Castille Square – Malta

A NEW LIGHT FOR A SQUARE FULL OF HISTORY: B LIGHT FOR CASTILLE SQUARE IN VALLETTA

The historic Castilla Square, situated at the highest point of Valletta, Malta, shines with a new light thanks to a scenographic lighting system: the charm of history is enhanced by the numerous lighting solutions developed by B LIGHT — leading producer of luminaires — for the specific needs of such an extraordinary place.

Together with the square, the project included the lighting of various buildings and palaces overlooking it, such as the famous Auberge de Castille — a palace built by the Knights of the Order of Saint John and currently housing the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, the Malta Stock Exchange building, and the majestic fortification of Saint James.

The illumination system, inaugurated in October 2015 on the occasion of the visit by Queen Elizabeth II for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, is based on a lighting engineering project with tailored luminaires supplied by B LIGHT.

For such a complex project, due to the considerable historical-artistic importance of the site, B LIGHT developed special products and accessories able to answer the lighting engineering needs required by the call for tender: small dimensions, special RAL (in the same hue of the distinctive Maltese limestone), with 2700K colour temperature, and customized fixing brackets depending on the various in situ installing needs.

Vehicle-accessible areas of the square and palace façades are illuminated by the grazing light created by INSERTO MEDIUM DO — a drive over, in-ground, modular linear marker light, perfect for the most challenging exterior environments — and BUTTON 200 DO — a 100% glare-free in-ground recessed luminaire, with a drive over load of 2 tonnes: surfaces appear to be evenly lit thanks to the thickness of the tempered glass and the distance from the LEDs, a feature of both these luminaires.

Details of the buildings and the square are highlighted by two linear wall lighting solutions, LINEAR TUBE HP 6 WALL — able to create a wash effect on walls, available with a range of optics to suit every application — and LINEAR TUBE 112 SLIM — compact, modular and dimmable, similar to fluorescent sources thanks to a completely homogeneous light distribution across its entire surface.

B LIGHT supplied also a customized product, KUBO 55 OD — a special and adjustable version of KUBO, an architectural ceiling LED luminaire with a minimal design, providing a grazing light effect.
Due to the insular location of this project, B LIGHT supplied every single product in AISI 316L stainsless steel, in order to avoid components to be quickly corroded by the salinity of air.

A customized light for a place full of history and splendour: a challenge for B LIGHT, won thanks to a project able to enhance the charm of this renowned square, boosting both its aesthetics and its usability.