At the southern end of the promenade of the city of Zadar in northern Dalmatia is the world-famous work of architect Nikola Basic, “Greeting to the Sun”. It is a 22 m diameter light construction that has been set into the floor of the promenade. As soon as the sun has disappeared behind the mountains of the island of Ugljan, the lights on the circular surface begin a varied dance. The colored lights flicker in an apparently irregular manner and create a unique color spectacle. In fact, a system for the light show was designed that replicates the rhythm of the wave movements.
The architect placed the light installation in 2008 in close proximity to his first work on the Zadar waterfront: the Sea Organ. With the round formation, he wanted to create a two-dimensional solar system. 300 multi-layered glass plates form the sun in the ground, and around it, 8 further glass plates symbolize the planets of the solar system. They are not only true to scale to the sun, but also set into the ground at the correct distance.
Nikola Basic has integrated solar cells and small, colored light bulbs into the glass panels. In this way, the light is converted into energy during the day – which is used to illuminate the waterfront – and in the evening the colored dots dance as the night sky covers Zadar. Together with the nearby “Sea Organ”, the “Greeting to the Sun” is not only an unusual, even spectacular sight, but also one of the most popular places in the northern Dalmatian metropolis, both for residents and tourists.
