The Romanian cities of Galati and Tecuci are considered the crossroads of Eastern Europe (located only a few km from the border with Moldavia and Ukraine). Today they are experiencing a cultural and artistic renaissance thanks to the resourcefulness of the local Chamber of Commerce. In addition to many enterprises undertaken, the Chamber decided to light the most important buildings in the city centres.
Dan Lilion Gogoncea, head of the Galati’s Chamber of Commerce, is renowned in Romania for his foresight and having supported various urbanistic projects aimed at the modernisation of the country.
One of the first interventions was carried out at the Galati County Council, formerly a decadent home owned by Ceauşescu, now magnificent headquarters of the local County Council. Thereafter, it was the turn of the F.P.I.M.M. offices to be renovated, a foundation in charge of promotion of small and medium businesses.
The last to be renovated was the head office of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture itself, a historical edifice built in honour of Alexander Ioan Cuza, head of state who, in 1859, unified the three parts into which Romania had been divided, into one country.
In order to light the building in such a way as to attract attention as well as enhance it, Dan Lilion Gogoncea delegated the job to architect Viorel Chirila and lighting designer Ion Calescu. They, in turn, analyzed the client’s requests and identified the type of product to use.
Considering the fixed nature of the installation, it was of vital importance to use projectors able to withstand the harsh elements and long winters for which the Balkan Peninsula is known.
Only projectors offering an IP65 protection grade were considered.
The next step was to select from the wide variety of color changers available, those offering the best combination of color quality, lighting power, lamp product life and flexibility in usage.
Viorel Chirila and Ion Calescu singled out Clay Paky’s CP Color as the projector most suited for this application. 15 CP Color 150s and 8 CP Color 575s were positioned along the building’s perimeter and were equipped with diffusion filters that guaranteed even color diffusion.
Viorel Chirila says: “Lighting buildings is a new concept in Romania that serves a dual purpose: embellishing the city buildings and creating a real attraction for all citizens. These interventions make the city more livable! To help guide us through this small revolution, we chose the products of a top-level Italian company that is well-known and respected in the field: Clay Paky.”
The installation required lighting two adjacent buildings and a wall. The color changers were connected and controlled by a DMX signal, so that the color change was completely synchronized or deliberately asynchronous. This served to create a contrast of colors between the two building façades. Multiple programmings were also executed in order to have varying color combinations at hand.
Ion Calescu, head of PRO Dance Company, which carried out the installation, says: “We relied on the CP Colors for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that they used half as much electricity as other projectors with similar features. What’s more, Clay Paky CP Colors offered superb luminosity, saturated and pure colors, low operational and maintenance costs, and were easy to use.”
According to the client, and especially the city citizens, the objective was realized in full. Those who either live or visit Galati and Tecuci are enchanted by this exceptionally colorful spectacle. Many people, including several newlyweds, use this setting as a backdrop for their keepsake photographs.