Newcastle Art Gallery has been part of the city’s cultural landscape since opening in 1977. Originally designed by Newcastle City Council architect Brian Pile with John Baker, the gallery has grown around a significant public collection of more than 7,000 works. Its recent redevelopment has more than doubled the original footprint, adding 1,600 square metres of exhibition space across two levels while drawing on the character of the original brutalist building. The expanded gallery now provides greater capacity for its permanent collection as well as larger travelling exhibitions.

With the redevelopment came the opportunity to reconsider how light could support the gallery as it grew. More exhibition space meant greater flexibility was needed in how artworks were illuminated and how the system could respond to different exhibitions over time. For a gallery environment, where no two exhibitions are necessarily the same, adaptability becomes just as important as the quality of the light itself.

In the existing gallery, we supported Steensen Varming, Newcastle Art Gallery and City of Newcastle in upgrading the lighting with Parscan and Eclipse Framer luminaires by ERCO, all integrated with Casambi Bluetooth control. The upgrade introduced greater flexibility to the existing spaces while creating a lighting system that could evolve with the gallery. Just three months later, the gallery closed its doors for the major extension and renovation.

When the redevelopment commenced, we worked with Arup’s lighting designers and City of Newcastle to extend the lighting approach across the new gallery. Eclipse was selected throughout, providing a consistent system across spaces with very different architectural conditions and levels of natural light.

Depending on the space, ERCO track is recessed into plasterboard ceilings, surface mounted to concrete, concealed between perforated ceiling panels or suspended to maintain the architectural character of the ceiling while positioning the luminaires at the right height for the artwork.

The lighting design is deliberately restrained. Wall washers establish the primary illumination, with the least amount of additional extra wide flood luminaires required to achieve compliant light levels. From there, the lighting can become more precise where it needs to be, using the flexibility of the Eclipse system by ERCO to respond to individual works and exhibition layouts.

Once the luminaires had been ordered, with different sizes and outputs selected according to each space, the gallery and council engaged lighting designer Adam Meredith of MEG’s to determine the accessories required for the exhibitions being installed. His involvement helped bring the existing inventory and new luminaires together, allowing the gallery to build on what was already there.

The range of Eclipse optics was central to this flexibility. Spot, flood and extra wide flood provide different levels of coverage, while oval flood, wall wash and framing optics allow light to be shaped around individual works. Casambi Bluetooth control adds another layer, allowing lighting scenes to be adjusted as exhibitions change.

Later in the project, Arup also specified ERCO Eclipse 48V for the display cases. With glass shelving, views through the cases and the potential for unwanted reflections, the lighting needed to be precise without competing with the objects or the surrounding gallery. The miniature 48V system allows the light to be positioned exactly where it is needed, while keeping the visual impact of the luminaires to a minimum.

The original Parscan and Eclipse Framer luminaires, the new Eclipse installation and the Eclipse 48V display case lighting now form part of a flexible inventory that can adapt as the gallery changes.

For a space where the artwork is constantly changing, that adaptability is essential. The lighting provides the precision to focus on a single work, the flexibility to accommodate an entire exhibition and the control to continue evolving as the gallery does.

Photography by Jackie Chan.