THE FORTEZZA, the record shopping centre Modica Shopping Centre , close to the city of Ragusa, represents the state of art of retail lighting. Very well known because of its vertical, botanical garden, today is the biggest of Italy. An ambitious project signed by Performance in Lighting, based on the cooperation between Mr Francesco Cosentino, who was in charge of the electrical project, Matteo Iuliani (area manager Performance in Lighting) and the whole staff of the lighting support.
A surface area of approximately 70 thousand square metres, of which 30 thousand covered and 22 thousand coinciding with the commercial area, containing 75 stores and 9 medium surfaces are just some elements of the structure designed by the architect Marco Giampà. From the steel and glass roof to the layout and design of the interior areas, made unique by the vertical botanic garden created inside the shopping centre by the architect Fausta Occhipinti. First and foremost, the choice was made to illuminate all the architecture and geometry of the complex: by day with systems that integrate naturally into the context, and by night exalting the modern design. In the second place, practical lighting was supplied, yet which also highlighted strategic areas of the shopping centre: the outside car park, the entrance, the long corridors granting access to the shops, the central courtyard and the escalator connecting the ground floor to the first, as well as the vertical garden, the veranda and food area. The car park has been lit up by 60 System Square Bars of SBP URBAN LIGHTING on a cylindrical pole standing 8 metres above ground with a Square Bar type arm and spotlights with road optics SQUARE 02, with 150 W metal iodide bulb.
The shopping centre access area has instead been enhanced with intense lighting obtained by means of extruded aluminium profiles with ISTHAR by SBP URBAN LIGHTING. The corridors deserve a separate mention: the shopping centre in fact features long corridors on the floors. The client’s request was to have an uninterrupted, non-invasive linear lighting system that marked the development of the corridors and, at the same time, guaranteed at least 600 lx. PERFORMANCE IN LIGHTING has risen to the challenge and done so by installing the SPITTLER SL 787 built into the plasterboard ceiling for a continuous, uninterrupted development stretching out for approximately 1 km per floor, with dark-light emissions to avoid all possible irritation from glare. Reinforcing this, 400 SPITTLER down-lights were installed (model DM225 2x26 W). The shops signs were highlighted with asymmetric PRISMA ELUM SIDE emission spotlights. On the ground floor, centrally to the courtyard, the imposing escalator rises up, taking customers to the upper floor and the food area. To enhance the steel and glass soul of this building, the steel pole system (SYSTEM PARK SKY) was used, positioned on lateral pillars able to follow the inclination of the escalator. The whole perimeter that surrounds and contains the central courtyard has been lit up with roto-symmetrical spotlights on shelves, again of the same series.
