Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, today unveiled a stunning lighting makeover of the historic, well-renowned Baron Palace, one of the oldest buildings in Cairo as part of its fifth consecutive pan-African Cairo to Cape Town roadshow. Philips’ latest LED technology combining warm and cool daylight colors has been used to highlight the palace’s features as never before. The innovative LED Lighting allows energy savings of 80% over the traditional lights that are currently used in the Palace and has a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours.

Baron Palace after the Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

About Baron Palace

The Baron Palace was built between 1907 and 1911 for the Belgian-born industrialist, Baron-General Edouard Louis Joseph Empain (1852-1929). He chose the prestigious location in Heliopolis and ordered Alexander Marcel, a French architect and a member of the prestigious French Institute, to build him a palace with an architectural style that was very different. The Palace was constructed in reinforced concrete over a rotating base which revolves the palace to access sun beams in all directions. Today, the palace, which is located close to the presidential Palace, remains a tourist attraction as an architectural masterpiece with a rich history and unique design.

An upclose view of Baron Palace after the Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

“The lighting up of the Baron Palace creates an almost mythical atmosphere around the palace that brings history to life. Philips is very proud to have placed its know-how and technology at the service of this iconic monument. For us the challenge was to devise effective lighting while respecting the authenticity of this monument. The lighting really had to enhance the beauty of the site without at any time overwhelming it. We are very proud of the final result and hope it will improve the tourism value of the Palace”, says Tamer Abol Ghar, CEO, Philips Egypt and General Manager, Philips Lighting Egypt & Sudan.

The advantages of the LED lighting provided at Baron Palace include:

•  Dynamic lighting that makes it possible to adjust the atmosphere of the site (change of intensity and color).

•  A longer lifespan of the installation: around 50,000 hours compared to 12,000 hours with conventional lighting.

•  A reduction in maintenance costs: LED luminaires require little maintenance, while at the same time they cut energy consumption by 80%.

• The Baron Palace is the latest world-renowned site to be transformed by Philips in Egypt; Philips is also responsible for the illumination of the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, the Cairo Tower, and the Nile West Bank in Luxor as well as the Hibiz Temple in the Western Desert. As the number one lighting company in the world, Philips has transformed iconic city landmarks around the globe and during the Cairo to Cape Town roadshow 2014, will be providing a lighting makeover of historic, well-recognized monuments in African cities.

Baron Palace after the Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

First stop on the fifth pan-African Cairo to Cape Town roadshow

Cairo was the first stop on Philips’ annual flagship Cairo to Cape Town roadshow (from 14 April to 3 September 2014) which focuses on key challenges facing Africa today - the need for energy-efficient lighting and the revitalization of African healthcare infrastructure. Philips has committed to lighting up and illuminating one iconic monument in every city visited during the roadshow with the latest LED technology. As the number one LED lighting company in the world, Philips will now provide a stunning lighting makeover of historic, well-recognized monuments in African cities.  

The Roadshow will make its way across seven countries and ten cities in Africa; next stop will be in Algiers on 12th May followed by Casablanca, Morocco on 27th of May.