The idea was initiated by the Italian architects at Traverso Vighy whose work always takes into account the rhythms of natural light and the view of the natural world. They invited Light Collective to participate in helping them organize, as we had previously been involved in other participatory dark-sky events. The goal was to create a living lab—a hands-on and experiential workshop in a location known for its stargazing opportunities.
“There is real value in people leaving their desks and being hands-on in a unique environment”
The workshop is unique in many ways. It is open to all: designers from both architectural and theatrical backgrounds participate together with manufacturers to discuss the best approaches to illuminating the heritage buildings onsite [in Tuscany, Italy] to enable protection of the night sky and minimize light pollution. The participants stay in the village [Monteriggioni] monastery together and work, eat, and socialize in the workshop location, which makes for a special community feel. The results of the workshop are also shared with the local municipality with the goal of making actual improvements to the local lighting in the future.
The location drove the idea of the workshop—you could say that the location selected us! Monteriggioni is a small village in the middle of the countryside along the pilgrimage route of Via Francigena. There is minimal light pollution in the area, and we have control of the lighting in the village, so we are able to turn all the existing luminaires off in order to experiment and see the night sky; in 2024 the Milky Way was visible. Both the local municipality and the Observatory in Sienna, Italy, are partners to the workshop and are very supportive and involved.
We had a large range of luminaires from our sponsors including small fittings for details and larger fittings that could be mounted on poles [for attendees to use]. Each sponsor was allocated a site that worked with their product offer. Participants were grouped together with one sponsor and a site, and each were very different. For example, one group had a piazza with challenges that varied from the group considering a church façade. Participants experienced a range of talks, demonstrations, and practical experimentation before presenting their own conceptual ideas and approaches to the whole group. These activities are interspersed with a museum visit to understand the local history, a night walk with red torches, night photography instruction, as well as astronomical education.
When we started, we thought that mainly students and young designers would be interested, but we were surprised that mainly experienced professionals signed up to attend. This made us realize that there is real value in people leaving their desks and being hands-on in a unique environment. Understanding just how much light is needed in a dark environment to illuminate buildings and spaces is always a shock. Also, learning how easy it is to create light spill from the positioning of luminaires surprises many people.
Alongside the continuation of running the workshop, we hope that the approaches participants have documented will be implemented in the future to create a best-practice example of how to light a heritage village (in other locations) that enables a clear view of the night sky. We are in discussion with the local municipality of Monteriggioni to create some improvements to the existing lighting, and we are hopeful that changes will be made. Last year, we also included the local community in the neighboring town to participate in a switch off of all their lighting. We hope to expand on their future involvement and dark-sky education, too.
