Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw

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Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw

Poland

Raised after the Second World War during the Soviet domination, the Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science (in Polish: Pałac Kultury i Nauki, also abbreviated PKiN), still remains one of the most controversial buildings in Poland and it was only a whisker away from being torn down when the Berlin Wall fell in '89.
Built between 1952 and 1955 as a Joseph Stalin's "gift" to Warsaw, the Palace of Culture architecturally resembles the Seven Sisters of Moscow, although to the frustrated Varsovians of the ’50s it just reminded the sad reality of the Soviet domination. Today, the Palace of Culture still stands as the highest structure in Warsaw and in Poland. With its 42 floors, the 231 metres tall building currently serves as an exhibition hall and office complex and as a radio and television broadcasting centre, also hosting cinemas, theatres, museums, bookshops along with a huge conference hall fitting 3,000 people.

Year

2011

The highlight of the Palace of Culture for tourists is undoubtedly its observation deck on the 30th floor, from which the whole city and the Vistula can be gorgeously viewed on a clear day. In order to revive the city skyline with a brush of lively colors, a challenging lighting project was developed with the EC financial support. The central tower of the building, which was previously illuminated with a white light discharge lamp system, should have now been completely lit up in colors in order to offer a more modern and dynamic lighting concept to tourists and visitors. The huge lighting project was divided into two main parts, the first of which, related to the illumination of the central tower of the building - apart from the clock spire - was successfully completed in February 2011.
The lighting concept was developed according to the guidelines received by the company in charge of the lighting installation. When it came to selecting the ideal illumination system, which should be capable of reaching the 168 meters of the main tower building, the choice fell undoubtedly on Powershine D RGBW.

Batteries of Powershine D RGBW were symmetrically distributed at the foundation of the main tower in order to reach the whole surface of the building on its 4 sides. More Powershine D RGB+W units were also installed on the decks of the 4 lower turrets in order to floodlight the corners of the tower that were left uncolored owing to the physical obstacle set by the turrets themselves to the Powershine beams. Moreover, in order to create a pleasantly unexpected light and color contrast between the interior and exterior parts, 48 Danube 45° units were positioned within the windows of the main tower and of the four turrets.
A high density LEDs double configuration module range, which features 180 3W power LEDs, POWERSHINE D offers full independent digital control of each LED array, allowing absolute freedom to create matching or divergent effects on formerly prohibitive large-scale facades and remote spots. The chosen standard version combination of RGB+W LEDs offers an unprecedented astonishing white light output quality, as well as a wider variety of intermediate color hues for an even broader range of application purposes.
An unparalleled architectural lighting achievement, this gargantuan tower now shoots up from the center of Warsaw shining with dynamic, lively colors.