Anolis illuminates former U-boat bunker
- Details
Nicolas Valette from lighting design practice 4eleven was asked to create a lighting scheme that highlighted the internal architecture of these impressive 115m long water-filled bays which have a draft of between 9 and 11.40m – with a tidal allowance of 1.5m.
Each of these is separated by a 6m-thick concrete wall. In their former incarnation, each of the four giant basins could accommodate two submarines.
Nicolas found a stark and raw beauty in the functional, brutalist concrete structures, and set out to create a dialogue and interaction between light, shadows, and illuminative texturing.
The walls, ceilings and the water are often used for giant projections of artists’ work, so the internal lighting had to compliment these and also function in a standalone context for visitors to see and appreciate this incredible space with its amazing story when there are no large-format projection exhibitions.
“My starting point was first to visit and feel the ambience and emotion inside, taking into account that while lighting was not the major element, it had to be highly effective,” he explained.
Nicolas and his team do a lot of work in the live events sector, and he was able to merge the two different worlds of architectural and events lighting in this dynamic environment which had so many stories to tell.
He needed IP rated fixtures as they are close to the water, a dank, damp atmosphere permeates the space and the humidity levels are always around 80%.
The fixtures had to be expedient in size and unobtrusive to visitors as they walk around, so he needed light sources that were efficient, looked great, had a high-quality output and were not over-complicated.
A few months before starting the project he visited the Robe France HQ in Paris and looked extensively through all the Anolis products and options on which he comments, “It’s a very clever range with many possibilities”. Already familiar with Robe’s entertainment ranges, he was naturally interested in the architectural ‘sister’ brand which is well known for its robust build quality and refined output.
He then visited Betasom for the first time, assessed everything and thought that Anolis would be a perfect solution for the design he had in mind.
The Bassins de Lumières exhibition area is separated into four sections, so he arranged thorough on-site tests with all the Anolis fixtures he had chosen to show to the client how the final design would look and work.
Twenty Anolis ArcSource Outdoor 24MC RGBW fixtures are dedicated to lighting walls and 24 x ArcSource Outdoor 16MC RGBWs with different lenses are deployed to graze up the concrete columns and highlight arches in the walking areas.
Seventy-four ArcSource Outdoor 4MC RGBWs are utilised for precision lighting of the various building features including the distinctive columns and arches, with 15 x Divine 160 RGBW long throw floods fitted with 40-degree lenses used for lighting selected walls and to create background effects.
Then there are 30 x Anolis ArcPar 150 RGBWs with barn doors for precise shutting, which offer both CMY and RGBW colour mixing, and are further augmenting the walking areas as well as lighting a stage area.
The biggest challenge of lighting the project was being discreet without revealing a lot of light sources which involved some smart thinking and clever concealments so visitors would not notice they were there and the effect would not hinder any of the digital exhibitions and artwork.
The Anolis fixtures plus other lights in the scheme were installed by integrators Audiopro based in Mérignac. All were first programmed on a grandMA2 console and the relevant DMX values then transferred to the Modulo Pi media server / show controller which runs lighting and other elements around the building.
Nicolas worked closely with Anolis’ architectural specialist Bruno Francois and his colleague Eric Tabuteau and with Philippe Chassereau project manager from Audiopro plus Augustin de Cointet, executive director of Les Bassins de Lumières, who commissioned him to light this incredibly atmospheric historic industrial workspace.
