State Military History Museum-Reserve, Prokhorovsky Field

All projectsState Military History Museum-Reserve, Prokhorovsky Field

State Military History Museum-Reserve, Prokhorovsky Field

Russia

Including memorial buildings, museums, and monuments, the "State Military History Museum-Reserve of Prokhorovsky Field" is a multifunctional complex that serves to perpetuate the heroic deeds of the Soviet army during the biggest tank battle of all times. More than 10 thousand Soviet soldiers died on this battlefield in just one day in the course of the bloody Battle of Kursk, occurred in July 1943 during WWII.

Inaugurated in 1995 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary from WWII conclusion, the complex includes the Victory Monument, a 59m high belfry regarded as the main feature of this memorial site. Located at an altitude of 252m right in the epicenter of the Prokhorovsky tank battlefield, this huge stele consists of four white stone flat columns, which represent the four years of war. Each of these four flat pillars is decorated with 6 high reliefs representing different series of images, thematically linked to war events.

Year

2018

Lighting design

InStyle, Belgorod

Product specification and installation

InStyle, Belgorod

Pictures

InStyle, Belgorod

The belfry is crowned by a golden dome - symbol of the sun and of the Russian state - on top of which a 7m high sculpture of the Virgin Mary shines in gold. Under the dome, an alarm bell can be heard every twenty minutes to remind the battles and wars that were held in this field. At the base of the lower marble drum, a gilded laurel wreath stands as a symbol of the glory of all who died for their homeland.

The exterior illumination of the side columns of the belfry is performed with the help of powerful LED color changers capable of delivering the required even light distribution to the whole structure: POWERSHINE MK2 S RGBW with narrow optics. The fixtures have been installed opposite to each of the four pillars on metal supports fixed onto four poles placed at a remarkable distance from the monument. The two front poles are equipped with 6 POWERSHINE MK2 S units each, which deliver a perfect splash of coloured light to the main façade of the monument. Two more poles fitted with four floodlights each are dedicated to the illumination of the rear part of the site. The whole lighting equipment is integrated into a DMX 512 management control system.

The colour palette chosen for the uniform lighting of the belfry ranges from pure white to the red and yellow colour spectrum, including each shade from light yellow to dark scarlet. The proposed chromatic solution is clearly related to the bloody massacre that took place on this site, expressing a deep sense of sorrow and sympathy for all the war victims.

Aimed at enhancing the monument in its full height, the even light distribution achieved on its surfaces is the result of a scrupulous selection of optics, a precise calculation of mounting distances, as well as a subsequent precision targeting. The fine-tuned light output allows an excellent readability of the artistic high reliefs, preserving and highlighting their volumes and shapes through a clear and bright light output.

POWERSHINE MK2 S, using 96 powerful RGBW LEDs, offers a comprehensive selection of optics. The combination of RGBW LEDs, that provides an unprecedented astonishing white light output quality plus a wider variety of intermediate colour hues, allows the maximum lighting design flexibility. POWERSHINE MK2 S Polar Edition features an integrated de-icing system with electrically heated glass, which assures a comfortable functioning even in the utmost severe cold weather conditions.