Design of luminaires for San José Church in San Juan de Puerto Rico.

Luminaire Design

Talleres de Arte Granda

2015

The Church of San José, located in the highest part of Old San Juan within the historic colonial area of the capital of Puerto Rico, is one of the earliest examples of 16th century Spanish Gothic architecture. It features extraordinary Gothic vaults, a rare Catalan architectural design. The restoration, including the lighting, was completed in 2018.

Three different luminaires were designed. The smallest, a kind of incense burner for the chapel of Bethlehem, with the curved shape of the cornices at the intersection of the walls, was designed to be more decorative than functional. The chandeliers for the nave and chapels, scaled to the volume of each of the spaces, are formally reminiscent of the classic circular wrought-iron chandelier when viewed from a distance. Up close, a polygonal, steel structure with asymmetrically arranged glass tubes is visible. LED panels had to be specifically designed to match the arrangement of the glass cylinders. Finally, flanking the entrance to the church are two hanging rectangular lamps made from the same materials.

Work carried out: Luminaire design.