Rhône Region Archives

See how Les Eclaireurs create a dynamic reflection over the golden material of the Rhône region archives with dynamic lighting.

"To complement the projections, above the reading room, we imagined light being able to penetrate the building symbolically." -Lucas Goy, lighting designer at Les Eclaireurs, Lyon, France

Just to the south of the main railway station in Lyon, the new Archives Départementales (Rhône region archives) for the department of Rhône are becoming part of the business district of Part Dieu. They occupy a strategic position that completes the new urban tract along the railway lines.

In accordance with French regulations which require 1% of the cost of construction of a new building to be dedicated to creating a work of art, a permanent artistic lighting installation was designed by Les Eclaireurs, lighting design agency based in Lyon.

To complement the projections, above the reading room, "we imagined light being able to penetrate the building symbolically and pass through the metal strips of the sun shades. For that, we decided to use banks of LEDs to create this dynamic reflection over the golden material". Programmed in a large two-dimensional matrix, these LEDs create waves of golden backlighting.

Custom eColor Graze MX Powercore luminaires with a combination of bright white and amber LEDs were used for the dynamic façade and to dimly light the heart of the main façade when the building is at rest. "They were chosen for their efficiency, their great consistency and their simplicity of installation with single-cable wiring containing both power and control", says Lucas Goy. Fixed to the grating of the maintenance walkways, these light banks are easily accessible and adjustable.