Arsenale Nord is a significant historical site located in Venice, Italy — part of the legendary Arsenale di Venezia, once one of the largest and most renowned shipyards in the world, and a cornerstone of Venice's maritime power during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. LICLLAB illuminated Arsenale Nord using a custom-designed lighting product, seamlessly integrating artistic creativity, advanced technology, and sustainability to transform this iconic heritage site into a mesmerising visual spectacle. Through deep collaboration with historians, architects, heritage conservationists, and local authorities, LICLLAB delivered a lighting installation that honours the site's extraordinary history while breathing new life into its ancient walls.
Custom Architectural Luminaire
LicLLab
Beneath Abu Dhabi’s iconic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a 1,050 sqm permanent exhibition invites visitors into an immersive journey through Islamic history, art, and philosophy — where light itself becomes the primary narrative tool.
Designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates and illuminated by Michael Grubb Studio, the exhibition titled Light & Peace spans five galleries — each with its own core message: Tolerance, Faith, Expressions, the Grand Mosque, and Universal Coexistence.
The underground “black box” environment presented a rare creative opportunity: complete darkness as a design element. Light levels were meticulously controlled to protect sensitive artefacts, with many displays not exceeding 50 lux, while simultaneously creating a deeply atmospheric visitor experience.
LICLLAB was among the manufacturers specified by Michael Grubb Studio for this landmark commission, contributing custom Neon Flex product to the lighting palette of one of the region’s most significant cultural institutions.
Lighting a site of such profound historical significance requires more than technical expertise — it demands a deep respect for the past, a sensitivity to the place, and a vision for how light can reveal what centuries of history have layered into stone, water, and memory.
Arsenale Nord presented one of the most complex and culturally sensitive lighting briefs LICLLAB has ever undertaken. As a UNESCO World Heritage-adjacent site and an irreplaceable monument to Venice's maritime golden age, every decision — from fixing method to colour temperature — required the approval and collaboration of heritage authorities, structural engineers, and conservationists. The challenge was to create a lighting installation that could articulate the drama of the Arsenale's vast brick facades, vaulted shipyard buildings, and waterfront setting, while using only reversible, non-invasive fixing methods and systems with zero impact on the historic fabric. Beyond the conservation constraints, the installation had to function across multiple modes: ambient architectural illumination for everyday use, and dynamic thematic displays for Venice's world-famous festivals, cultural events, and Biennale programming. Achieving this level of flexibility without visible infrastructure was a defining challenge of the project.
LICLLAB's design team undertook an extensive research and development process before a single luminaire was specified. In-depth study of Arsenale Nord's architectural features, material composition, and lighting history informed the development of a bespoke light product designed exclusively for this project — tailored in form, output, and fixing detail to meet the site's unique requirements. Advanced lighting simulations and full-scale mockups were conducted on-site to assess the visual impact of every design decision before final implementation, ensuring that the result would be both technically correct and architecturally sympathetic. The final installation delivers a layered lighting environment: warm, precise illumination that reveals the texture and depth of the historic masonry under everyday conditions, and a fully programmable dynamic system that allows for choreographed colour and intensity sequences during special events. The integration of DMX-controlled dynamic lighting has given Arsenale Nord a new civic dimension, enabling the site to participate actively in Venice's rich calendar of cultural celebrations while its heritage integrity remains entirely intact.
The Arsenale Nord lighting project was widely covered across Italian and international architecture and design press as a landmark achievement in heritage lighting. Featured in Domus and Luce & Design, the project was praised for its exceptional sensitivity to the historical fabric of one of Venice's most iconic sites and for LICLLAB's pioneering development of a custom luminaire purpose-built for the installation. The project has been cited as a model for the responsible illumination of UNESCO World Heritage-adjacent sites, demonstrating how advanced lighting technology can serve cultural heritage rather than compromise it.