Spasnakrovi - Church of the Savior on Blood

About Project

The new iGuzzini-sponsored illumination system designed by Architect Piero Castiglioni for the Church of the Resurrection in St Petersburg highlights the imposing Russian-Byzantine style architecture of the building, as well as underscoring the dramatic event that the cathedral itself commemorates: the assassination of 1st March 1881, in which Tzar Alexander II lost his life. For this reason, it is also known as the Church of St Saviour on Spilled Blood. A building unique in St Petersburg, it is clad in coloured mosaic and surmounted by splendid onion domes, recalling the Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed in Moscow.

Castiglioni’s project is based on replacing the light sources utilized hitherto, and increasing the number of fixtures installed. The new system utilizes metal halide light sources emitting warm white hues, with a high colour rendering index and lower power output than the optical assemblies installed previously. The lighting system designed by Castiglioni also envisages the use of various iGuzzini luminaires both mounted on poles and attached directly to the building. Using these different appliances in combination, it becomes possible to obtain a general illumination of the façade surfaces with an appreciable uniformity of lighting values and maximum control over cast shadows. MaxiWoody spots with reeded glass optic installed on poles or positioned at roof level on the buildings facing the Griboedov  canal radiate elliptical light beams overlapping one with the next to throw a uniform light on the  façades. The lateral domes and the spires are illuminated by the beams from further MaxiWoody fixtures, in this case superspots. Cast shadows - which even in daylight can detract from the splendid onion dome of the central tower - are cancelled out at night by the light from 4 Platea floodlights positioned on the roof of the Cathedral.  Radius spotlights with a special device allowing variation of luminous flux provide dynamic lighting for the bell tower on the west side, above the Chapel of the Crucifixion.

The general illumination upgrade for the Church of St Saviour on Spilled Blood is completed by counterbeam lighting of the historic perimeter railing around the cathedral and its grounds, for which Radius spotlights were selected. 
 

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• Year:
  2008
• Client:
  Lensvet - Alexander Kuzyakin
• Lighting project:
  Piero Castiglioni
• Photographer:
  Gabriele Basilico