A building lighting charter for the Principality

Lighting up a city provides an opportunity to reveal its less familiar features. Given the specific, often spectacular nature of the urban landscape in Monaco, which has around 7,500 light points, this challenge is particularly important.

“Recognising this, the Government, on the basis of an assessment by a specialist engineering firm, has initiated thinking on how to manage public and private lighting in the Principality,” announced Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Minister of Public Works, the Environment and Urban Development.

The development of a building lighting charter for the Principality was guided by four key issues: the desire to limit energy consumption, the conservation of flora and fauna, the protection of the night sky, and the creation of a harmonious night skyline.

The Minister explains: “This study took account of objective criteria such as the need for certain buildings to be visible; the essential showcasing of the architectural value of classic and contemporary buildings; the effect of lighting on, among other things, local people’s quality of life; and the impact on energy consumption.”

The assessment sets out two major categories of building which can be lit up (each category is then divided into sub-categories, established according to certain criteria):

• noteworthy buildings and groups of buildings which are part of the wider urban landscape
• buildings located in areas which are busy at night

The Building Lighting Charter has been made available and can be consulted at the Department of Forward Studies, Urban Planning and Mobility (23 Avenue Albert II). This tool presents the general requirements with regard to luminance, colours, beams of light, maximum energy consumption and hours of operation, as well as additional requirements for specific categories of building.

Outside the two major categories noted above, any request to light up a building will be subject to an assessment to determine the benefit of the plan in terms of the Principality’s nocturnal appearance.

For more information, contact: prospective@gouv.mc