Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, Moscow Oblast

Among the most emotionally expressive decorations of the church, the metal bas-reliefs framing the main entrance gates stand out for their refined beauty. Based on religious subjects as well as on battle scenes, the plastic volumes of the portrayed figures pleasantly contrast with the even background, delivering an intense emotional impact. Despite the huge scale of the work, being the main gate 7m wide by 12m high, and the intensity of the artistic portrayal, the global layout delivers an unexpected visual lightness.

The impressive dimensions of the entrance gates, along with their volume, color, texture, and spatial location had to be considered while developing a befitting lighting concept carried out under the direction of Mikhail Fayantsev. Moreover, general issues concerning the correct luminaires placement, the existing legal restrictions, installation mode, electrical connections, technical requirements, and maintenance operations had to be taken into account to specify the right lighting system.

In order to evaluate the product performance, preliminary tests had been carried out at the gates of the Resurrection Cathedral of the Sretensky Monastery. They presented the same features of the church gates and served therefore as an excellent subject to study the behavior of light on similar metal surfaces, difficult to enlighten due to their peculiar light refraction.

According to the feedback of the tests, PARADE S-40 Recessed linear bars were chosen to reproduce the required illumination effects on the church gates. The linear bars were embedded in the cast iron floor right in front of the gates to deliver a perfect visual harmony to the whole bas-relief in white and color changing shades. The selected wall wash optics allow an even light distribution and the desired light output without contaminating close architectural elements with unwanted glaring. The absence of harsh shadows and contrasts further improves the readability of the sculptural work.

The initial idea of using exclusively white light was abandoned as a consequence of the optimal test results. A custom color configuration, including besides warm and cold white also amber and Royal Blue LEDs, was finally chosen for the recessed bars. The entrance gates of the temple can now take on different shades on festive occasions or celebrations days enhancing the artistic significance of the bas-reliefs with different color shades. The whole system is controlled via RDM-DMX protocol. If required, PARADE S-40 RECESSED can work in stand-alone mode with parameters adjustable via the remote control through the IR receiver located on the front panel.

Installed fixtures:
PARADE S-40 RECESSED WALL WASH optics, custom edition
Credits:
Lighting design: Mikhail Fayantsev
Photo: Dmitry Smirnov, Vitaly Zorin