Krujë castle

Architectural lighting for the city’s fortress

Krujë is the ancient capital city of Albania, the symbol of the resistance against Ottoman invasions and birth place of the national hero, Giorgio Castriota Skanderbeg. Its name appears to derive from the word krua which means spring, due to the numerous sources of fresh water which descend from the surrounding mountains.

From a geographical point of view, Krujë is located in central Albania and extends to the foot of the western slope of the mountain with the same name. This strategic position, a crossroads for the routes connecting the entire country, led to the development of trade and determined its dominant role towards the surrounding districts. The castle is the symbol of the city, perched atop a rocky ridge on the eastern side of the city. It was built around the 5th/6th century BC and still preserves the internal structures with the National Skanderbeg Museum, dedicated to the hero and Albania’s history, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Clock Tower, a 16-metre-tall ancient watch tower which offers a breathtaking panoramic view.

The lighting design studio opted for a variety of professional and industrial solutions by the Linea Light Group which led to a truly stunning result.

To illuminate the fortified entrance area, Envelope path markers were used alongside Archiline linear lights.

Inside, to rebalance the lighting of the museum and outside, to highlight the walls, Prolamp by I-LèD Industrial was chosen, the projector which combines the necessary sturdiness for outdoor use with professional high performance in a single product, resulting in light source efficiency, extensive colour rendering, along with the ability to maintain direction.

An analysis of the surrounding ground, which was mainly rocky, was carried out for the illumination of the Tower, the true symbol of the castle, and resulted in a solution with adjustable optics. The solution was provided by the Iris_67 projectors featuring a wide downward beam and a narrow upward beam, to emphasise the height and majesty of the tower. The projector’s graduated focus-on-board ring nut allows the beam aperture to be adjusted, simplifying the operation of directing the light. The simplified focus locking system also allows you to obtain an aperture that corresponds exactly to the gradient indicated on the ring nut.

Lastly, great care was taken over the internal parts as well, from the surrounding walls to the archways where the Periskop designer projector was used extensively, both for its modern lines, which adapt well to different settings, and for its ability to highlight architectural details.

Most of the light fixtures for the Krujë Castle lighting system were also fitted with an external Bluetooth dimmer with Casambi protocol, to allow for more efficient programming of the kilometre-long surrounding walls.

Credits:

Lighting Designer: Fulvio Baldeschi

Photos: Pietro Savorelli

Products: Envelope, Archiline, Prolamp, Iris_67, Periskop

Year: 2020