Solar Lighting Upgrade Project of Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Yamoussoukro Outer Compound, Côte d’Ivoire

Project Overview

This project is located in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire. The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is a representative modern Catholic religious building in Africa, with a grand dome, tall bell tower, spacious entrance plaza and large outer compound. It serves religious activities, pilgrimage visits, cultural tourism and urban landmark presentation. The scope covers the external compound, entrance plaza, landscape walkways, green courtyards and visitor parking areas, excluding the interior worship space.

Before the upgrade, parts of the outer compound relied on long-distance mains lighting. Some walkways, entrance nodes and parking areas were under-lit, creating safety risks during dismissals after religious and tourist activities. Yamoussoukro has a tropical climate with year-round heat, humidity, heavy rainfall and strong UV. Traditional cables and fixtures are vulnerable to moisture, rain and insects, resulting in frequent maintenance. The upgrade covers the outer compound, entrance plaza, landscape walkways, green courtyards and parking areas, with a total area of approximately 34,000㎡ and about 1,260 linear meters of pedestrian paths.

The scheme adopts solar garden lights and solar wall lamps. Solar garden lights are placed at the entrance plaza, landscape walkways, green courtyards and parking edges to provide continuous soft functional lighting. Solar wall lamps are installed on outer walls, entrance portico columns, platform side walls and corridors to highlight the basilica outline and religious compound layers. The system operates independently on solar energy with reduced cabling. Warm-white static lighting is used throughout, without coloured or dynamic effects, preserving the solemn, elegant and restrained night atmosphere of the religious building.

Local Environmental Conditions

Yamoussoukro has a tropical climate with year-round high temperature and humidity, heavy rainfall in the wet season, strong UV, and occasional thunderstorms and strong winds. Outdoor fixtures are continuously exposed to heat, humidity, rain and UV, requiring high waterproof, moisture-proof, corrosion-resistant and UV-stable performance. Solar garden lights and solar wall lamps must maintain stable charging and endurance during frequent rainy showers and reduce failure risks in humid conditions.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace often hosts evening dismissals, visitor departures and security patrols, with larger crowds during festivals and religious activities. The lighting system must ensure continuous illumination at the entrance plaza, walkways and parking areas, balancing religious atmosphere with evacuation safety.

Project Objectives

1. Increase average illuminance of outer compound walkways, entrance plaza and parking areas from 7–12 lux before the upgrade to 19–25 lux, ensuring safety for visitors and event dismissals at night.
2. Achieve illuminance uniformity of ≥0.66 in main pedestrian areas, eliminating dark zones at entrance nodes, path corners, platform edges and parking areas.
3. Deploy solar garden lights at the entrance plaza, landscape walkways, green courtyards and parking areas; install solar wall lamps on outer walls, entrance portico columns, platform side walls and corridors for clear night guidance.
4. Apply unified warm-white static lighting without coloured or dynamic effects, preserving the solemn night atmosphere of the religious building.
5. Keep the annual luminaire failure rate within ≤3%, adapting to Yamoussoukro’s heat, humidity, heavy rain and strong UV.
6. Reduce compound cabling and mains dependency, lowering maintenance workload by approximately 58%–62% and reducing long-term electricity and wet-environment cable costs.
7. Support visitor dismissal, religious-event evacuation and security patrols, accommodating about 2,700 night-time users daily.

Project Outcomes

After completion, the average illuminance of outer walkways, entrance plaza and parking areas reached 22 lux, within the 19–25 lux target range. Illuminance uniformity in main pedestrian areas was 0.69, meeting the ≥0.66 requirement. Dark zones at entrance nodes, path corners and parking areas were significantly reduced, making night evacuation routes clearer.

Solar garden lights were evenly arranged along the entrance plaza, landscape walkways and parking areas, forming a continuous soft pedestrian light belt. Solar wall lamps created elegant guiding light along outer walls, entrance portico columns and platform side walls, strengthening the basilica outline and religious compound layers. Powered by dry-season sunshine, the system remained stable under rainy-season humidity and heavy rain, with good waterproof and moisture-proof performance. The measured annual luminaire failure rate was 2.4%, below the 3% target. Maintenance workload decreased by approximately 60% compared with the old system.

The night environment is solemn, elegant and restrained. Solar garden lights and solar wall lamps together form the pedestrian lighting and religious landscape guidance system for the outer compound, ensuring safe night circulation while preserving the elegant night image of this modern African religious landmark.