Arraiolos, Nivelles, St. Helens and Remchingen, three prize-winners and a special mention for an outstanding edition
For the third successive year, the Auroralia Award – organised jointly by LUCI and Schréder – rewards the best sustainable urban lighting initiatives. With no fewer than 19 nominees defending projects as interesting as they were varied in their subject and scope, the 2011 award was a great success. Following lively discussions, the panel of independent judges composed of representatives from specialised press chose to give an award to Arraiolos (Portugal), Nivelles (Belgium) and St. Helens (UK), as well as a special mention for Remchingen (Germany). The representatives of these four municipalities received their Auroralia Award on 8th December in Lyon at the official ceremony organised in the prestigious setting of the Lyon Light Festival.
For this 2011 award, 19 projects from 18 towns or municipalities worldwide were submitted: Angus, Scotland; Arraiolos, Portugal; Bogota, Colombia; Castegnato, Italy; Krakow, Poland; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary; London, UK; Lviv, Ukraine; Mauthausen, Austria; Nivelles, Belgium; North Alentejo, Portugal; Osaka, Japan; Indore, India; Puebla, Mexico; Remchingen, Germany; St. Helens, UK and Valladolid, Spain.
Each of these cities submitted one or more projects to defend external lighting projects that incorporate an environmental dimension in an educational manner. Recruited from the editorial offices of the specialised press, the members of the panel conducted an in-depth analysis before deciding on the three best projects. The criteria took into account the efforts to minimise the project’s environmental impact – quantified in particular by a reduction in CO2 emissions – but also of its exemplary character, its integration within a larger plan, its socio-economic relevance, its educational dimension and its originality. After a first round of voting, at the end of which Dubrovnik, Hodmezovasarhely, Valladolid, Osaka and Lviv were also among the finalists, the panel chose to give the Awards to Arraiolos, Nivelles and St. Helens. A special mention was given to Remchingen.
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A village of 7,352 inhabitants nestled in the heart of the Alentejo region, Arraiolos has a world-wide reputation for its tapestries. Recently, another success has also added to its renown. In 2011, Arraiolos acquired the enviable status of being the first Portuguese village to draw up and implement a large scale project to light the historic centre of the village exclusively by LEDs. The old lighting system, made up of a disparate set of conventional luminaires equipped with discharge lamps, was completely replaced. The objective was threefold: to increase the level of lighting, offer better-quality lighting and dramatically reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
To achieve this, the local authorities worked with the lighting designers Eduardo Gonçalves and Rogério Oliveira from Eclipz design office. In collaboration with Schréder Iluminação, they designed a luminaire equipped with 36 LEDs that was perfect for their project. |
By diffusing a warm white light, the 401 Rivara luminaires – named in homage to one of the village’s famous inhabitants, a writer and statesman of the nineteenth century – provide excellent colour rendition and a high degree of visual comfort. With energy savings of no less than 50% per luminaire, the new LED installation significantly reduces operating and maintenance costs.
The luminaires are equipped with a remote management system that adapts lighting levels during the night. Each luminaire is controlled individually by a central unit. This system is capable of generating additional energy savings in the order of 30%.
Several monuments have also been lit by LED floodlights with a neutral white light to provide a contrast with the street lighting.
The judges were impressed by the quality of this installation, which manages to reconcile showcasing cultural heritage, improving the comfort and efficiency of public lighting, perfect aesthetic integration within the historic heart of the village and significant energy savings.
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Nivelles is a Belgian town of 26,000 inhabitants situated 25km from Brussels. Severely affected by bombing during the Second World War, the town had been rebuilt according to a functional urban planning plan dedicated above all to motor vehicles. The eleventh-century Collégiale church, the veritable historic heart of the town, had become the centrepiece of a large roundabout. In the mid-2000s, the local authorities wanted to give space back to the public. |
Several streets and esplanades adjacent to the Collégiale were therefore made off-limits to traffic and turned into huge pedestrian zones. This urban planning renovation was based around a new lighting plan aimed at replacing a range of luminaires equipped with discharge lamps with a modern installation mainly using LEDs.
To preserve the open character of the space around the Collégiale, the local authorities decided to ban luminaires on poles. They gave priority to bollards and recessed luminaires as their discreet integration helps preserve the cultural heritage. By exploiting different levels of lighting, the installation structures the space and highlights the architectural treasures of the town centre. The new installation generates energy savings of 73% and stops the town from producing more than 26 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
Through various operations under the heading “Nivelles, cœur de Lumière” (“Nivelles, heart of Light”), the town promotes a social and environmental approach to light. A commitment that clearly pleased the members of the Auroralia judging panel!
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In the suburbs of Liverpool, St. Helens is a town of 175,000 inhabitants in the densely urbanised county of Merseyside. Its college was completely renovated to modernise its infrastructures and increase its capacity to 15,000 students. At the same time as new buildings were being constructed, the town launched a project to renovate the lighting installations around the campus. Situated in the heart of the town, precisely where there is most commercial activity, the campus is home not only to educational facilities but also a sports hall, restaurants and public spaces. |
Replacing the old sodium lamps, a new LED lighting system was installed on the college site and in the four main streets surrounding it.
The aim was to increase the level and quality of lighting while significantly reducing energy consumption. The new installation generates energy savings of 21% and fulfils several functions: light the space comfortably and efficiently, reduce crime, ensure traffic safety and stimulate economic activity.
In rewarding St. Helens, the judges wanted to acknowledge the positive impact of this project on the social, economic and environmental aspects of urban and student life.
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With just under 12,000 inhabitants, Remchingen – a medium-sized town in the Karlsruhe district – has made a significant commitment to future generations by converting all its luminaires equipped with 150W sodium lamps to 34W 28 LED luminaires. The intervention involved no fewer than one thousand lighting units in all corners of the town. To reduce the investment and the time needed to install the new luminaires, the authorities retained the existing poles. The new installation provides a warm, white light and allows the town to cut its energy bill by 78%. Each year, Remchingen will thus reduce its CO2 emissions by 146 tonnes!
By giving the German town a special mention, the judges wanted to emphasise the massive economic and environmental impact of a global conversion to LED light sources as undertaken by Remchingen as part of its “relighting” project. |
