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THE JANE RESTAURANT
Hub-and-Spoke
Approach
A chandelier comprised of more than
100 tentacles with lighted tips hovers
over a restaurant in Belgium
BY PAUL TARRICONE
Even chef and co-owner Sergio Herman knows the cuisine
is not the only lure at The Jane in Antwerp, Belgium. His
entrees are paired with a massive handmade chandelier—
the architectural focal point of this former military hospital
chapel—which will undoubtedly compete with the menu’s daily
specials for the patron’s attention. And Herman is perfectly content
to share the stage. “The first time I walked in and saw the
chandelier there were tears in my eyes; [there’s] impact. If you
come as a guest to eat here, it’s right in your face.”
Indeed it is. Measuring 12 meters by 9 meters (39 ft by 30 ft) and
weighing 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds), the sprawling colossus is
suspended from one point in the ceiling and dips 11.7 meters (38
ft) to just 2.75 meters (9 ft) above the floor to communicate a more
human scale. The hub-and-spoke style chandelier was designed
and built by .PSLAB, headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, which
was also responsible for the restaurant’s general lighting scheme,
in collaboration with interior design firm Piet Boon.
The historic red brick chapel cried out for a signature feature
that would reinforce Piet Boon’s vision of a contemporary underground
atmosphere. “They didn’t ask for a chandelier in the beginning,”
says .PSLAB project designer Elsie Moukarzel, “but to
have a lot of impact in a church, we needed something huge and it
would have to be really low—for light at the people’s level—and
at the same time it should light the whole space.”
The chandelier is comprised of 150 tubular black steel tentacles
each ending with an LED bulb inside a glass globe visible from the
ground and the upper bar level. Over one year, the .PSLAB team
designed the chandelier, tested prototypes, built the product and
packaged the pieces for delivery to The Jane, where it was painstakingly
mounted. During his visit to .PSLAB to view the chandelier
for the first time, Piet Boon lead designer Rienk Wiersma said,
“It’s a surprise to me how it is in reality. We saw the first image and
that was already great, and now standing here, I feel like having
dinner. It’s very nice; it’s just not going to be easy to hang it.” (A
video showing the manufacturing and mounting of the chandelier
can be viewed at pslab.net/thejane.)
HONORING THE HISTORY
Other fixtures complement the aged materials and interior surfaces
used inside the church (including natural stone, leather and
oak) and the chandelier itself. Upon entering the heavy chapel
doors, guests are greeted by a series of white corrugated cylindri-
Photos courtesy of .PSLAB
34 August 2014 | LD+A www.ies.org