The Carrera del Darro remains to be one of Granada’s most picturesque walks, virtually untouched by time. It winds along the Darro River, featuring a narrow cobbled street adorned with charming brick and stonework bridges such as the Puente Cabrera and Puente de Espinosa, both dating back to the 17th century. Additionally, remnants of the 11th-century Puente del Cadí, from Granada’s Muslim era, can be discovered.
This lighting project, supported by the City Council of Granada, the Delegation of Culture and Historical Heritage of the Andalusian Regional Government, and the Alhambra Plan of the Alhambra and Generalife Trust, aims to illuminate the bridges and riverbed. The goal is to minimize light intrusion into neighboring houses while ensuring visual comfort for the many visitors who frequent this space daily, highlighting key elements that make this nighttime stroll a sensory delight. Prior to executing this project, a 3D scan of the entire riverbed route was essential due to limited graphic documentation.
For bridge lighting, Dali Gobo projectors with LED technology and wide-angle lenses are employed. Using information from the 3D scan allows for the design of a gobo that perfectly adjusts to the illuminated area, ensuring that users never experience direct glare from these projectors. The lower part of the arched bridge and specific vegetation areas are illuminated with RGBW fixtures featuring short-flux fins and DMX control to once again calibrate and direct the light precisely.
The Puente del Cadi is lit with three Gobo fixtures that overlap to precisely illuminate the architectural remains, respecting the existing fauna in the surrounding vegetation-covered areas at the foot of the majestic Alhambra. Due to the cultural protection level of this space as a Cultural Heritage site, the entire installation was carried out while respecting this space to the maximum extent possible and reusing the previous electrical infrastructure. In the new sections, ashlar joints were used for the fixation of lighting equipment and new conduits.
This project boasts an advanced lighting control system with Bluetooth communication, which, in addition to sending new conduits, dynamically adapts the perception of lighting along the Carrera del Darro during operating hours. Through point-to-point control of each lighting device, scenes are launched as time passes, reducing intensity levels or turning off various projectors until complete disconnection, adapting ornamental lighting to respect resting hours for neighboring homes and closing times for leisure and hospitality venues. The control system also enables RGBW lighting fixtures to commemorate special days using colored light, while on other days, all lighting remains in warm color temperatures that adapt to the environment, enhancing user comfort and rest. As a result, we achieve a subtle illumination of architectural elements that might go unnoticed during the day, and as the sun sets, light allows for the contemplation of such.
