064 PROJECT / IN LUMINE TUO, UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS
The tiers of the Dom Tower have been lit so as to interact with the Dom Square that sits directly beneath the tower in the centre of the city.
The Dom Tower of the St. Martin’s Cathedral has dominated the skyline of the City of Utrecht for centuries. Built between 1321 and 1382, the structure is still the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. It has played watchtower in times of conflict and its impressive peal of fourteen bells have rung out to celebrate peace and liberation. On the 11th of April this year, a unique light installation was unveiled in central Utrecht linking the tower with the equally impressive Dom Church and Dom Square. The project was created in celebration of the tri-cente- nary of the Treaty of Utrecht, the document that brought a wide-ranging peace to Europe in the wake of the bloodthirsty War of the Spanish Succession.
Switched on by Queen Beatrix in the months before her abdication, the light instillation turns the iconic structures into living breath- ing entities that can communicate their memories, recalling the layers of history that have defined the city.
In Spring 2010 the City of Utrecht launched the final portion of “Trajectum Lumen”, a project to promote the city and generate
tourism through a trail of permanent light installations in the historic centre. The name refers to the earliest history of the city, with the trail culminating at the spot where the Romans made camp some 2000 years ago, now the site of the Dom Tower. In selecting light artists for the project, the city government created a commission to oversee the project and engaged art curator Marijke Jansen to review the work of light artists and designers from around the globe. A shortlist of three favourite designs was drawn up, all of whom were approached to submit their ideas for the project. Having been selected as one of the three finalists, Speirs + Major set about the process of fully understanding the context and significance, both physical and historical of the land- marks, before developing a concept. The brief was deliberately open, but the city made clear that the final idea needed to be wider than simply lighting the buildings themselves. The piece needed to reference the celebration that would launch it, and make meaningful connections to the city’s history, while articulating Utrecht’s place in
the modern world.
Beginning with a master plan of the district, an idea began to evolve that viewed the city, the district and the buildings as a living organism. The site forms the body with the buildings making up its structure. Being at the centre of the city, a city that is itself positioned at the centre of The Netherlands, the ancient church, square and tower can also be viewed as the hub of a huge central nervous system, the beating heart of a na- tion and a true centre of communication. The tower itself, having been a part of and a witness to all the many complex layers of Dutch history, is the ‘brain”, akin to a wise figure that holds on to all the memories and stories it has witnessed. Each of the three elements in themselves can be viewed as important members of society, living entities that have been both observers and partic- ipants in the development and history of Utrecht.
The idea of treating these treasured buildings as living entities was immediately attractive to the city authorities, as was the idea that light could enable the structures
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