Map of the intervention site, Savena district

Piazza Lambrakis

Piazza Lambrakis

ENLIGHTENme workshop with residents in Bologna

ENLIGHTENme workshop in Bologna

The new lighting design for Piazza Lambrakis in Bologna – main square

The new lighting design for Piazza Lambrakis in Bologna – “Book Club”

Before the new lighting installation at Piazza Lambrakis

After the new lighting installation at Piazza Lambrakis

• About the district

  The selected district for the Bologna ULL is Savena, a suburb of the city about 14 kilometres from the centre. Savena is also a modernist post-war development of 5-9 storey apartment blocks surrounded by open spaces. It is mostly residential with some commercial property around Piazza Lambrakis, the site chosen for the lighting intervention.

  In terms of demographic, social and economic indicators, most areas in the neighbourhood score middle/high to high values on the demographic fragility index supplied by the Municipality of Bologna. The Savena neighbourhood has a population of around 60,000 people, with an age average of 48.7 years. This is well above the city’s average of 46.9 years. Average per-capita income is slightly below the average, as is the percentage of graduates and the employment rate. On the other hand, the percentage of families with per-capita income below threshold is lower than the city’s average.

• About the intervention site

  Within Savena, the area selected for the ULL and lighting intervention is Piazza Lambrakis and adjacent areas. The area Due Madonne, in which Lambrakis square is located, has a population of around 3,100 inhabitants. The rectangle-shaped area is located at the north east of the neighbourhood, clearly bounded by large roads. As for the district as a whole, the Due Madonne area is a vulnerable area with high foreign population turnover, and above average percentage of single-parent families and health fragility. As a focus for a ULL and lighting intervention, Piazza Lambrakis is a rich social setting, busy with people and activities throughout the day and into the evening. It is both well used and highly valued by a wide range of residents. It is also supported by diverse stakeholders and users such as retailers, the Church of Parrocchia di Nostra Signora della Fiducia and the theatre at the north end of the Piazza, and a pharmacy and newsagent at the southern end. There are shopping opportunities in the pedestrian arcade on one side which includes a newsagent, florist, and two cafes. The area is quite defined and contained therefore easier to interact with residents. In the evenings, especially during warmer weather, the residents congregate on benches in the square to chat and play games. Our first phase of research and engagement demonstrated the presence of considerable numbers of active older citizens, many of whom have been in the neighbourhood for decades, who are well networked, enthusiastically involved in the life of the square and eager to be engaged in ULL activities.

  From a lighting point of view: the square needs to be upgraded to LED but there are as yet no plans for development. This will allow the project to proceed with few constraints and predominantly in response to ULL activities.

  Piazza Lambrakis existing lighting is composed by three different main elements:

  1. Pedestrian style columns in the square
  2. Arcade ceiling-mounted lighting
  3. Street lighting in all adjacent streets (Via Tacconi and Via Dallolio)

• Local structure and culture of ageing
  • Membership of formal civil society organisations is minimal or not evident. However, informal participation by older citizens in the life and affairs of the Piazza is considerable, and includes a connection to people of all ages.
  • Many of the older citizens are very well socially networked so that communication is easy and efficient, and fits into the general ‘publicness’ of life on the Piazza.

• The new lighting and installation design

  The intervention in the main square maintains the existing poles and replaces the heads with classic-shaped lanterns equipped with a dynamic LED module, capable of regulating the flux and colour temperature.

  For the experimentation phase, half of the fixtures are equipped with CRI 80 and the other half CRI 90. This distinction will help the study to evaluate whether the difference in colour rendering is perceptible by users, especially the elderly. During the year of testing, people’s habits will be analysed and the most crowded areas of the square will be studied. Furthermore, the system will be divided into separate control groups to switch off some luminaires and evaluate the impact on users.

  Projectors will be installed on the pillars of the arcade. The path lighting will therefore be indirect, to guarantee very high levels of uniformity on the ground and avoid glare effects which can be very disturbing in the evening hours for the elderly population. This solution will completely replace the existing system.

  For the gathering area near the statue dedicated to Lambrakis, the changes involve the repositioning of the existing benches to be oriented towards the square, which in the evening will offer a pleasant visual background. This choice derives from a request that emerged during the workshops: the elderly community organises meetings and public readings, especially on summer evenings. The new arrangement will ensure a more comfortable layout. Also, a multi-head pole with three LED spotlights will light this space. Each luminaire will be controlled individually. Users will be able to adjust lighting, fluxes and colour temperatures of each spot, depending on the activity in progress.

ULL activites

Timeline