The GTC Group, founded in 1994, is a major central, southern and eastern European retail real estate investor. The group’s operations focus on building sustainable constructions that comply with the highest standards of green building, as safeguarding the environment and human health are an essential element of the Group’s mission.
One of the Group’s most recent projects, the Matrix Office Park, is located in Zagreb’s business district, at the crossroads of two of the most important roads in the city and about ten minutes from the airport and the city centre. The position was chosen as it is extremely easy to reach by public transport from all over Zagreb. The simple fact of the Park’s location immediately cuts greenhouse gas emissions, as it reduces the need to drive through the most congested parts of the city to a minimum. Choosing areas already serviced by efficient infrastructures also avoids any further interventions on local green areas.
For this twin-building complex that has a LEED-Gold rating, the GTC Group wanted a distinctive, low consumption outdoor lighting system. It therefore invited the Skira Architectural Lighting firm to present a concept that would be easy to install, had a minimum number of accessories, and power supply and control components that could all be concealed.
An RGB version of the IP66-rated, 360° light blade Trick projector was rapidly identified as the ideal solution with the idea of positioning the luminaire on the sunscreens, which would act as a secondary reflector.
There was a temporary problem in that the projector was originally equipped with a large ballast and DMX control box that had to be installed near the luminaires, but this was quickly resolved by separating the control component and ballast.
Firstly, the base of the projector was heightened so that the DMX-RDM driver, complete with an in-out connector for the plug-and-play connection could be fitted into it. This allowed the ballasts to be installed at a distance from the product and a decision was made to install them on the roofs of the buildings. Originally this solution was a customised version of Trick but now it has become a standard product.
The light blade optic creates light lines along the lower and upper edges of the sunscreen strips that move according to apparently random patterns, but have actually been carefully programmed to create a coloured vibration that accentuates the architectural details on both buildings.
The project uses an app, specifically created to control the large LED surfaces on the façades of the buildings. This allows various scenarios to be programmed for specific requirements, like festivals or national holidays. These scenarios can be activated automatically via the online calendar or manually, as required.
The use of light has allowed a new sense of space to be created, through scenarios that are sometimes almost evanescent and other times much clearer, depending on the rhythm and colours of the light that moves across the façades. After sunset, the lighting system also helps the twin buildings of the Matrix Office Park to stand out on Zagreb’s nocturnal skyline, delicately but decisively.
- Year: 2020
- Client: GTC Matrix
- Architectural project: Gobli and Troing
- Lighting project: Skira Architectural Lighting
- Photographer: Marko Mihaljevic.
