Location: Paseo de la Independencia, Zaragoza.Spain
Years: 2020
With: Laura Martínez, Alejandro Alda
Promoter: Zaragoza City Council. Area de Infraestructuras
Manufacturer: Ximenez Iluminación SL
Installer: Ximénez Iluminación sl. / UTE alumbrado Zaragoza
Photos: Sebastian Arquitectos
A new sky shines on Zaragoza, based on one of the main references of Christmas: the stars, symbols accepted by all cultures. Their fragmented ends have been transformed into triangular white crystals that, when illuminated, remain suspended in the sky and evoke the lighting of the 70s. Those pieces of stars want to be a tribute to covid19 victims, to all those who will not be able to spend Christmas with us.
El Paseo de la Independencia becomes the big urban hall of the city, now acquiring a new depth and spatial dimension, taking advance with its magical relationship with one of the most characteristic natural phenomenon in Zaragoza, the fog, that amplifies the luminic event. This lighting aims to restore hope and illusion to citizens in such a tough year.
In 70´s Paseo de la Independencia used to be decorated with light stars. We recovered this idea, but in one year when everything has been broken, we decided to broke the stars too, in such a metaphorical tribute.
The arches play with the lines and light patterns to give the planes a volumetric appearance and greater dynamism, and also plays with perspective, overlapping one thousand triangles, conforming a new sky of broken stars.
The widest luminic arch in Spain
A total of 20 arches, 2.40m high and 45m long, raised 9m from the ground make up this starry sky. Each one is made up of 20 modules with drawings of star ends. They employ 15 Km of white led cable. The design is configured from 12 modules, designed so that they can be placed individually, in groups, interspersed, and rotated, repeating up to 35 times, giving rise to this unique composition of stars.
Photo: Félix Pérez
The tribute has to be permanent , so Stars shine 24 hours a day.
But by day all the triangles reflect sunlight as frozen crystals, acquiring a new aesthetic dimension, with the most powerful and cheap light we have, the sun.
Photo: J. Flores