The City of Culture

The cultural complex in Galicia that houses the Gaiás Centre Museum, and the Library and Archive of Galicia has recently installed a new lighting system that has revolutionised the city's skyline while also reducing energy consumption.

The starting point is the Gaiás Centre Museum – City of Culture, designed by the architect Peter Eisenman and built in 2011.

The lighting design is based on the desire to illuminate the urban landscape in a way that enhances the value of the architecture and the relationship it establishes with the surrounding environment and the people who live there.

The design includes uniform lighting of the most important facades in order to communicate the harmonious layout of the complex as well as using light to integrate the City of Culture into the Santiago nightscape.

The function and range of the design operates on two different levels: the view from a distance of the area and cityscape, and the view from close up for people who are near or inside the complex. This is why a sober design and layout has been developed that lightens the forms of the architectural complex. Another element taken into consideration is the way light pollution is controlled. The luminaire used to meet all these requirements is the MaxiWoody LED floodlight with a luminous flux of 7000 lumen, a colour temperature of 3000 K and a colour rendering index of more than 80, with 30º and 12º optics that are controlled and aimed with filters, elliptical refractors and directional flaps. All this is managed by a control system with KNX-DALI technology that allows lights and effects to be used for any kind of event or show.

The use of LEDs and a control system have drastically reduced energy consumption, as the system now requires only a trifling 14 KW to illuminate the whole of this vast complex.