LUCE estratti LUCE 321_Tagliabue_Salone dei Cinquecento | Page 13
elaboration and representation of the subjects/
observers. I thought of how the effects
of a certain light give origin to a sequence
of interpreters (those who see or only look…
individuals, visitors...) and how these interpreters
are in fact a collective, public product, of
communication, and how these are deposited
and are configured during the course of historical
and cultural processes, even though there may
not always be the presence of a mind that will
accept them, interpret them, use them and
develop them. Designing lighting in such
an important historical and architectural space
means recovering a historical memory, it means
observing, re-seeing, re-reading and re-
interpreting with knowledgeable “eyes” and
the scientific principles we can avail of today;
and therefore we also know how to see and
develop a philological interpretation of the space,
so that light can bring back its cultural, historical,
architectural, emotional and perceptive value.
Work must therefore be seen as a process that
leads to significance and communication,
particularly because dynamic and modulated
light for spectral emittance shows the possibility
of choice in the interpretation and selection
of messages. At first sight, the Salone dei
Cinquecento, seems to have a simple, regular,
geometric design, actually the architectural design
is extremely complex (for example, the coffered
ceiling, the Udienza, the entablature motifs and
the views of the balcony, besides the statues that
are present and the numerous niches) and from
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the point of view of the lighting design, not
an easy space to control, as a result of the size
of the hall, the overall height, the positions and
sizes of the openings, the size of the frescoes, the
particular position of the sculptures and Vasari’s
glorious work of art that characterizes the Hall,
the Ceiling. The Salone cannot be rigidly classified,
and it univocally complies with the regulatory
standards in force. In other words, due to the
functions that it carries out still today, it cannot
be rigidly classified, even though undoubtedly it
must comply with the limits of the values of the
regulatory standards in force regarding preventive
conservation, as this is a space which in itself is
work of very great historical and artistic value,
together with the works of art that are contained
in it ( I would like to mention, as an example, the
most important regulatory standards in this field,
UNI 10829:1999; MiBAC 2001; UNI EN 12665:2011;
UNI EN 12464-1:2011). Having to define the
pre-existent luminous climate, a vast campaign
of experimental measurements was carried out in
order to obtain information of a physical, optical,
colorimetric, photometric and radiometric nature.
The measurements were carried out on very
extensive surfaces of the works, on the floors,
on the walls, and some significant points of the
furniture and finishing (steps, seats and tables)
using traditional survey techniques, based on the
use of lux meters and grids with measurement
points that were adapted to the size of the works
and the repetitiveness of the same measurement
in a short period of time, and using tripods with
telescopic legs, through rapid methods for
measuring the light which in fact allows the
measurement of simultaneous light levels
on extensive surfaces. This required the use
of a digital camera, coupled with a system to
re-elaborate the data and a sample panel with
a Lambertian surface that exploits the suited
coupling of the characteristics of the sensor, the
lens and the reference surface. This technique,
which was developed ad hoc, specifically because
of the physical and dimensional restrictions of the
space and the works of art, enabled a decrease
in the survey times, guaranteeing simultaneous
measurements for all the points of the field
of view in the presence of conditions with only
natural light (a very complex situation due to
the variable conditions of the sun and the sky),
only artificial light and a combination of both.
The light emission from the sources of the floor
lamps was measured indirectly, while particular
sources were characterized at the Targetti
laboratories. The traditional survey techniques
were not sufficient (more specifically, the Battle
of Marciano is raised at a height of over 6 meters),
we therefore developed an innovative method
for rapid measurements. The measurements were
always carried out compatibly with the entrances
to the Salone and were repeated more than once,
so that they would have a deep scientific value.
Processing and analysis of the data that were
measured enabled the development of the
project concept, up to its formalization and
practical realization, through the comparison