| Type: | Outdoor installation |
| Date: | January 2010 |
| Location: | Uxmal, Mexico Central America |
| Products Used: | FOS 100 RGBA DELTA 7 RGB B |
* clients
Federal Tourism Ministry
State Tourism Development
* design, planning and project management
A4 (Architects Alfredo Escalante and Abel Ake, Archaeologist Eduardo Perez de Heredia)
* installer
Teletec (Engineer David Alexander, Carlos Pichardo)
* coordination
Institute of National Anthropology and History (Architect José Huchim)
* overview
Uxmal was the greatest metropolitan and religious centre in the Puuc hills of Yucatan during the late Classical period, flourishing between the 7th and 10th centuries AD.
The entire city is aligned with reference to the position of the planets then known, with Venus predominating.
The numerous phases of building that succeeded each other over the centuries are reflected in the site’s variety of architectural styles.
Some examples of the Uxmal complex are the Nunnery, a structure used as a school for the training of healers, astronomers, mathematicians, shamans and priests, the Temple of the Turtles, the Governor's Palace and the Pyramid of the Magician, at a height of 30 metres the tallest structure in Uxmal, used as a ceremonial centre, and oriented so that its stairway on the west faces the setting sun at the time of summer solstice.
* technical description of the installation
The aim of the project was to replace the existing lighting system dating back to the 1970s with a new installation using only LEDs, complementing this with a control infrastructure based on totally wireless signal transmissions (DMX 512).
The project took some two years to complete, and required the creation of a multidisciplinary group of archaeologists, architects, engineers, programmers and sound and lighting specialists, working in coordination with state authorities and the Institute of National Anthropology and History.
Work proceeded in a series of phases defined by the project management team, starting with an analysis of the architectural area and an assessment of the limitations imposed by conservation standards and the damage sustained by the complex, followed by the development of a virtual three-dimensional model, the verification of the functionality of the spaces and their use, the definition of the light design and control and lighting systems, and the choice of colours and light effects to be generated.
After completion of the preparatory phase, over 300 projectors were installed by the company Teletec in trenches dug around the perimeter of the various areas of the Uxmal site.
The new totally LED lighting system offers significant advantages in energy savings, giving three times the luminosity of the earlier system at a power consumption of just 60 KW, drastically lower than the previous 300 KW.
The new installation has also made a much lower impact on the archaeological site possible, as the projectors, positioned in an area of 80,000 square metres, have a completely wireless control system, using transmission distances of over 300 metres.
* DTS products used
118 x FOS 100 RGBA (lighting the “Quadrangulo de las Monjas”)
8 x DELTA 7 RGBA B (lighting the “Palacio del Gobernador”)
12 x DELTA 7 RGBA B (lighting the “Gran Piramide”)
8 x DELTA 7 RGBA B (lighting the “Piramide del Adivino”).
* comments
Architect Alfredo Escalante: "The new lighting installation is a latest-generation LED system controlled remotely by a computer, using wireless data transmission equipment. This new type of lighting is more versatile and allows the monuments and layout of Uxmal to be seen better, enhancing the appeal of this important cultural tourism attraction that draws many visitors from Mexico and abroad.”
Engineer David Alexander: "I think that LED systems have now reached a remarkable level. A yield of lumens per watt can be obtained almost like that of a discharge lamp, but with the advantage of a greater colour yield. The LEDs generate red, blue or green light directly, whereas on traditional lamps filters must be applied to the white light to obtain the colours desired.”
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