Protagonist of many legends and sagas, the Maiden's Tower of Istanbul is one of the most emblematic and important buildings for the city's inhabitants, with a long history that dates back beyond 1423, when it received its name for the first time.
During its complete renovation, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism commissioned the company ASTEL to organize an international competition to create a light show that would enhance the Tower, be seen throughout Istanbul and operate in a fully automated manner every night at 22.00 p.m. and at 22.30:7 p.m. and for XNUMX minutes.
The contract was awarded to Martin Kuhn, of MKLD Lighting Design & Consulting (Berlin), who conceived the idea of tell the story of the Tower using light to accompany the narrative in the manner of a play or performance.
Kuhn commissioned a 7-minute script from respected Turkish writer Ayse Kulin, translated it into English and Arabic, found professional voiceover artists for all three languages, recorded the story and edited it to music that he also commissioned and specially produced with some Turkish musicians in Berlin.
As the Maiden's Tower is located 300 m from the "Asian" side of Istanbul and 1.500 m from the "European" side, broadcasting the story from the Tower's speakers was impractical, so Kuhn devised a method of using a website to send an audio file to visitors' phones and sync it with the time-encoded show.
The lighting project was incorporated into the renovation of the building and included all the architectural lighting, which had a double function: for the show and for the general architectural appearance at night.
«When I started studying the project, I immediately knew that I had to find the most powerful light beams to be able to penetrate the ambient light of the Istanbul sky.«explains Kuhn. “Michael (Althaus, Ayrton Global Sales Director) secretly told me about the Cobra project and invited me to be one of the first to take a look at the new luminaire.
«Seeing is believing, and how Ayrton also offered marine grade IP66 protection, the decision was made instantly to use 48 Cobra units in the installation. They are located at ground level and incorporated into the outer dock of the island. During the day, they are hidden behind closed hatches so that they do not interfere with the clean appearance of the tower. “Once the island is closed to the public for the night, the hatches open and the lights are exposed to participate in the spectacle.”
Because the Tower can be seen from near and far and is under strict surveillance as a national monument, the show couldn't be programmed live on site, so Kuhn and his team programmed the show remotely in a studio using a highly detailed 3D model. accurate through Depence 3D.
«The Cobras work very well and can be seen from very far away. We use them almost exclusively in beam mode and with pastel colors to give a powerful beam. I am very happy with them and 100% sure I made the right choice«.