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Latvia - Old patterns revived by a new light

Riga 1st Hospital, the oldest civil hospital in Latvia, was founded in 1803 under the personal edict of the emperor Alexander I and for over two hundred years has been recognized as a top-level institution in the whole country. Gradually completed by the construction of joint buildings, the hospital has been kept up-to-date as far as its comprehensive medical offer is involved thanks to its continuous self-management investment program. Using the latest medical equipment, the most progressive methods and top-notch technologies, the oldest hospital in Latvia continues providing extensive diagnostic capabilities, first-class outpatient and planned inpatient treatment, rehabilitation and dental services.

As main and oldest part of the whole institution complex, now formed by over 20 different constructions, the 1st Corps of Riga 1st Hospital is a cultural monument, officially recognized as a well-preserved architectural and historical heritage of the Latvian capital city. Its architectural style is a perfect blend of the trends, which were popular at the beginning of the 19th century in Latvia.

In this period, a fast urbanization demanded the construction of a wide array of new secular buildings, such as government structures, banks, train stations, and hospitals to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. These new buildings were inspired by different architectural styles, such as Neoclassicism, Historicism, Gothic Revival or Neo-Gothic style, whose features could be found even mixed in the typical constructions of this period.

Structurally inspired by a Medieval countryside castle style, the 1st Corps is a massive, manor-like red brick building, whose simple architectural style is enriched by some Gothic details, recurring in windows, gates, turrets and gables. Some turrets, located in correspondence with the entrance gates, enhance the façades of the hospital delivering a refined appearance at a first glance. They continue with a sort of relief structure till the top of the roof and are then surmounted by a decorative crow-stepped gable, recurrent feature in Riga’s architecture. Crow-stepped gables present a stairstep design accomplishing the sloping portion, which is suitable for decorations and dedicated illumination.

Since 2009, over 30 million euros have been invested in the development of this public institution, which, beside a medical and technical upgrade, also involved both architectural interior decoration and exterior renovation. This extensive exterior restoration, meant at preserving the historical appearance of the building, also included the installation of a dedicated outdoor LED lighting system, which by the way has involved some of the main buildings of this huge medical complex.

Conceived and fulfilled by the Latvian company LUCIDUS SIA, the lighting design of the 1st Corps aims at enhancing in a wonderful shade of warm white the relevant architectural details of the building, following the old lighting pattern of the gas lamps that used to illuminate Bruninieku Street over a hundred years ago. An array of Parade D-W-6, 9 and 12 in warm white configuration were installed on the building façade to light up, according to their different length, the entrance gates, the bays, the turrets and the stairstep design of the crow-stepped gables, delivering an antique allure to this wonderful construction at night.

A superlative solution for architectural lighting decoration, the technologically advanced PARADE D-W-6, 9 and 12 MK3 linear modules series features either 6, 9 or 12 powerful bright white light LED sources. Available both in warm and cold white light, these highly versatile modular bars, coming with a choice of different beam angle options, are now capable of offering a further improved light emission performance. Their compact outline features a robust and durable extruded aluminium housing for the widest variety of applications such as accent, display, effect and landscape lighting.

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