One of Finland’s most renowned areas received the spotlight it deserves.
Senate Square has received its well-deserved new lighting as a result of Valoa’s extensive lighting architecture and technical design work.
The new lighting highlights the dignity of the area and its beautiful Empire-era atmosphere, while incorporating modern energy-efficient solutions. City residents can enjoy the area’s atmosphere at dusk, when the lighting is at its best.
Details
Type Area lighting, facade lighting
Location Helsinki
Completion Year 2023
Client Multiple
Senate Square is one of Finland’s most valuable urban spaces and a popular photo destination for tourists. It boasts a significant national history, and its surroundings bring together major institutions: the state, the church, and the university. Additionally, the buildings around Senate Square form a cohesive Empire-style ensemble. The oldest building in the city center, the Sederholm House, completed in 1757, is also located at the edge of the square.
Extensive design work began with a general lighting plan.
The renewal of Senate Square’s lighting has been an extensive and lengthy project, as the design and implementation area covers the entire Senate Square environment. The area’s previous lighting dated back to the 1980s, no longer met current needs, and was in poor technical condition.
It was suspected that implementing lighting for different sites as separate projects by various actors would lead to a chaotic outcome, so the lighting projects in the area were combined. The preparation of the Senate Square lighting plan began in 2013, in cooperation with various parties from the City of Helsinki, entities managing and using properties on the edges of the square, and the National Board of Antiquities.
The general lighting plan for Senate Square was completed in 2014, and a more detailed lighting plan for the area in 2017. The clients for the new lighting were the City of Helsinki, Senate Properties, and Helsinki University Properties. The Helsinki Evangelical Lutheran Parish is renewing the lighting of the Cathedral.
Senate Square Revealed in a New Light
With the new lighting, the city view of the square area at dusk is a balanced and recognizable entity.
Senate Square’s new lighting encompasses street and square lighting, as well as the facade lighting of the surrounding buildings. Additionally, the lighting approach based on wall lanterns for properties on Katariinankatu and Sofiankatu, and those on the Aleksanterinkatu side of the Market Blocks, has been adapted to its historical context using modern technology.
The lighting has been implemented using modern and energy-efficient LED luminaires. Senate Square’s new atmospheric lighting ensemble is created not only by new lighting poles but also by facade lights attached to them, which are easily controllable for various lighting scenarios. The lighting can be easily adjusted for both everyday and festive occasions with varying intensities.
The lighting of the Alexander II statue in the middle of the square has also been modernized as a whole, in cooperation with the Helsinki Art Museum and the Helsinki City Museum.
Project Partners:
- City of Helsinki, Urban Environment Division
- City of Helsinki Building Control
- National Board of Antiquities
- Helsinki City Museum
- Urban Environment Committee
- Senate Properties
- Helsinki University Properties Ltd
- Helsinki Leijona Ltd
- Helsinki Parish Union
- Professor Vilhelm Helander
- Electrical Design: Sitowise Ltd
- Pole Design: Futudesign Ltd
- Contracting: Eltel Ltd
Read more from Helsingin Sanomat’s article:
https://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/helsinki/art-2000009370604.html
