Hupisaaret Park is a historical green area right next to the heart of the City of Oulu. The large park consists of numerous small islets of the Oulujoki river delta. The popular, recently renovated central playground of the City of Oulu is located on one of the islets, Kiikkusaari. During the renovation project, the lighting of the actual playground and its immediate surroundings were modernised, too.

Architect and lighting designer Henrika Pihlajaniemi of Arkkitehdit m3 Oy was responsible for designing the new lighting.

“The starting points were, on one hand, the wonderful park environment and, on the other hand, the purpose of the area as a children´s playground,´ she says.

The ValoT series luminaires located in the playground and its vicinity incorporate intelligent properties developed by Valopaa.

The luminaires in the area are 1.2 metre short-pole lights. Some light footpaths, some trees and some both at the same time. According to Ms Pihlajaniemi, short-pole lights are excellently suited for a playground.
“My objective was to prevent the light from spreading over too wide an area. Instead, I wanted to create a safe, warm and friendly atmosphere. Short-pole lights ensure that light does not escape to the sky or blind passers-by, yet they are high enough not being buried in the snow in winter,´ she explains.

The intelligent lighting system includes a wireless control system and motion detectors, which offer a wide range of tools for controlling lighting. The switching on and off of luminaires as well as the level of brightness can be adjusted according to the level of light in the environment, and snow. They can also be controlled to turn on and off on the basis of signals received from motion detectors.

“The intelligent properties have not been fully taken advantage of as of yet, but the opportunity for full-scale implementation is there,´ says Ms Pihlajaniemi.

Thanks to Valopaa´s solutions, the lighting of the playground was carefully customised. Different optical solutions, lenses and colour temperatures were carefully selected for each luminaire on the basis of the target they were lighting. For example, the species of trees to be lit were taken into account.

In addition to looking wonderful and working as required, the new lighting systems offers myriad technical advantages. The Valopaa LED luminaires save energy and are highly cost-efficient, considering the entire lifespan of the system. They are also extremely durable.

“An important aspect of design was that luminaires located in a playground – where there is always a risk of vandalism in the night – must be robust. ValoT luminaires are robust and offer solid protection to the LED units, which are, of course, well resistant to impacts,´ concludes Ms Pihlajaniemi.

Project: Oulu central playground
Completed: Autumn 2013
Lighting and luminaire design: Henrika Pihlajaniemi, Arkkitehdit m3 Oy
Luminaires: valoT by Valopaa Ltd.
Electrical work: Oulun Energia
Contractor: City of Oulu

Konekuja 2, 90620 Oulu | Malmin kauppatie 40, 00730 Helsinki
Tel. +358 10 470 8890 | [email protected]

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