Source: huffingtonpost.com
Published: July 18, 2013
Residents of Rjukan, an industrial town in Norway, have grown accustomed to dark and gloomy winters. Shielded by the Gaustatoppen Mountains, the valley town is cut off from direct sunlight during five to six months of the year. Thanks to newly installed mirrors, however, Rjukan will receive sunlight this winter for the first time in the town’s more than 100-year history.
The aim of this project is to illuminate the town square of Rjukan with reflected sunlight. Rjukan is a town surrounded by mountains which prevent the sun from reaching the floor of the valley for five months of the year.
The project will result in a permanent installation which, with the help of 100m2 mirror will redirect the sun down into the valley. The square will become a sunny meeting place in a town otherwise in shadow.
Norway is not the first country to install mirrors to bring sunlight to residents. In 2006, the Italian village of Viganella, which is nestled near the Alps, placed reflective sheets on nearby peaks to shine sunlight onto the main piazza. The town of Rattenberg in Austria also has a similar system in place.
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