Prize(s) Winners in Religious & Spiritual Site Lighting Design
Lighting Design/Product Company HANDU ASSOCIATES
Lead Designers Hannah Tian, Kevin Hu
Client Guangzhou Jiulong Lake Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
Photo Credits HANDU ASSOCIATES
Completion Date 2023.10.1
Project Location Guangzhou, China
Entry DescriptionKnown as "built on ruins", the church nestled in Aranya Jiulong Lake Resort, Guangzhou is a unique blend of Westernized ruins and local Lingnan culture.
The church's illumination is set at three different levels. The cross at the top of the church tower is the brightest, serving as an impressive visual centerpiece. The main building is the second brightest, while the outer part of the church is the least illuminated. This creates a sense of depth and time as a whole.
The cross at the top of the church tower is illuminated by LED spotlights to highlight the characterized structure and create an eye-catching landmark.
Flexible strip lights embedded in the outer contour of the church define its structural features and create a mysterious atmosphere. LED spotlights are used in the top uncovered steel-wood structure and walls of the church's main building, making the space brimmed with light and shadow silently, and creating a solemn historical feeling.
Inside the church, the columns and altar are accentuated by underground lighting, highlighting the modern architecture, emphasizing the rigid force of natural materials, and increasing the overall sacred atmosphere indoors.
Sustainability ApproachThe lighting design seamlessly integrates the old renovated and dismantled structure with the new building materials and new structure, complemented by natural light at a high angle. This approach creates a beautiful play of light and shadow at night, presenting the solemnity and mystery of the church, conveying the simplicity and flexibility of Lingnan culture, and expressing a diverse exploration of the architecture.
In order to achieve a rhythmic and appropriate contrast between light and shadow, the lighting system utilizes a color temperature of 3500K to neutralize the colors of the materials. This emphasizes the original ruined architectural look and brings out the inclusiveness of the architecture.
