Lighting in Design

he Sistine Chapel in Rome has been illuminated by a

novel lighting solution from OSRAM. After 500 years, this

extraordinary piece of art history, bathed in the light of

more than 7000 LEDs, can be experienced in unprecedented

quality. The installation that has been put in place over the last

few months is designed to protect the artworks while enabling

much improved lighting. At the same time, it will use up to 90

percent less electricity than the previous installation. The Euro-

pean Union supported the project.

Dr Klaus Patzak, Osram’s CEO and responsible for the Lu-

minaires and Solutions segment of the business, explains that

Osram has developed an LED lighting solution that sets stan-

dards in terms of technological strength, quality and innovation.

“It’s the first such solution in the world and paves the way for

completely new possibilities for our clients. We will now rapidly

turn this potential into reality.”

The Sistine Chapel contains some of the most extraordinary

works ever conceived and isMichelangelo's masterpiece. Accord-

ing to Prof. Antonio Paolucci, Director of the Vatican Museum,

they wanted to honour the 450

anniversary of Michelangelo's

death by providing new lighting for his work.

The lighting of the Sistine Chapel is a pilot project with the

working title LED4Art. It is supported by the European Funding

Program for Information and Communication Technology within

the Framework Program for Competitiveness and Innovation

(PSP-CIP). The aim of the subsidy program is to demonstrate

new possibilities for LED technology with regard to energy ef-

ficiency and improved quality of light, and thus to achieve more

rapid market penetration for the new technology. In addition

to the project coordinator OSRAM, other partners involved are

the Pannonian University in Hungary, the

Institut de Recerca en

Energia de Catalunya

in Spain and the planning offices of

Faber

Technica

in Italy.

. +27 11 207 5600

7000 LEDs

illuminate the

Sistine Chapel