One of the most impressive buildings in downtown Bucharest, Palazzo Argentina, has recently enjoyed an innovative and well-designed lighting refurbishment which furthermore enhances its peculiar structure. The so-called “tree of life”, a winding tube-shaped stainless steel composition, embraces with its leaning trunk and curving branches the whole façade of this five-storey construction in an enveloping hug. For the owner of Palazzo Argentina, Mr Viorel Fetinca, this symbol of life embodies the deep interconnection between past and present, recalling his own  bond with the earth he grow up on.

Now, this palace hosts the showroom of IDA - Italian Interior Design and Architecture – a company that offers a vast array of high-quality made in Italy interior design fittings to the Romanian market. Lately, IDA has applied to the Italian architect Massimo Marzorati to give a new colourful life to Palazzo Argentina with the help of GRIVEN lighting fixtures. The brief was to highlight the curved tree trunk and branches with a flexible, high-power LED solution able to provide a contrasting light and colour distribution on the façade while enhancing its peculiar layout at night. GRIVEN’s lighting designers had also to take into account the usage of different layers of lighting as tree trunk, branches and balconies did not lie on the same perspective level.  

Specific for low power consumption decorative applications, the flexible LooseLED strips turned out to be the perfect solution for this demanding lighting concept. Fixed inside an IP65 PVC anti-UV protection sleeve, over 140 metres of RGB LooseLED strips with 40 LEDs/m have been specified and installed behind the profiles of the metal tree, following their fluid motion to light up the whole structure with bright, vibrant colour shades. Versatility and powerful output make the LooseLED series a discrete surface-mount lighting solution for a host of architectural applications, such as: cove lighting, backlighting for signage letters, accent lighting, concealed lighting, theme parks, theatre and convention halls, as well as any indoor and outdoor decorative concept.

To complete the lighting scheme of the façade with complementary colours, 3 units of PARADE MK2 D-RGB-10 RECESSED with medium optics have been embedded in the floors of the three balconies of the building. The result is a pleasant turnover of intense, vivid tones that deliver a unique character to Palazzo Argentina. Designed for refined architectural decoration, wall-washing and accent lighting, the PARADE MK2 D-RGB-10 RECESSED bars are super flux and high luminance colour changers for recessed use in pedestrian areas, featuring an IP67 weather protection along with compact size and light weight manageability.

In addition, 3 GoboLED 80 units project a changing graphics on the entrance glass wall to attract the attention of by-passers. With all the renowned, uncountable advantages of the single powerful LED that is fitted with, the IP65 rated GoboLED 80 projects a bright and accurate rendition of graphic designs or logos in outdoor and  indoor locations with the help of a dichroic or metal gobo, providing with  maximum design creativity, dynamism and flexibility the most demanding design and application requirements.