Jal Mahal

A palace that appears to float at the centre of Man Sagar Lake. Built in red sandstone in the eighteenth century, four of its five storeys sit submerged; only the top floor and its four corner chhatris stand above the water. LDP lit the monument from below the waterline. The luminaires sit on bespoke rigs that rise and fall with the lake, holding the wash true as the water level shifts through the seasons. The facades are washed ethereally, with no hardware in sight — the palace simply glows on the water, its reflection completing the form. A night-time icon, seen from the bank and never entered. The light makes the most of that distance: nothing competes with the silhouette, and the source is nowhere to be found.