COELUX · CoeLux: the sky light reconstruction in artificial illumination by means of solid transparent nanocomposites

The quality of artificial illumination is a major concern in modern society, where living conditions often deprive us of the comfort of natural light. The global replacement of incandescent with fluorescent or white-LED lighting, foreseen owing to energy-saving constrain, will represent impoverishment in terms of colour-rendering capacity, thus raising the problem to the level of health care. In a scenario where all scientific and industrial efforts are spent on developing low-consumption light sources with the same spectrum as that of the sun, “CoeLux” enters with a ground breaking proposal, based on the evidence that the sun cannot provide natural light in the absence of sky. With the aim of producing those colour distributions captured by artists in their masterpieces, “CoeLux” develops nanocomposite materials, incorporates them in lighting installations, and so recreates the same atmospheric light scattering that produces all colour variety in transmitted sunlight, and the blue tinge in the shade under diffused sky light. In so doing, spectacular sky-and-sun illumination in noon or sunset modes, under a clean or stormy-day sky, will be made available for apartments, working areas, malls, sport centres, railway stations, as well as for squares, parks, and stadiums, during night time. The technology is compatible with low-consumption fluorescent lamps or LED’s, being less demanding in terms of source quality. Finally, “CoeLux” will disseminate the results beyond the project by promoting a European exhibition in which such technological apparatus is shown to provide a unique perspective for a deeper understanding of the connection existing between fine art, architecture, literature, photography and our everyday experience of light.