Ayrton, French specialists in intelligent LED lighting products for entertainment and architectural applications, has provided fixed installations for a number of historic monuments, of which the Palais de Justice is just the latest.
Inaugurated in 1847 and often referred to the 'Palace of the Twenty-Four Columns', the Palais de Justice de Lyon was classified as a Historical Monument in 1996 and is one of the finest neo-classical buildings in France.
To show its spectacular facade to its best advantage, lighting designer Jerome Donna from the Public Lighting Department of the City of Lyon chose a selection of Ayrton Arcaline2 3G 100, Arcaline2 3G 50 and Ice Color 250 3G fixtures that will provide the city with a permanent, highly visible landmark for years to come.
Each of the 24 Corinthian columns of the colonade is front-lit by a single Arcaline2 3G 100 and flanked by two Arcaline2 3G 50 that provide side lighting. A single IceColor 250 3G uplighter behind each column is then used as backlighting to wash the walls and delineate each from its background.
Finally, the details of the upper levels of the portico above are defined using both Arcaline2 3G and IceColor 250 3G that provide smooth, colour-constant washes.
In total 140 Arcaline2 3G 50, 24 Arcaline2 3G 100 and 28 Ice color 250 3G were installed, all of which were controlled by 968 channels of DMX from a Light-CS box from Light Computing Service.
The Courthouse is illuminated by white light throughout the main part of the year but, as all the Ayrton fixtures used feature RGBW LED, the colour of the lighting scheme can be changed when required. This will be used to full advantage during the world-famous Lyon Festival of Lights which takes place at the beginning of December. The festival, which has its origins in the Middle Ages, has taken place annually since 1852 and currently attracts around 4 million people to the city.
The Ayrton fixtures were installed by Citeos, specialists in public lighting, heritage enhancement, festive illumination and dynamic urban equipment, and supplied by Ayrton's exclusive French distributor, Axente, under the guidance of Axente's Architectural Lighting Projects team of Jean-Philippe Josserand and Damien Joyeux.
(Jim Evans)
