Lighting famous buildings in the world

Lighting in a building is one of the most important features of architecture and design. Exterior lighting has a significant effect on its attraction and beauty.

Now the question is:

Should all buildings have a lot of special lighting?

The use of lighting system in all the buildings of the city is not harmful and causes a lot of electricity consumption and visual pollution. Special lighting is done for commercial buildings and buildings in special areas. For example, important buildings such as Burj Khalifa, Eiffel Tower, or locations that need to identify for further identification are illuminated.

Different lighting techniques in buildings

Among the various techniques that use in lighting the facades of buildings are:

Motion lighting

It is called moving lighting that moves at fixed time intervals and causes more visual attraction. This type of lighting is usually used for advertising on the facade of commercial buildings.

An example of this lighting model is the musical fountain in Dubai.

In the construction of the fountain, they used 6.600 different lamps and lights, which have the ability to stand out in 25 different colors. The unique man-made phenomenon that occupies a large area is 275 meters long (approximately equal to 2 football fields) and was built on the 30-hectare lake of Burj Khalifa. The capabilities of the colorful Dubai fountain are therefore one of the popular entertainments of tourists who visit the Dubai fountain.

Offset lighting

The lighting that used from a distance to highlight the vertical structures of the building called offset. The most famous example for this model, which is a combination of offset lighting, decoration and display, is the Eiffel Tower. On the opening day of this tower, a thousand gas lamps were connected to it, which together with 2 projectors stood out in its highest part. These two projectors were responsible for illuminating other important historical buildings in France.

Eiffel blue, red and white lights also used. It was the most powerful lantern light used at that time. After that, it decided that gas lamps should be lit every night in a certain period of time.so that people can enjoy that pleasant scene. In 1900, they decided to use 5,000 electric lamps or electric lights with less electricity consumption to illuminate the Eiffel Tower, which used as a new decorative aspect. In 1937, for the French Art and Technique Exhibition, a structure installed under the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, with a huge chandelier hanging from it. 10 kilometers of fluorescent lamps and 30 spotlights in blue, gold and red colors used to illuminate this section.

In 1958, about 1,290 projectors installed in small holes in Champ de Mars to light up the Eiffel Tower every evening. Over time, when the issues of optimal electricity use became very important, the use of these high-consumption projectors and lamps objected too. For this reason, in 1958, a new program considered for the lighting of the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was the first structure that used sodium lamps for its lighting. On the 120th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower, another show and performance with lighting was performed in October 2009, which continued until the end of December. But this time, in order to save electricity, LED lamps were used in the lighting of the Eiffel Tower, which were turned on almost at the same time as the sunset, every hour, for 10 minutes.

Surface lighting

It uses to show the texture of the type of material used in the facade of the building. The lighting used in the Lit brothers building is the surface lighting used to show the textures and details of this structure. This building is in Philadelphia, USA. This building used to function as a store, but today it has become a historical monument, and due to the use of marble stones and old architecture, this type of lighting has been used, and this has made this store famous in that area.

The lighting used in the Lit brothers building is the surface lighting used to show the textures and details of this structure. This building is in Philadelphia, USA. This building used to function as a store, but today it has become a historical monument, and due to the use of marble stones and old architecture, this type of lighting has been used, and this has made this store famous in that area.

Decorative lighting​

The use of lighting devices to add beauty to the facade of a building called decorative lighting. Almost all structures in Dubai use the decorative method for buildings and towers.

The contouring method used in the lighting of the MANACAR Tower in Mexico City. The use of LED lamps in the not-so-deep recesses and protrusions of this tower has created a texture that gives you the feeling of deep textures when you look at it from a distance. .

Booth building  ​   

Using devices that are far from the facade for uniform illumination of the facade so that the general view can be seen.

The lighting of Burj Al Arab in the UAE is the type of pavilion lighting. From a very strong flashing light, that has up to 85% energy saving properties. This LED light system is controlled.

This system in which each LED light has a unique DMX address to the individual in the network. Fixed effects on Burj Al Arab controlled by this system.

What things affect the lighting of the building?

• Building typology (historical or non-historical, hotel, residential, commercial)
• Height of buildings and architectural elements
• Width of building elements
• Characteristics of the materials used in the facade
• The colors used in the view
• Technical details of facade materials

Next, we want to examine the best buildings in terms of lighting in the world:

Las Vegas MSG Butter

The MSG SPHERE spherical building is one of the wonders of the technology world that built in Las Vegas. In this building, the method of dynamic lighting and booth construction is used.

With a height of 112 meters and a width of 157 meters, this sphere will be the largest spherical structure in the world. This building will have a screen with a resolution of 19,000 x 13,500 pixels, which will have the highest image quality and resolution in the world. The Korean dome alone weighs 13,000 tons and its area is 20,400 square meters.

The construction group has started to build a 223-meter steel structure that will form the overall design of the internal LED screen of this entertainment complex and will support the sound system.

Inside the Haptic Heliport, as part of the immersive experience technology, an infrasonic system (a system that allows the touch of virtual objects to be completely real and tangible) will be used, which by applying deep vibrations will make the guests fully immersed in the concert and event atmosphere. to feel The outer part of the sphere will have programmable lighting of about 56,000 square meters.

Galata Tower

Galata Tower is rightfully a worthy and unique symbol for the city of Istanbul. A city that is popular because of its not only antiquity and history, but because of its beauty, vitality, and its irrevocable charm! The pavilion method used in the lighting structure of this tower.

All the upper parts of the tower, especially the top of the tower, are illuminated and these lights lit at night. This lighting has made Galata not hidden from the eyes even at night and shines in the city with orange and red lights. In addition, Galata Tower, like most famous and well-known buildings, has 3D lighting; 3D and laser lighting that is broadcast for the tower during special ceremonies and celebrations and doubles its beauty. One of these events, which held recently, was the celebration of the 100th year of nationalization and the adoption of the Turkish national anthem. In this light show and images on the Galata Tower, prominent figures from the time of the migration of Turks from Central Asia to today seen.

Saint Petersburg Resurrection Church

One of the most magnificent buildings of the 18th century in Russia, which is located in Saint Petersburg, is the Resurrection Church of Saint Petersburg.

According to the belief of the builders of this church, which has spread to many visitors, Jesus Christ will reappear from this church and the resurrection will begin from this church.

The designer of this church is Italian architect Piero Castiglioni, who designed the Church of the Resurrection following the baroque and neoclassical architecture. The construction period of this church is 24 years. Also, the lighting of Resurrection Church is according to a new system.

Since the Church of the Resurrection has seen very important events such as the massacre of March 1881 in which the second tsar of Russia died, it is also called the savior of blood.

The difference between this church and St. Petersburg churches is in its colored mosaics and onion-like domes, which are very similar to St. Basil’s Cathedral. In the lighting project of this church, the number of lighting structures was increased by its architects and new light sources were replaced. Instead of old lighting, metal holiday light with a range of warm lights has been used. In this way, the designers were able to control the shadows by harmonizing the lights using a combination of different lights, and also by using the surface lighting technique, it shows the paintings and subtleties on the facade well.

Burj Khalifa

In 2018, Burj Khalifa’s unique lighting set a Guinness record as the largest lighting in the world.

It was known, from 280 moving lights (EMIRATE LIGHTS UP) in this show, which is around the frame of the building, more than 40 laser devices, 230 xenon lighting devices, 280 lighting devices with LED screens and light beams. Another special feature was used to immerse the 828-meter Burj Khalifa in the world of light. In this attractive project, dynamic lighting is used.

He had a team of more than 300 engineers, specialists and consultants who built and installed almost 120 tons of equipment and did more than 29 kilometers of cabling.

Heydar Ali F. cultural center building

This building is an important cultural center in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The design of this building was carried out after an international design competition in 2007 by Zaha Hadid, the lady of the eastern architect who was truly a successful project in all aspects of architecture and non-architecture, and was finally completed in 2012. The lighting method is also inspired by the type of pavilion construction and contouring.

This center is located on a 10-hectare area near the Baku Convention Center. It is famous for its fluid form, which architects and designers around the world see as a reaction to the rigid architecture of the Soviet Union era, as well as a reference to Islamic calligraphy and elements of traditional Azeri architecture.

El Flamingo Las Vegas Casino

This casino is located in the brightest spot on earth, Las Vegas, where LED lamps used throughout its surface and it is designed in a dynamic lighting style.

About this building itself, it said that the size is 72229 meters and the art deco and Mediterranean style used for its construction and design. 3460 rooms can be inhabited inside this casino hotel.

 CASA BATLLO building, Spain

This building is the most original and dreamy house built in Barcelona. The Ballio building is a symbol of the dragon on the roof of which Saint George is killing the dragon

The facade of the building is made of mosaic, glass and ceramic and has a strange wavy shape. When you look at it in the sunlight, you feel that the building is riding the waves and moving. In the windows of the built rooms, which are similar to the skull and teeth of a dragon, lights from LED lights are used, which shows the scaly and wavy appearance of the facade at night, which is a surface lighting style. This architecture, which used three-dimensional style in its time, was unique in its kind.

View of Casa Batllo using paintings by digital artist REFIC ANADOL

It was designed by artificial intelligence, illuminated by Casa Batllo surface projectors. The project used more than a billion publicly available archival images, as well as using artificial intelligence data that was fed into customized algorithms that used weather data from Barcelona to produce images that were projected onto the building. was combining

OPERA HOUSE Sydney

It is considered one of the most distinctive buildings of the 20th century in terms of architectural art, which is located in the coastal city of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Sydney Opera House is currently one of the most important tourist attractions in Australia.

At first, it was done based on the roof lighting and with the help of spotlights from hundreds of meters away from the building. Unfortunately, this lighting created unfavorable shadows in the lower part of the shells. By performing many experiments and simulations, suitable bright shadows were obtained by installing stronger projectors in special lighting stations 500 meters away from the building and in the opposite direction of the round docks. Many lenses and optical equipment were used to implement the desired lighting, and finally the proper lighting desired by the authorities was realized. This type of lighting includes dynamic and surface style

EMPRE STATE in Manhattan, New York

In addition to its specific uses, Empire State lighting is also known as a tourist attraction. In November 1993, the huge floodlights on top of the tower were used for the first time to  announce Roosevelt’s  victory in the US election. New high pressure floodlights were installed on the 72nd floor in 1964 to illuminate the top of the building. In 1976, a proposal was made to replace the 1,000 incandescent lamps in the tower with 204 metal halide lamps. In the same year, special red, white and blue lighting was installed in the Empire State on the occasion of a national holiday.

Since 1976, special lighting has been implemented on top of the Empire State Tower, which can be changed according to seasonal events and holidays. Additionally, groups and organizations can apply for special occasion lighting through the Empire State website. Numerous events such as honoring individuals, supporting New York sports teams, anniversaries of famous people’s deaths, and the like are all included in the Empire State’s special lighting.

In 2012, all of the Empire State’s metal halide lamps were replaced with new 1.200 LED lamps, increasing the available lighting colors from 9 to 16 million. The new system has computer control and gives more modern lighting effects to the tower.

Luxor casino Las Vegas

The Luxor Casino in Las Vegas is a 30-story casino hotel located at the end of the South Strip in Las Vegas, Paradise. This casino opened in 1993. The distinguishing feature of this casino is the concentrated white light that is sent to the sky by 39 xenon lamps of 7000 watts. This building is designed as one of the three pyramids of Egypt, which is also called the city of Luxor.

At the top of the pyramid, these lamps are used to light up to 275 miles (443 km) at night. Since 2008, only half of these lamps are lit to prevent excessive electricity consumption.

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Walt Disney Concert Hall’s exterior is a combination of raw and angular shapes and is a symbol of the musical movement and movement of Los Angeles. This design is developed through paper models and designs that are characteristic of the Gray process. The custom curvature required a very specific steel structure, including the box columns that are tilted in section 17 on the north side of the building.

The panels and unique curves of the facade are illuminated during the day and colored by city lights after dark. Originally, the building was to be clad in stone, but after the completion of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, the concert hall’s titanium-clad cousin, more malleable materials were chosen. Dynamic lighting method is used in this structure.

Singapore Science and Art Museum

This building, which is located in Singapore’s Marina Bay, is reminiscent of a lotus flower, which is the reason for its popularity. It was designed and built by Moshe Safadi. The surface of this building is made of a type of waterproof fiberglass. The lighting of this complex is superficial and it is illuminated using projectors that are placed around this structure. Also, the dynamic lighting has given a double attraction to this collection.

Beijing National Water Sports Center

This structure, which is known as the water cube, was built in 2008 to host the Paralympic Games. The structural pattern of this building was inspired by cut soap bubbles, and a bubble was made from glass on a steel body. The structure is considered among the green buildings because the amount of carbon and heat produced through lighting is zero. The lighting of this building is surface and motion.

Kobe Japan Guest House

In 1995, a severe earthquake hit the city of Kobe, Japan, which caused the death of 6,000 people and damage of nearly 100 billion dollars. The survivors lived in the dark without electricity and water until the rescue operation. For this reason, the Italian government decided to give them 200,000 painted lamps. This not only caused people to use light, but these lamps also symbolized their return to life. This facade changes its decor every year with the help of Italian art directors and is designed in a special way.