Philharmonic Concert Hall, Yekaterinburg

All projectsPhilharmonic Concert Hall, Yekaterinburg

Philharmonic Concert Hall, Yekaterinburg

Russia

A new LED lighting system by GRIVEN delivers an amazing effect to the Philharmonic Concert Hall in Yekaterinburg, which now shines in soft pastel tones enhancing its architectural features in a revealing way.

Located in the centre of Yekaterinburg, the historic building currently hosting the Sverdlovsk State Academic Philharmonic was conceived in 1913 as operational premise for industrialists’ and merchants’ congregations and was originally intended for business negotiations and transactions. The construction began in 1917 but remained unfinished for some years due to the well-known revolutionary turmoil of the period. The completion work was then resumed in 1920, while the official opening to visitors took place only in October 1926. In the meantime, the building, which hosted a wonderful concert hall, was destined to the Soviet Engineering and National Economy Society. Finally, in 1936 the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Society occupied this neoclassic building becoming the country’s third state concert organization after the Moscow and Leningrad Philharmonic Societies. In 1998, after a long story of success interrupted only by War World II, the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Society was awarded the title of "Academic" and included in the register of objects of cultural heritage of Sverdlovsk. Nowadays, the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Society plays a decisive role in the development of concert activities in the field of academic music.

Year

2019

Lighting design

MT Electro, Ekaterinburg

Product specification and installation

MT Electro, Ekaterinburg

Pictures

MT Electro, Ekaterinburg

As part of a recent renovation plan involving the whole building, the façade of the Philharmonic has been provided with a new groundbreaking lighting system. The solution proposed by leading experts in the light design industry is based on a combination of wall washers using LEDs in RGBW colour configuration. The presence of white LED chips in the colour combination allows the selection of multiple colour combinations with a pure colour rendition, while the dimming option available for all the selected fixtures avoids unnecessary glaring.

In order to enhance the main architectural features of this neoclassic building, a soft and well diffused illumination was required by the appointed lighting designers of MT Elektro, the company in charge of the lighting concept, lighting design, product supply and installation of this prestigious project. The massive front columns, the upper cornices, the recurring arches, as well as the stucco molding and the many decorative elements such as friezes and capitals of the main façade, needed to be lit up in a gentle way that could be able to preserve their architectural integrity and formal elegance, while revealing their true essence in a perfect balance of chiaroscuro tones at dark.

To do so, 20 units of CORAL in RGBW colour configuration with narrow and medium optics were installed in couples at the base of the front columns to light them up with an even distribution without interfering with the adjacent windows. The visual continuation of the columns is emphasized by the compact LED luminaires JADE 16 RGBW, whose cylindrical body harmoniously fits onto the façade without revealing its presence.

A special attention is dedicated to the stucco panels, whose three-dimensional perception is preserved by the use of the super compact LED fixtures MICRO-CLIP MK2 installed on the eaves. These small but powerful spotlights are capable of further enhancing the readability of the low relief images and the details of their intricate volumes in a soft but effective way. A custom version of MICRO-CLIP MK2 was specifically developed for this project, which required an RGBW colour configuration instead of the standard RGB, in order to perfectly match the pastel tones obtained with RGBW fixtures.

Moreover, a uniform light coverage of the architectural elements above the columns is delivered by an array of microPARADE RGBW with wall wash optics. Available in three different lengths for an easily customizable continuous light line, these ultra-compact and versatile modular bars are the ideal solution for wall grazing effects. Moreover, their compact outline allows a comfortable installation in outdoor ambiances on balconies, windows or façades where a reduced mounting space drastically limits the range of suitable products.

Owing to the very low temperatures often registered during the winter in this cold region, all the installed LED fixtures have been chosen in the POLAR EDITION, which features an integrated de-icing system with electrically heated glass for a comfortable functioning even in the utmost severe cold weather conditions.