Lighting the Uljanik cranes in Pula, Croatia transforms a shipyard into an entertainment attraction. (All images courtesy of Philips)

Lighting the Uljanik cranes in Pula, Croatia is a wonderful example of how outdoor lighting can turn and ageing shipyard into and entertaining attraction.

Let’s take a look at this unique installation that will be celebrating it’s second anniversary next week.

At the western tip of Croatia is mild-weathered Pula, known for its shipbuilding industry and tourist spots. The bustling city and its 158-year-old Uljanik Shipyard were in need of scenic makeovers to impress the sightseers. Philips Color Kineticsilluminated the shipyard’s cranes to transform the area into a striking nighttime landscape.

Pula’s Lighting Giants were lit for the first time during Visualia, the festival of lights in collaboration with the Tourist Board of Pula. The night walk reached its luminous finale in front of thousands of visitors at the Pula seafront, with cranes being lit dynamically to the music score.

The project

The Mediterranean city of Pula in Croatia, for example, is known by its shipyard Uljanik, one of the oldest working in the world. Uljanik, built in 1856, dominates the skyline with eight massive cranes. When the town authorities started considering relocating the shipyard, lighting designer Dean Skira came up with the idea of highlighting them instead.

The right lighting

The new large-scale light feature adds the vertical axis to the luminous sea horizon, creating a dynamic sculpture in the night landscape. This blend of technology and history is sensitive to the city’s past as the shipyard harbor, celebrating the generations of workmen that constituted the heart of Pula.

Uljanik and Skira technicians illuminated the cranes with 73 Philips ColorReach Powercore gen2 LED floodlights. Each light consists of 64 pieces of LED chips that can be programmed to 16 thousand different variations of color and intensity.

The lighting design can thus be adjusted for various occasions and celebrations. Blinds were used to prevent unnecessary dispersion and light pollution and to create additional diffusion effects.