Competition entry for Salzburg’s Residenzplatz

architects Eduard Widmann, Hugo Feisthamel, Guntram Oberhuber

light design and planning podpod design

client Salzburg City

On the occasion of an invited competition for the refurbishment of Salzburg’s Residenzplatz square in 2008, a working group composed of architect Eduard Widmann, podpod design, Hugo Feisthamel and Guntram Oberhuber submitted a square redesign project that unfortunately was not chosen for implementation.

Residenzplatz – A place of power and encounter

A place where people meet, a place of reflection and history. The design transforms Salzburg’s Residenzplatz into a stage where a story is subtly told through the artistic use of light.

Across the entire square, the main nodal points of the pavement slabs are used to form a network of modules combining misting nozzles and colour-changing LED spots. These are inserted flush in the pavement and go almost unnoticed at daytime, as they become truly visible only at night, recalling the historic pebbled pavement. This results in a variety of creative options to conjure up different moods to be enjoyed by passers-by in the square.

Basic lighting of the square is done with wall lanterns mounted on the burgher’s houses surrounding it. The cathedral is illuminated from the ground with indirect light; the passage to the cathedral square is lit, and the façades of the New and Old Residence are highlighted with discrete white light.

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Plaza as a scenery

A network out of controlled misting nozzles goes all over the plaza and transforms it into a scenery.

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Romanic basilica

Hidden below street level, the silhouette of the Romanic basilica’s foundations can also be made visible by means of light spots and misting nozzles – a way of telling poetic stories about the historic evolution of the square by means of light.

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Archbishop Wolf Dietrich’s Corridor

The corridor connecting the Old Residence to the New Residence of the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg is bathed in magical light every day at a given hour. This is done by activating specific light spots emitting a fine mist.

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Book burning monument

At the site of the National Socialist book burnings, red light spots with misting nozzles are arranged in two concentric circles. At a given hour of the day, the LEDs light up and emit a spray of mist to recall the terror of that era.

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Events

To enhance the effect of performances and other cultural or large-scale events, the light design can become part of the choreography and serve as scenery.