Urban lamp post A CORUÑA

Art Nouveaumetalsingle

Presentation AN INSPIRING PAST Enormous, scarlet, modernist Herculean streetlights will one day light the seafront of A Coruña (El País, 1995). This headline published in 1995 by one of Spain’s top newspapers signalled the beginning of the most ambitious public lighting project in Europe in the 1990s. A Coruña architect, Antonio Desmont, in collaboration with A Coruña City Hall and the Spanish Ministry of Public Infrastructure, commissioned an emerging street lighting company with creating a lighting icon that would strengthen the identity of this majestic Atlantic city. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION Lighting columns inspired by art nouveau currently occupy the seaside promenade, serving as a support for 1,200 enamel works. Created by artist Julia Ares, the enamels have received several awards, including the Chairman Award of the Ueno Royal Museum, in Tokyo. Each lamp has four enamels and is painted a deep red. Each alludes to key moments in the history of A Coruña and is related to the area in which the columns are located. Enamels placed in the vicinity of the Tower of Hercules, for example, are related to various aspects of this Roman lighthouse. MATERIALS AND STRUCTURE In the environs of the Royal Horse Society, the artistic motif is the horse; the area of the Casa de los Peces Aquarium features fish motifs; opposite the Fine Arts School, the allegorical drawings are related to Picasso, who studied at this school. After more than 21 years of continuous exposure to an aggressive marine environment, the A Coruña model is proof that quality and innovation safeguard the long-term continuity of public lighting infrastructure.