Jyväskylä claims first prize in 2009 city.people.light awards

Finnish city top in seventh contest to recognize application of light in urban well-being

The City of Jyväskylä has been awarded the first prize in the 2009 city.people.light awards, the annual competition organized by Philips and the Lighting Urban Community International Associa-tion (LUCI) to reward projects which demonstrate the contribution lighting can make to the well-being of those who live, work or visit a city or town.

At a ceremony October 19th. in Gwangju, South Korea, Mr. Kari Ström and Mr. Pauli Partanen, repre-senting Jyväskylä were presented with the 2009 city.people.light first prize, in recognition of the city’s ‘City of Light’ project. This initiative set out to position the city as a forerunner in outdoor lighting, in-vesting in the latest lighting technology to enhance its architecture.

“We appreciated Jyväskylä’s great involvement in using all the potential lighting can offer to stimulate sustainable urban development,” says Iris Dijkstra, an independent lighting designer and president of the multinational city.people.light awards jury. “The City of Light project aims to build high-quality out-door lighting in a purposeful fashion to highlight architectural gems, as well as to create optical guid-ance with light. At the same time Jyväskylä will also be able to reduce the energy consumption of its public lighting.”

Jury commented that Jyvaskyla constitutes an example of what an integrated approach of lighting can be. An approach where lighting is a major component of the city’s urban identity, and where concerns for energy efficiency, reducing light pollution and safety, build a lighting respectful of the quality of life of the city’s inhabitants. In Jyvaskyla, light is used to its full potential and the jury particularly appreci-ated the subtle use of lighting not only for major urban projects but also for smaller public spaces and parks where light is in direct touch with the people.

More information:

Lighting Urban Community International: http://www.luciassociation.org
city.people.light -competition: http://www.city-people-light.com/award/
Jyväskylä, City of Light: http://www.jkl.fi/yhdyskuntatoimi/cityoflight

20.10.2009
Kristiina Pentikäinen
Information Officer
City of Jyväskylä
firstname.surname@jkl.fi
Phone: +358 14 266 5130 or +358 50 368 0225