FOCUS 063 065


CREDITS Client


Department of Cultural Heritage, Greater Municipality of Istanbul (IBB),


Lighting design Studioillumina, principal: Adriano Caputo and design team leader Federica Cammarota


Architects and project management Atelye70, Istanbul, and Studio di Architettura e Ingegneria Insula, Rome


Custom fittings and electricals TEPTA Lightingk


‘Bringing light into a place that by definition has always been completely dark presented both a challenge and an opportunity. Rather than a homogeneous and constant illumination, a conceptual narrative was proposed. This envisages different perceptive scenarios based on exalting the labyrinthine sensation of infinity offered by the impressive forest of columns of a place that seems destined for the sacred or the mystical, and not for a purely utilitarian function’


Eugenio Cipollone, Studio di Architettura e Ingegneria Insula


walls are 4m thick and bricked with waterproof mortar, designed to hold 80m litres of water.


Te cistern was fed by the Valente aqueduct, and provided water for the imperial palace and its surroundings, supplying the Topkapi Palace until the 15th century. Forgotten throughout the Middle Ages, it was rediscovered by chance in the 16th century, but only opened to the public in 1987. Since 2018 it has been closed for renovation and was reopened last year with new and reconfigured walkways, and a specially designed lighting system.


Above There are 336 columns inside the Basilica Cistern, each measuring 9m high


Tere is always the potential pitfall of son et lumiere kitsch with such a structure, but the lighting by Studioillumina is sensitive, subtle and meaningful. Principal Adriano Caputo, together with project leader Federica Cammarota, managed a team of former university students specialising in scenography, interior and lighting design. Te concept is rooted in telling the story of the cistern, enlightening the visitor on a journey through the space. Conceptually, like the city above, it combines East and West, the Roman and Ottoman traditions and cultures. To


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