Category: Public spaces
Welcome to Ærø, one of Denmark’s most beautiful islands, that is known for its idyllic nature and historic towns like Ærøskøbing. When the municipality of Ærø set out to renovate and modernise the island, there were several things to take into consideration including the preservation of original fixtures as well as establishing a new lighting system that would meet the municipality’s goals for CO2 reduction, energy savings and sustainability.
The starting point was to recreate the characteristic glow of the 19th-century gas lamps that line the cobbled streets in the historical town of Ærøskøbing. For this purpose, Louis Poulsen came up with an LED-retrofit solution that has preserved the original gas lamps and their qualities.
In addition to the original lamps, new fixtures have been selected for towns and villages, designed to provide effective yet pleasant illumination. Among these are the classic Albertslund Post Top luminaire and the Toldbod post tops which are intended to be used for narrower streets. Both fixtures provide diffused illumination and a comfortable light distribution. Additionally, Icon fixtures have been selected for the towns and villages in which higher posts are needed. This fixture primarily provides downward directed light, while the design ensures some softly diffused glow, to decrease the contrast between light and dark.
Illuminating both pedestrian and cycle paths, is Louis Poulsen’s Xperi post-top, which was trialled in Marstal, the largest town in Ærø, and has since become the most widely specified fixture on the island – being used for open land and approach roads.
The renovation programme is scheduled for completion in 2024 and will include more than 1400 Louis Poulsen fixtures.