The city of Valladolid, supported by the municipality of Valladolid and the network LUCI, announce a global pioneering initiative, in which energy saving and design unite in the creation of a unique tourist route which highlights the city’s architectural richness. The principle which underlines the design of this route is to offer complete solutions to the needs of its users. The design has given priority to the subjective aspects such as aesthetics, health and environment, combining them with visual comfort and taking into consideration vital economic and energy saving factors. These components, alongside the belief that lighting should be a flexible medium, have led to the creation of a design which combines efficiency with high aesthetics, bringing increased value to the night views of Valladolid. The illuminated route acquires its own personality, increasing the touristic and cultural potential of this city.
The concept of this project revolves around the symbolic re-integration of the river Esgueva, which was re-routed from its original direction in order to allow the city to develop and grow. This virtual river is transformed into a River of Light which runs through the city, guiding people through its streets in a surprising and interactive way. It reveals the city’s rich heritage and present splendours, showing step by step, tributary by tributary, its history, architecture and cultural heritage. The direction and size of this route can be modified or enlarged in the future to incorporate any new developments.
The route which forms the Rivers of Light interconnects different parts of the centre of Valladolid. Each area is made up of buildings and monuments and also encompasses the surrounding streets and squares.
The lighting of the targeted areas has had the effect of ordering and harmonising the surroundings: colour temperature of the light sources have been unified, the lighting levels have been reduced in order to increase the degrees of shadow, making the night lit passages more visually effective.
The buildings and monuments have been lit according to their individual characteristics, whilst also maintaining a criteria which harmonises the project. The colour temperature of all the monuments of the route has been unified, amplifying the variation of light intensity to bring out distinctive details. In addition, visual comfort has been prioritised, using antiglare devices when necessary. Finally, we have looked for a visual integration of the luminaries with the objective that they disappear in the daylight.
