The Acropolis - a World-Class Monument Meets World-Class Lighting

By Randy Reid with Katie Smith

Photography Credit: Gavriil Papadiotis

As a jury member for the LIT Lighting Design Awards, I found the project, The Acropolis of Athens and Monuments, absolutely stunning. My jury peers agreed - as it was selected LIT 2021 Lighting Design of the Year.

It was an honor to meet Eleftheria Deko, of Eleftheria Deko Lighting Design, as she walked me through her winning project.

What a journey this project was—in the midst of Covid!

In late 2019 rumors started about lighting design studios in Greece interested in relighting the Acropolis. Originally the Ministry of Culture wanted to update the lighting with no other changes. Eleftheria, when asked to apply for the job, made it clear that she wanted more than to just update existing equipment: “We’re not interested in just doing the replacement. We believe that the monuments need a new approach to the lighting.”

She met with multiple decision makers on location (with the most crucial being the President of The Onassis Foundation, sponsor of the project) to explain that the new lighting did not mean more lights, but rather more efficient positions, different focusing, and other improvements.

Although she was already hired by The Onassis Foundation, she believes this on-site visit is what ultimately convinced all to approve her application. However, the final approval was given by the national Central Archaeological Council of Greece after Eleftheria’s detailed presentation to its 42 members. The approval was unanimous.

The job was offered in January 2020; however, the Ministry wanted the project design completed in 45 days. A job of this magnitude deserves the best quality and design available. The team members worked 18 hours every day to accomplish this. Eleftheria told me, “Outdoor fixtures are a little bulky, and we wanted something elegant for the Parthenon. The aesthetic look of the fixtures was a major concern, together with the technical specs, because during daytime the monument is visited by more than 20,000 people in high season.”

Also, there were significant restrictions and specific guidelines by the archaeologists. As one of the greatest monuments in the world, no drilling or modifications of any kind were allowed. As work began, two team members collected historic, archaeological, and architectural data; two worked on the 3D model, and three worked on the lighting plan with Eleftheria, who also drove around Athens to observe the existing installation from different vantage points to see what was and was not working.

Photography Credit: Gavriil Papadiotis

The team had only until mid-March to deliver final plans, and they had asked six different lighting manufacturers to provide samples. But because this was the beginning of COVID, businesses were shutting down, and only three manufacturers sent mock-ups. While that was a negative, the design team felt lucky – during lockdown, they were able to visit this huge tourist attraction with no visitors. As the project progressed, The Ministry wanted to inaugurate the new lighting in July, leaving little room for error and delays.

The design team approached the project as three distinct zones – rock, fortification walls, and monuments. In the past all three were lit uniformly with the same color temperature. Eleftheria’s design called for each zone to be illuminated differently, believing that they had to be distinguished from each other.

Photography Credit: Gavriil Papadiotis

First, for the rock, that was there before Athens was inhabited, a beautiful white greyish rock, they chose 4000K, to accentuate the materiality and its greyish color.

For the fortification masonry walls, she used 3000K to accentuate their warm color.

The monuments were a different story, as they were made of the famous Pendelikon marble, and they were worshiping places as well as masterpieces of architecture and art. Eleftheria explained, “Initially we thought to light the temples at 3600K, but we ultimately chose tunable white instead.” Her design also called for tunable white light to give a different treatment from East to West, North and South.

Photography Credit: Gavriil Papadiotis

Photography Credit: Gavriil Papadiotis

The team met with ERCO, asking if their indoor color-tunable technology could be used to create outdoor fixtures. ERCO quickly said yes and sent samples for mockup. DMX controls were used and every column in the Parthenon, Propylaia, Erechtheion and Temple of Nike is now controlled individually.

Eleftheria also pointed out that all of the temples are now easily distinguished: each is illuminated with a different shade of white to give a depth of field from a distance. In fact, Eleftheria’s team used 12 shades of white ranging from 2800K to 3700K.

To comply with the no-drilling subtle touch policy, and to respect the monuments, the team created special cement bases to house luminaires according to the style, size and color given by the archaeologists of the preservation office. As vehicles are not allowed up close to the Parthenon, the bases were poured on site and placed on a thin film on top of the marble to avoid friction. The visibility of the cables was another issue, and in some cases, soil was used to hide the wiring.

The Ministry insisted on keeping the monument lighted at night during installation, which would have been almost impossible. Eleftheria’s team negotiated and received permission to go dark for only one week. However, as new luminaires were rotated in and old metal halide fixtures rotated out, the team managed to keep the site fully illuminated except for only three or four hours for several nights. Every discarded light had to be counted and logged prior to recycling.

Eleftheria told me how genuinely exciting this project was. One team would typically begin in the morning and work all day with models and calculations, while a second team worked on site in the daytime with archeologists’ supervision to change out cabling. Another team would be on site until 3 or 4 am with mockups, and never once felt fatigued, sick, or tired. She explained, “There was never a possibility to be bored or exhausted. It was as if the monument was supporting us.”

Another challenge was balancing the design with the comfort of the city. The plan called for a variety between 30-150 lux, whether it was on the rock, walls or monuments. Eleftheria would drive away from the site, while the team dimmed the lighting as she evaluated the illuminance levels from multiple locations. This permitted for dimming to the maximum extent while ensuring the Acropolis is always visible at a distance, without disturbing nearby neighborhoods.

With only a group of 8 associates in the office, along with 3 electrical engineers and the 20 electricians and construction subcontractors, Eleftheria and her team had to complete the design and installation of over 680 luminaires. After its completion, Eleftheria was asked by the sponsors, The Onassis Foundation, to design the launching of the ‘new lighting’ with a light show for inauguration night that was finally scheduled for September 30, 2020.

Eleftheria emphasized the importance of The Onassis Foundation, saying, “Without their sponsorship this project might not have been accomplished. They were very supportive during the whole process, as were the archaeologists and the Ministry of Culture.”

And what about dark sky concerns?

Eleftheria strongly believes and supports dark sky, saying, “We didn’t want to light up another monument and add more light to the city at night. Instead, we wanted to highlight the symbol of democracy, philosophy, art and mathematics…that exists in every inch, every centimeter of the Acropolis.”

The end result? Despite obstacles, the new lighting design of the Acropolis forever improves how everyone sees this world class monument and reflects its symbolic values. ■

For a full description of the new lighting and a comparison between the old and new lighting schemes, please see the original article at designinglighting.com.

Lighting Design: Eleftheria Deko and Associates Lighting Design

KEY LUMINAIRES AND SOFTWARE:

ERCO: Monuments, temples and rock

Linea Light group: East slope and South slope monuments including the ancient theater of Dionysus

Griven Lighting: South fortification wall

Key Controls: DMX