Castelo de Sao Jorge all draped in color.
Lisbon, Portugal
S. Jorge Castle is located on top of a hill in the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal. It is the most visited national monument, with around 2 million visitors per year. The Castle is managed by “Lisboa Cultura/EGEAC” Cultural Equipment and Entertainment Management Company, municipality owned, S.A., which is responsible for the preservation, promotion and management of some of the city’s most emblematic cultural spaces and for holding the Lisbon Festivals and other major cultural events, which take place seasonally. The mission of “Lisboa Cultura/EGEAC” is to promote diverse and qualified access to cultural goods and ser vices, stimulate artistic creation, value cultural heritage, encourage the growth and formation of audiences and develop the promotion, preservation and dynamization of the activity culture of Lisbon. Considering that the Castle had an archaic, obsolete and deficient Monumental Lighting system, the Castle Management, with the agreement of the Board of Directors of “Lisboa Cultura/Egeac”, launched the challenge of carrying out a Project study for a new system of Monumental Lighting, efficient, sustainable and technologically advanced. In this way, instead of resorting to external entities, the study and project management were assigned to the Production, Logistics and Maintenance Department, with Fernando Marrucho appointed as Project Manager, given his 40 years of experience in thousands of shows and events, whether as Technical Director of AV companies, or as an installer and Road Manager for Artists, with sound engineering and audio design as his base specialty.
The Story tell by Fernando Marrucho and Joao Bessa
Joao Bessa, light designer of the Sao Jorge castle installation and lighting technician at Zenit Evolution
With training in audiovisual techniques, 20 years of experience in audiovisuals, specialist in stage, cinematographic and architectural lighting with 10 years in showbiz with traveling companies, musical bands and variety shows, feature films, short films and music videos, exhibitions and lighting of monuments and public buildings.
Tell us how the projects was initiated?
" The architectural lighting project for São Jorge Castle arose from the need for repairs and consisted of modernizing the old and obsolete lighting system and also adding a new lighting line to a section of the castle that was not lit, namely the moat area."
What were the challenges in realizeing the projects?
"The big challenge was to remove all the old light fixtures without damaging the medieval structure of the building. The other big challenge was to stabilize the DMX transmission and ensure coverage of the entire castle area. It’s done."
Why did you choose SGM, what is your experience with the products and would you choose SGM again for future projects?
"There were other options, but they were not as good as the SGM options. For many years, the well-known aqua domes were used to protect moving heads from rain. The first time I installed and used a moving head under heavy rain was an SGM. The quality of the equipment is outstanding and without a doubt I will always choose SGM machines for permanent outdoor installations. The best thing is that the quality of the light and the projector are above my expectations."
Are there any new upcoming projects?
"There are no confirmed projects for the near future, but a new door has been opened that I intend to explore by presenting similar ideas for similar buildings to entities with potential interest. Without a doubt, I will consider SGM for my future permanent outdoor installation projects."
"There are places we choose and others that choose us."
-Fernando Marrucho is the Executive Producer in the Castelo de Sao Jorge
After analysing the technical assumptions, with the limitation inherent to the fact that it is a historical heritage site, meaning that walls cannot be drilled, cables run, etc., the Project Management carried out a prior consultation of the light fixtures suitable for the purpose, considering the permanent exposure to the elements of Nature, such as rain, dust, humidity, temperature fluctuations, etc.
The characteristics and type of light fixtures were determined, and one proposal was made to the Light Designer João Bessa. “If you can find more appropriate light fixtures than this, the better.” Thus, after “Zenitevolution” Light design project, with also David Santos, which included a video with three-dimensional simulation made using “Lighting Design Visualization Software”, and after an international Public Tender, the choice fell on the SGM brand, with 75 x Q-8 POI and 6 x P-6 POI light fixtures.
In accordance with the limitations of the Monument, it was decided to establish a Lumen Radio wireless network with 2 transmitters and 3 Outdoor Flex repeaters and 1 Galileo transmitter. Here the challenge was to obtain a safe base for signal transmission and propagation, as we are talking about a part of the Castle with 12-meter-high walls, towers of up to 30 meters, with a square perimeter of 400 meters, made up of stone walls of varying thickness between 1 meter and 1.5 meters. For programming and control, the GandMA3 On PC software was chosen, with the coupling of a GrandMA Two Port Node 4K.
Fernando Marrucho’s case is unique, because in his extensive career of 40 years linked to showbiz, he travelled to seventy countries telling the History of Portugal, and particularly the story of the conquest of Castelo de S. Jorge. Having basic training in Electrotechnics, studying Philosophy, he specialized in Applied Electroacoustics, working as a Sound Technician, Technical Director of major Portuguese artists and AV companies, in thousands of shows and events. He did major audio fixed installations, for theatres and auditoriums as a contractor. During his career, tired of dozens of world tours, rooms and hotels, he joined the Castle’s Production, Logistics and Maintenance Department. By meeting the challenge of proposing a technically advanced solution for Architectural Lighting, it integrated the concepts of Aesthetics, technology, and Art, benefiting from years of experience. It would not have been possible without the invitation of Susana Repolho and Patrícia Costa, with the validation and agreement of Dr. Pedro Moreira, President of “Lisboa Cultura/EGEAC,” as well as Eng. Fernando Rodrigues from the Public Works Department. When designing this installation, he sought the best advice and solutions from David Santos and João Bessa, when in doubt about a choice, sharing the vision of a greater future.
The beautiful result is visible to everyone, everything else belongs to History.