Santiago Cathedral Light Design Competition 2025

Santiago Launches a Landmark International Lighting Design Competition for the Cathedral’s Surroundings

Santiago de Compostela, July 24, 2025 The City Council of Santiago de Compostela has announced an unprecedented International Competition for Ornamental and Artistic Lighting in the monumental surroundings of the Cathedral. This initiative is part of the city’s Tourism Sustainability Plan and aims to blend heritage preservation with creative innovation and global visibility.

Mayor Goretti Sanmartín emphasized the goal of selecting “the most innovative, respectful, and appropriate design for illuminating the Cathedral’s surrounding plazas,” highlighting the importance of harmony with both the historic environment and Santiago’s iconic night sky.

The competition is technically supported by the Galician firm TRIVIUM, and judged by a prestigious international panel including:

David Chipperfield : Pritzker and Stirling Prize-winning architect.
Roger Narboni : Global lighting design expert with over 120 urban master plans.
Teresa Táboas : Architect, professor, and Vice President for Western Europe at the UIA.
Manuel Antonio Castiñeiras González : Art historian and President of the International Expert Committee for the Camino de Santiago.
Esther Torelló : Editor of Lightecture magazine and Spanish ambassador for Women in Lighting.

The focus of the competition is the four iconic plazas around the Cathedral: Obradoiro, Platerías, Inmaculada, and Quintana, which form the heart of the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Participants will have access to an extensive digital documentation package, including 3D scans, aerial and ground photogrammetry, and LIDAR mapping, to ensure historically sensitive and technically sound proposals.

Submissions will be evaluated in two anonymous phases based on creativity, technical excellence, sustainability, and economic feasibility. Six finalist proposals will receive €18,150 each. The winner will be awarded a design and implementation contract valued at €100,000 to realize the lighting for Plaza de Platerías.

Open to architects, lighting designers, urbanists, and creatives from around the world [individually or as teams] this competition represents a unique opportunity to redefine one of Europe’s most iconic nightscapes.