Niadaros Domkirk is the winner of the Nordic Lighting Design Award 2022

Nidaros Domkirke in NORWAY received the Nordic Lighting Design Award 2022 in a ceremony held in Stockholm on 6 September 2022.

It was a happy day for Norwegian lighting when Nidaros Cathedral took home the Nordic Lighting Design Award 2022. National winners from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden participated in the Nordic Design Award competition. It is an extensive competition with the project representing the best in Nordic lighting design. Erik Selmer, lighting designer behind the new lighting in Nidaros Cathedral, was of course on hand to receive the prestigious award.

“The jury has chosen this project for its powerful expression, high sensitivity and its ambitious technical application. This is a very convincing execution in a building where even the smallest misstep would be highly noticeable. The project shows a careful consideration of the architectural realities not only in terms of space, materiality and functions but also in terms of cultural and spiritual values. The combination of cold and warm lights sculpts the volumes and it emphasizes the spatiality. The blue hue in the background brings depth and mysticality. An impressive attention has been given to details. The custom-made suspension structures seem natural to the character of the place. The particularly complex programming not only enables every liturgical type of ceremony but it also brings focus on sacral elements and symbols providing the visitor with calmness and contemplation. The jury of the Nordic Lighting Design Award believes that this exeptional lighting of Nidaros Cathedral has brought the national icon to another level – to an international level.”

Read the official press release

About Nidaros Cathedral

Nidaros Cathedral is known as a dark cathedral. The dark soapstone, stained-glass windows, and inadequate lighting have made constructions and details invisible. The spatiality of the cathedral is emphasized by using warm-white light on the front of the arches and structures, with cooler light in the back – both provided by LED-strips. The white light also puts focus on the pillars, ornaments, and arches. This creates intimacy -and visualizes the human scale in the interior. On the ground floor, LED-strips crafted especially for this project provide lighting of the window niches. The LED-strips have a 7° lens while measuring only 14mm in height. Spotlights hidden on the triforium provide fill-in light for the ceiling and opposite wall surfaces. Elliptical lenses are used to highlight the main pillars, while narrow angled spotlights mark the reliefs in the triangular wall surfaces between the arches in the nave. The contrast light and fill-in light are adjusted through the control system to get the wanted balance. Almost none of these luminaires are visible from the ground floor. 

Reading light directed to the floor was challenging without causing glare and without the visible installations becoming too dominant. This is solved by small modest linear spotlights. The special optics hide direct light from view – only a short distance away. The extensions from the triforium floor are specially designed and forged in the cathedral workshops. Another hand-crafted pendant is mounted in the arches of the aisles, providing light for both reading, pillars and ornaments. 

Sacral lighting. 
In addition to dimming the lighting for contemplation, a spiritual space is created by the light on the sacral elements and -symbols. 

Special rigs 
For special artistic performances, movable washers have been mounted on extendable rigs in the nave, chancel, and transept. In addition, there are washers and profile luminaires highlighting the main rose window, tower arches and octagon. The luminaire positions, dimming, focus and color can be adjusted from a lighting control console. The most common scenarios have pre-programmed buttons. 

Programming and control 
All luminaires can be controlled individually, giving great possibilities for energy saving. The control system offers easy operation from a command panel. Here the most important lighting scenarios can be chosen – both for use at church services and special, dynamic programs for Midnight-mass, candle-light evening service and Easter-vigil. For concerts and other cultural events, it is possible to access the entire light management system with external light control consoles. Restrictions are placed on the use of colored light, in honor of the sacred space.

Lighting design: Erik Selmer, IALD, Erik Selmer, Architect MNAL. Lighting Designer IALD
Project Owner and Administration: Bjørgvin Thorsteinsson, Director,
Marie Louise Anker, Special Director, project manager
Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeider (Nidaros Cathedral Workshops)
Operation and Security Manager: Jan Tøndelstrand, Workshop coordination Odd Inge Holmberget and Henning Grøtt
Electrical Engineering: Silje Ausen Årseth, SWECO Norge AS
Systemdesign and programming: Sivert Lundstrøm, Luxmentor
Installation: Espen Remen Sæther, NTE Elektro AS
Suppliers: Per Arne Helberget, Luminator
Sub-suppliers: Stokkan Lys, Atendi AS

About the award

Nordisk Lyspris or The Nordic Lighting Design Award was created by the Nordic Light Committee in the year 2000. The Nordic Light Committee consists of the following lighting organisations: Dansk Center for Lys in Denmark, Suomen Valoteknillinen Seura in Finland, Ljóstæknifélag Íslands in Iceland, Lyskultur in Norway and Belysningsbranschen in Sweden. The award is handed out biennially and the purpose is to highlight and celebrate the special characteristics of Nordic lighting design.

Jury members

Sweden: Lars Fredén
Denmark: Jesper Ravn
Finland: Tapio Kallasjoki
Iceland: Anna Sigríður Jóhannsdóttir
Norway: Laura Bernadet Bremner

The jury members were selected by the lighting organisations in the participating countries.

Nominated projects

Tivoli Corner - Danmark
The brown Meatpacking District - Danmark
Greenhouse Hotel - Island
Odinstorg - Island
Kirkonummi Main Library Fyyri – Finland
Tammerkoski Landscape Lighting - Finland
Tana bridge - Norge
Nidaros Cathedral – Norge
Microsoft Office - Sverige
The City Gate Karlshamn - Sverige