabaster.
The alabaster, combined with a
bronze colour to give it a more
decorative look, was a real hit.
Bert Meeuwis: “When Carol
came up with the proposal
of alabaster pendants, we
immediately fell in love with the
idea. We were overwhelmed
by a feeling that we had found
exactly what we were looking
for. Even the colour samples
seemed a perfect fit, considering
we were looking for something
with bronze colours.”
Carol Pareit: “After that it all
happened very quickly. In a
few days, we worked out the
entire design and fine-tuned
it to the last detail. Together
with Stefanie, we decided to
introduce a wave motion theme
in the whole. The whole design
was tailor-made: apart from
the technical integration of the
suspension and integration into
an acoustic sloping ceiling, each
fixture has a certain length with
adapted transparent cable. The
modules had to ‘float’ in space,
so to speak, mimicking the
effect of fireflies in nature. “
Daan Van den Branden:
“The sloping ceiling with a
minimum installation depth
required a different approach
to the suspension. For this, we
developed a plaster kit with
an oval-shaped slot that tilts
in the direction of the fixture.
This allowed us to guarantee a
handsome result regardless of
the various angles of inclination.
A total of 96 lighting elements
are suspended, each with its
own positioning and length. It
was no easy task to suspend
these. Each point was marked
off on the floor with a laser and
numbered from 1 to 96. The
same numbering was placed on
the spotlights.”
Bert Meeuwis: “That was
indeed quite a job to suspend
them. Each pendant is
also considerably heavy.
All 96 pieces had separate
reinforcement, to prevent the
acoustic ceiling from cracking.
It took three days to suspend
them. The people from kreon
were there to help. We hadn’t
requested them to, but we were
obviously grateful for their help.”
Carol Pareit: “We are committed
to every project and we are
absolutely determined to ensure
its success. We therefore viewed
the result with particular pride.
We regularly get customers who
come over to our showroom and
refer to the lighting they saw
here.”
Bert Meeuwis: “We also get a
lot of positive feedback from
our guests. That’s great to hear.
We can already look back on a
successful project and positive
cooperation. If we were to start
again, we would unhesitatingly
choose kreon again. But for
the time being, we have no
construction plans. I would any
day prefer the pressure in the
kitchen during service hours, to
the pressures of a construction
site!”
“ The alabaster, combined with a bronze
colour to give it a more decorative look,
was a real hit.”
Carol Pareit
26
kreonicle
27
case study
