brut deluxe illuminates madrid with 'lucía in the sky' light installation

in 2017, brut deluxe created a temporary light installation in madrid that measured 210 meters (689 feet) in length. this year, the madrid- and munich-based architecture and design firm returned to the spanish capital to install a site-specific project inspired by the images captured by the hubble telescope. the opening of the installation, photographed here by imagen subliminal, coincides with the partial pedestrianization of madrid’s famed gran via — the street which forms one of the city’s most important thoroughfares.

all images and video by imagen subliminal (miguel de guzmán + rocio romero)

in completing the project, brut deluxe created a man-made sky above the street conceived as an ‘artificial nebula’ or an ‘imaginary milky way’. titled ‘lucía in the sky’, the project references the 1967 beatles song. however, in this context, lucía is an illuminated cat that appears throughout the installation, trying to catch one of the blinking stars. the piece covers 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) of gran via and comprises a total of 360,414 LED bulbs.

project info:

name: lucía in the sky
type: light installation,
location: gran via, madrid 2018
design: ben busche / brut deluxe
team: philip baumann, elisa luda
client: city council madrid
constructor: ximenez SA
area: gran via, 1,300 meters in length
year: 2018
status: temporary/ built
photography and video: miguel de guzmán / rocío romero