Modern light art in historic walls
The architect Tobia Scarpa has created an exhibition venue and at the same time a lively center of cultural attraction in Treviso. The new space was created in the historic church of Santa Maria Nova, whose origins date back to the second half of the 16th century. The lighting designers of Glip by S.I.L.E. created a lighting solution with homogeneous linear luminaires from Barthelme LED Solutions for this exceptional structure in Veneto.
The sacral building was used for its intended purpose after its completion in the 16th century, before the church was converted into a military hospital at the beginning of the 18th century during the Napoleonic period of oppression. Since then, a new utilization was found for the building again and again. It was used as a barracks, an archive, a military museum and a warehouse. In order to better utilize the space in its entirety, floors were added in the 1980s. The building was vacant since 2010, before it was acquired by Edizione Property and restored according to the wishes of Luciano Benetton, under the direction of the architect Tobia Scarpa.
The restoration may also have been influenced in the spirit of Tobia Scarpa`s father Carlo. Carlo Scarpia was one of the most important representatives of organic architecture influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. In particular, he set new standards in the 20th century with his buildings through the additive fusion of the new with the old. Ca 'Scarpa was also renewed according to this model. This can be seen, among other things, in the still existing old stone columns of the old cloister, which are surrounded by a new steel structure supporting the retracted levels.
For the implementation of their lighting concept, the lighting designers of Glip relied on modern linear luminaires from Barthelme LED Solutions. The BARdolino mini with opal cover was chosen as the appropriate LED profile. With the compact design of only 10.5 x 10.5 mm, particularly filigree light lines could be realized, which were arranged in different heights and directions, and suspended from the ceiling. LED strips from the Barthelme LEDlight flex 08 8 High Efficiency series with a color temperature of 3000 Kelvin serve as the light source for this project. They have a very good efficiency of 146 lm/W and achieve a luminous flux of 1,170 lm/m. The combination of these two products makes it possible to obtain a homogeneous light line despite minimal installation space, since the distance between the LED chips is smaller than the distance between the LED strip and the cover. As a result, the individual light points of the LED chips are not visible and a continuous and uniform light line is created.
The design of the BARdolino mini is enhanced by the round, red lacquered side brackets made of lathed aluminum. The visible side of the lights is covered with gold leaf, applied by hand by Venetian craftsmen. The power cables at the ends also serve as supports for the composition itself.
In the future Ca `Scarpa will be an exhibition space and vibrant center of activities of the Benetton Studi Ricerche Foundation. Visitors can enjoy, among other things, exhibitions within the framework of the Carlo Scarpa Prize. The International Prize honors little-noticed landscapes and promotes their exploration and preservation. In 2020, this prize went to the Rose Valley and Red Gorge in Cappadocia. Large-format landscape photographs from this beautiful stretch of land in Turkey were exhibited in the historic walls to mark the occasion.
Project data
Project Ca `Scarpa, Treviso Client Edizione srl Architecture Tobia Scarpa Lighting Design Glip by S.I.L.E ©Photographer Marco Zanta