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Carré de Soie

Vaulx en Velin, France

In 2007, Laurent Fachard and Joseph Frey of the lighting studio Les Eclairagistes Associés (LEA) completed the lighting design for a shopping mall covering 111.8 square miles (180,000 sq m) within Carré de Soie, a development devoted to shopping and leisure activities in Vaulx en Velin, France, near Lyon.

To integrate the main shopping mall with its surroundings, the architects created a sinuous latticework canopy extending outward from the cinema entrance toward the avenue. LEA outlined the flowing “arms” of the structure with 16,000 individually addressed full-color iColor Flex SLX nodes in 490 separate strands. These strands of light were chosen for their flexibility, easily integrating within the curved structure.

Using Light System Manager controller from Philips Color Kinetics, the iColor Flex SLX system displays dynamic and intricate full-color light shows, which vary according to the seasons and the commercial needs of the development’s management. The latticework is fully illuminated with sparkles, bursts, and chasing rainbows of color whenever the cinema is open during the evening and night.