Historic Amsterdam church adds ambiance to events
The Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel, situated in the heart of Amsterdam, is ranked seventh of the top 25 hotels in Northern Europe. Among the most striking aspects of this five-star hotel is the attached Koepelkerk Church, one of Amsterdam's most famous buildings. In 1975, the Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel leased the 17th century church, which was being used as a carpet warehouse, and restored the interior to serve as a convention hall. The hotel now rents out the former church, which can accommodate up to 700 guests, for a variety of events.
The hotel recently underwent a renovation that included redecorated guest rooms and a new lobby, a Mediterranean restaurant, and a fitness center. As part of this undertaking, hotel managers also wanted to revitalize the lighting in the Koepelkerk to better serve guests who rent the space for events.
In the past, the hotel had to rent, install, and dismantle any temporary lighting that guests needed for their events. The hotel managers brought in Livingprojects lighting designer, Erik van der Lek to create a permanent lighting system that could be tailored to fit any event held in the church.
Van der Lek used Color Kinetics luminaires to create an LED lighting solution that perfectly fit the Koepelkerk, where history, elegance and style meet professional event organization, innovation, and flexibility.
Van der Lek chose Color Kinetics ColorBlast 12 and ColorBurst 6 luminaires (now specified with Blast Powercore, IntelliHue and Burst Powercore, IntelliHue) to bathe the church's renowned domed ceiling and walls with colored light. These color-changing LED lighting luminaires allow clients to customize the lighting to create the perfect ambiance for their events. The lighting system is cost- and energy-efficient, fitting van der Lek's limited budget, and saving maintenance and labor costs that the hotel previously incurred to commission lighting for each event.
Livingprojects also created a custom LCD touch panel to trigger the lights, allowing management to easily change the lighting in the church whenever needed.
Tom Calame, general manager of the hotel, was very impressed with the Color Kinetics LED lighting solution, which allowed van der Lek to create a magical light show that complements the Kopelkerk's monumental status. "This solution required a one-time investment, but we were very willing to do this," said Calame. "Now we can show clients the light effects live without having to use leaflets and pictures. The new lighting exceeds all our and our guests' expectations by far."
