Standing guard like a sentry at the gates of Tehran, Iran, is the impressive Azadi Tower, built in 1971 and comprised of eight thousand white marble blocks. A combination of both Islamic and Sassanid architectural styles, the fifty-foot high tower commemorates the formation of the Persian Empire and is an interesting combination of both modern and ancient cultures.
Architect Hossein Amanat designed the tower as the result of winning a competition, and he integrated a degree of Baha'i symbology in the design: there are exactly nine stripes on each side of the tower, and exactly nine windows on the tall sides of the building. Nine is an important number in the Bahá'í Faith. The tower is part of the Azadi cultural complex, located in Tehran's 50,000-square-meter Azadi square, which is made up of a museum and several fountains.
Italy’s SGM Architectural Lighting Group was commissioned this year to illuminate the monument at night. The lighting components include:
- 56 Genio Mobile with 8° lens, installed at the side of the main path leading to the tower;
- 120 Palco 5 with 8° lens, on the perimeter of the building’s four oblique legs;
- 16 Genio Mobile with 25° lens, installed on the inside part of the arch.
The entire system is controlled by a Regia 2048 Live console and a Regia 2048 Pro used as a backup system. The SGM fixtures were supplied by TechnoPro LLC.
It was necessary to preserve the marble and avoid mounting screws, brackets, or other hardware usually needed for installing the units directly on the historic building’s structure.
In particular, the Palco 5 were fitted in a special channel dug round the tower and then covered with glass.
Lighting designer - Nabil Bourgeili
Lighting operator - Paolo Marcuzzi
Concept - TechnoPro LLC
Installation - TechnoPro LLC / Novin Tadbir.
