LUME Melbourne is a venue composed almost entirely of projected light. Its galleries are held in near darkness so the artwork can occupy every surface, and any addition of physical light carries consequence. Within this environment sit the exhibition's physical spaces, an interpretive gallery and a working drawing studio, each of which must be lit, and lit well, without disturbing the darkness around them.

When Lucretia was engaged, these spaces sat at odds with the venue. Illumination was flat and undifferentiated, with no hierarchy between subject and surround. Light levels bore little relationship to the adjoining projection halls, making each transition abrupt. The quality of light itself, its temperature, its control, its precision, fell short of what a cultural setting asks for.

Our registered lighting designers approached the redesign as an exercise in contrast. In the interpretive gallery, museum-grade LED track projectors now frame each panel individually, their beams shaped precisely to the edge of the subject so that each appears to hold light within itself. A second, quieter layer of wall washing sits behind, circuited separately and held low, lending depth to the room without diluting its drama.

The drawing studio asked for something different: genuine task lighting, comfortable for an hour at the easel, yet consistent with the atmosphere of the wider exhibition. Zoomable track fittings provide that flexibility, their beams and colour temperature adjustable on site as the space changes use. At the entrance, a single gobo projection carries the LUME mark onto the floor, marking the threshold between the everyday and the exhibition.

What distinguishes this commission is not the fittings but the method. The existing conditions were measured and assessed room by room. The proposed scheme was resolved through shadow studies and full photometric calculation, and verified against gallery-appropriate contrast ratios before installation began. The result is a set of spaces that feel inevitable, panels that glow against darkness, transitions that ease rather than jolt, and light that serves the exhibition without ever announcing itself.

This is the discipline Lucretia brings to museum and cultural projects: assess, design, verify, deliver.

Explore our art and culture lighting capability at www.lucretiashop.com.au, or speak with our design team about your next cultural project.