Lighting design of the chamber of Palazzo Montecitorio has undergone numerous interventions over the years. This presented lighting designer Piero Castiglioni with the opportunity, first and foremost, to restore architectural dignity to Basile‘s work by freeing it from the visual clutter caused by outdated interventions. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of how both the well-being of a working environment and the perception of an architectural space depend not only on quantitative parameters but also on the correct evaluation of the aesthetic aspects linked to the qualitative nature of light: hue and colour rendering of light sources, contrast between diffuse and accent lighting, alternating elements of rest and visual stimulation, up to the simulation of the variability of daytime conditions. The focus of the lighting design is the elimination of obsolete luminaires and the skylight with the re-functionalisation or replacement of existing historical floodlights. Replacing the perimeter elements of the skylight with appropriate acid-etched glass allows the paintings to be illuminated by placing the projectors above the glass, a location that not only avoids the visual presence of the luminaires and the heat input into the room, but also allows for easy accessibility and thus easy maintenance. In the hall, the presence of some of the most valuable decorative elements, including Sartorio‘s paintings and Calandra‘s bronze high-relief, led to the study and use of contemporary lighting with halogen sources to ensure maximum colour rendering. In particular, the Calandra bronze requires, in the absence of glare, accent lighting to highlight the perspective depth of the high relief, in the contrast between foreground figures and background elements. Hence the use of a luminaire that offers the possibility of independently directing a battery of sixteen low-voltage halogen lamps with controlled optics. Piero Castiglioni’s lighting design projects in the Italian capital are manifold, the Papal Stables, the Salone delle Feste, the Sala dei Corazzieri, the Palazzo del Quirinale, the Baths of Diocletian, the Sistine Chapel, the Imperial Forums, Termini Station, the Galleria Colonna, Barberini Palace and Venezia Palace and many other architectural lighting.
Photo Courtesy:
Piero Castiglioni
Year:
1998
