Norway wins Nordic Lighting Awards 2016

Østbanehallen, the historic train station in the heart of Oslo, is the winner of the prestigious Nordic Lighting Award. A multidisciplinary team from ÅF Lighting designed the new and innovative lighting concept for Østbanehallen, an indoor hall part of Oslo central station commonly known as “Ø”.

– It was incredible to win yet an award for Østbanehallen. The Nordic Lighting Awards had a lot of impressive projects this year, so the competition was tough, which makes winning even better, says Helga Iselin Wåseth from ÅF Lighting after receiving the award. Jury chairman, Darío Salazar, supplements by saying: – The jury had a tough time deciding between the ten great projects. In essence, they are all winners. 

The Nordic Lighting Award 2016 took place in Reykjavik, Iceland, 10th of October, where ten lighting projects from five Nordic countries competed for the grand award set to celebrate and promote the Nordic lighting design. The Nordic Lighting Award is a ceremony held by the Nordic Lighting Committee, which consists of the lighting organisations from the five Nordic countries. The conference venue was Harpa music and concert hall, one of Reykjavik´s greatest and most distinguished landmarks, and reciepient of the Mies Van De Rohe Award in 2013. 

– The project has a very holistic approach to understanding the space to be illuminated. Not only in the functionalities but also in the building’s historical background and the impact on the people that use it, states the jury. 

As one of Norway’s leading real estate companies took on the task of restoring the oldest part of Oslo Central station, the multidisciplinary team of ÅF Lighting designed the lighting for the grand hall. This design respects the original architectural appearance, while still supporting the new interior design conducted by interior design company Mellbye Arkitekter. 

The lighting design in Østbanehallen is well integrated in the architecture with powerful scenographic features emphasising the atmosphere of a space, which attracts thousands of travellers every day. 

The jury subsequently states, “The whole space is illuminated in three well balanced layers; the ceiling, the general lighting and the light from the restaurants. The project forms a beautiful, ballroom-like atmosphere from an existing building, while still leaving room for individual restaurant lighting, warmth and individuality.

The magic in the subtle blue light of the ceiling is a convincing replication of both the dominating daylight with hints of the cold colour temperature of moonlight. This coloured light also reflects the steel materials of the hall structures.”

The pixel wall draws clearly on the initial vision of presenting the eastern passage as related to a new day, a new journey, with the colours of morning light to the east. While forming a portal, and transition to the next building, the layers of the transparent pixels and the sensitive programmed dynamic scenes forms a poetic yet powerful focal point in the space.” 

Østbanehallen won the 2015 Norwegian Lighting Awards, being unique in national context for its complexity and simplicity in the same solution. The lighting design for Østbanehallen has since won the IALD Award of Merit, and was recently shortlisted for Best Interior Scheme in the high budget category for the 2016 Darc Awards. 

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The nominated projects for the 2016 Nordic Lighting Awards: 
Akershus Fortress – Norway 2014
Akratorg – Iceland 2014
Bridge over Fífuhvammsvegur – Iceland 2015
Didrichsen Museum – Finland 2015
Lux Lund Campus – Sweden 2015
Novo Nordisk Headquarters – Denmark 2015
Solo Sokos Hotel – Finland 2015
The Annex of the Royal Library – Sweden 2014
Villum Windows Collection – Denmark 2014
Østbanehallen – Norway 2015

Nordic Lighting Awards
The Nordic Lighting Award was created by the Nordic Light Committee in the year 2000. The Nordic Light Committee consists of the lighting organisations Dansk Center for Lys in Denmark, Suomen Valoteknillinen Seura in Finland, Ljóstæknifélag Ìslands in Iceland, Lyskultur in Norway and Belysningsbranschen in Sweden. The biannual award’s purpose is to highlight and celebrate the special characteristics of Nordic lighting design. 

The jury
The judging committee was selected by the lighting organisations in the participating countries. The jury members are:

Finland: Tapio Kallasjoki
Sweden: Anders Winell
Norway: Katia V. Banoun (on behalf of Are Røysamb)
Denmark: Anne Bay
Iceland: Darío Gustavo Nú‎ñez Salazar. 

Contact:
2016 Host Country: Iceland
Ljóstæknifélag Ìslands
Örn Gudmundsson, 
Chairman, Icelandic Illumination Engineering Society
lfi@ljosfelag.is

2016 Award Winner, Norway
Lyskultur
Katia V. Banoun, 
Directing Manager, Lyskultur
katia.banoun@lyskultur.no

More information
Lighting Design Awards: www.nordisklyspris.com. 
ÅF Lighting: www.af-lighting.com