One and a half kilometres of light for the Reale Mutua towers

The Reale Mutua office complex was built between 2003 and 2006 and consists of four buildings of fourteen, eight, four and three storeys, respectively, intended for office and retail use. The structures feature continuous aluminium and glass façades. Their linearity and uniformity – in other words, the complete lack of architectural grips – rendered the design and implementation of the lighting effects particularly time consuming owing to challenges encountered during the installation of the lighting equipment. In 2016 the Underscore InOut luminaire allowed us to resolve these issues and create unique lighting effects for the buildings. One and a half kilometres of Underscore InOut were used to create lines of light that emphasize the buildings’ different heights and generate gradually fading horizontal lines. This effect was achieved by progressively dimming four sections of the Underscore InOut installation. The four sections differed in length in order to prevent each stroke of light from ending too abruptly. The final result looks like a pencil of light outlining a sort of sfumato effect which reverses light with shadows.

The use of Underscore InOut Top Bend 16 mm overcame the installation challenges through its very minimal profiles. These were painted with a special colour so that they could blend with the steel structure of the towers and completely camouflage the fittings during the day. This solution tested the flexibility and conceptual limits of the Underscore InOut luminaire, allowing to create the architect’s vision and to provide an outline that emphasises the structure of the building without trivialising it. Moreover, during the night, the lighting effect lends architectural identity to a construction that, during the day, has no distinctive features. The lines of various lengths that run horizontally across the four towers of the complex, highlight the main corners and enhance the views on Corso Giulio Cesare, the main entrance into Turin from the north east.