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England | London | St. Giles Court

Renzo Piano invited Piero Castiglioni to collaborate as lighting designer for the Centrail Saint Giles project. With this project, the Genoese architect wanted to dispel the myth of London as a grey city. The façades have bright colours such as orange, green, yellow and red, the aim being to create a surprise effect with these unexpected colours.  A brick Ministry of Defence building once stood on this site. Located between Covent Garden and New Oxford Street in central London. The settlement is made up of complex volumes, a combination of facades characterised by materials: glass, steel, ceramics in different colours and changing in relation to the light. Since these materials have colour within them, the dimension of reflection is created, brought about by the brilliance of the materials used. Commercial units, restaurants, offices and flats are arranged around a large central courtyard, a square that hosts social life and reinforces the urban identity of the place, visible from each building through the large windows (6 metres high) on the ground floor and accessible from five different passages. The lighting design of the courtyard serves the architectural project: the common areas of the double-height ground floor, perimeter of the entire settlement, are illuminated with suspended spotlights that provide general and precise illumination of the rooms. The light emitted outside by the large glass surfaces forms a sort of luminous base, detaching the buildings from the ground, visually expanding the space of the square, while projectors positioned under the eaves, out of sight, provide general lighting for the space, producing a situation of chiaroscuro and shadows similar to daylight hours. Central St. Giles won the “Best of the Best” award from the British Council of Offices in 2011 and is home to Google, NBC Universal and Mindshare.


Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni

Collaborations:
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Fletcher Priest Architects

Photo Courtesy:
Sergio Magnano

Year:
2010


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Detail of the lighting system used
View of the ceiling glass windows with lighting
Outdoor spaces with architectural lighting
A night view of the illuminated building
View of the rooms and the exhibition path
Deputies with the lighting used
View of the complex with night lighting
The stage of the Teatro Comunale of Florence
The works of art inside the illuminated Papal Stables
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci with the lighting used
Full view of the illuminated theater
Full view of the Cultural Center building
One of the rooms with the works on display and the lighting fixtures
Overall view of the Banca Lombarda building in Brescia
Overall view of the central courtyard of the service center
Detail of the illuminated facade of the Dior building
Front view of the Lingotto building in Turin
Front view of the main entrance facade
Front view of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
Overall view of the concert hall
The illuminated hall of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum
Exterior view of the museum building
View of the museum from the water
Front view of the Il Sole 24 Ore Seat building
The lighting fixtures installed on the ceiling
Viktor & Rolf Showroom inside the showroom
Overall view of a room with ceiling lights
Another central view of the illuminated hall of Palazzo Marino
The historic center of Siena illuminated
The lighting of the Salone delle Feste at the Quirinale
The illuminated waiting canopies
Entrance to the exhibition set up of Gianni Versace
Front view of the windows of the picture gallery
Il Porto Antico di Genova in una vista notturna
Detail of the lighting of the internal courtyard
Night view of the outline of the city of Mantua
Illuminated night view of the entrance courtyard
Night view of Malba - Costantini Foundation illuminated
Overall view of the Hall
Central view of the illuminated Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
The night lighting of the Sanctuary
Night view of the Italcementi Research Center
Night view of Porta Nuova Garibaldi Repubblica complex
St. Petersburg Spasa na Krovi outdoor lighting - master
Venice Grassi Palace outdoor night view- master
Museo d'Orsay Paris frontal view - master
Detail of the lighting system used
View of the ceiling glass windows with lighting
Outdoor spaces with architectural lighting
A night view of the illuminated building
View of the rooms and the exhibition path
Deputies with the lighting used
View of the complex with night lighting
The stage of the Teatro Comunale of Florence
The works of art inside the illuminated Papal Stables
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci with the lighting used
Full view of the illuminated theater
Full view of the Cultural Center building
One of the rooms with the works on display and the lighting fixtures
Overall view of the Banca Lombarda building in Brescia
Overall view of the central courtyard of the service center
Detail of the illuminated facade of the Dior building
Front view of the Lingotto building in Turin
Front view of the main entrance facade
Front view of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
Overall view of the concert hall
The illuminated hall of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum
Exterior view of the museum building
View of the museum from the water
Front view of the Il Sole 24 Ore Seat building
The lighting fixtures installed on the ceiling
Viktor & Rolf Showroom inside the showroom
Overall view of a room with ceiling lights
Another central view of the illuminated hall of Palazzo Marino
The historic center of Siena illuminated
The lighting of the Salone delle Feste at the Quirinale
The illuminated waiting canopies
Entrance to the exhibition set up of Gianni Versace
Front view of the windows of the picture gallery
Il Porto Antico di Genova in una vista notturna
Detail of the lighting of the internal courtyard
Night view of the outline of the city of Mantua
Illuminated night view of the entrance courtyard
Night view of Malba - Costantini Foundation illuminated
Overall view of the Hall
Central view of the illuminated Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
The night lighting of the Sanctuary
Night view of the Italcementi Research Center
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