The Queen of the Seaside Resorts has a pearl in, and such a splendid one! A place where vision, passion and beauty merge. Ordinary by far is this loft in the Ostend Festival and Cultural Palace. The luxurious loft of 300 square meters has a height of no less than 12 meters, is equipped with Italian designer furnishing and with the latest electronics and gadgets, including a futuristic modular lighting sculpture.
The light sculpture in the loft is quite unusual for a private dwelling. For the renovation of this space in the former city library mainly the luminance was a challenge, says architect Marnix Verstraeten: "This loft is part of a stately building of the postwar period, when heating was still a luxury. Little light in the house was normal. Today, however, we like the sun shine in the house. To make this loft luminous we took away part of the ceiling between two floors, releasing a large bay of light and air." Verstraeten continues:" For such an open, free space to florish, we decided that it had to get a strong eye-catching creation, which was functional, and which would complement the interior. Modular’s IZAR fixture was a logical choice. With its striking design it draws attention, and at the same time it contrasts pleasantly with the earthy tones of the room.
"It is the space that gives you creativity," says Verstraeten. In the interior – mainly very austere – the 18 IZAR’s bring a dash of pleasant disorder." Because the space is so large, we came to the idea of a light sculpture. Like someone’s cuff had thrown stars into the sky. So we wanted the IZAR's to float around in the top of the room" recalls Verstraeten himself. "To spread the IZAR’s over the space, and hang at the correct angle, so a visually appealing image was created that also a good light spread, was no sinecure. Fortunately, we have received good support of Modular. "Modular follows designers in their vision and helps to translate their concept into a stylish, high quality light construction.
About the building The Ostend Festival and Cultural Palace was built in 1954 on the site of the city hall destroyed during the war. The complex was originally a reception and exhibition hall, city library and museum. In 2004 it became clear that the infrastructure did not meet modern requirements. The city then decided to transform the building into a shopping and residential space. In 2008, together with other market leaders in high quality housing Modular was selected for the lighting of the loft.
