The Ashmolean – Proud to Play our Part in Oxford’s Remarkable History

The Ashmolean museum, at the University of Oxford, is the world’s oldest public museum and one of Europe’s most popular cultural tourist destinations. This is where you’ll find Oxford University’s legendary art and archaeology collection, visited by more than 850,000 people every year.

As you can imagine, the historic building needs constant care and attention to ensure it delivers the welcoming atmosphere the Ashmolean prides itself on, and meets the expectations of visitors. And this continuous refresh involves making sure essential lighting systems are man enough for the job.

The team at the museum has recently upgraded the lighting system in its gallery spaces and installed more than 1500 Concord Beacon Muse spotlights. When it came to redesigning the lighting scheme, the aesthetics and performance were equally important, as Harry Phythian-Adams, Executive Officer, Director’s Office at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, explains.

“We required a solution that provided the same lit effect as halogen but also delivered a better uniformity of light whilst bringing the vibrant colours in the galleries to life. Concord was able to adapt the Beacon Muse to meet our needs perfectly: it changed the colour temperature of the spotlight to 2700K warm white with colour rendering index of typical 97 and also provided us with a customised white bezel to better suit our interior décor.”

The project was instigated by Robert Gregg from Oxford University. The Ashmolean team worked with Concord to design the fittings, which were installed by Monard Electrical and commissioned by Ben Acton at Hoare Lea Lighting.

We installed Concord Beacon Muse spotlights at a high level within the space, positioning them in a way that reveals the forms and details of the diverse collection to perfection. The spotlights feature warm, high colour rendering LED bulbs, with the beam angle adjusted according to the effect required for each exhibit. As Harry Phythian-Adams says, “The lit effect of the Concord Beacon Muse is great but we are also impressed with the energy savings we have seen. Due to the unique design of the product, in addition to the LED energy savings compared to the previous Halogen lights, less heat is emitted and we have been able to reduce our air conditioning usage and save on our energy costs.”