Dynamic Architectural Lighting for the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal and Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts

Montréal, October 26, 2009

On October 28, the new architectural lighting of Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) will be unveiled as part of the overall Lighting Plan of the Quartier des spectacles. After designing the metaphorical lighting of the Cinémathèque Québécoise this past March, the international lighting design specialists, Lightemotion, created this vast Lighting Plan of Place des Arts, which also includes Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and the new Grand Foyer of Place des Arts in 2010.

“With this project, we are ecstatic to have the opportunity of showcasing our expertise here in our home town of Montreal. Place des Arts is at the centre of the Quartier des spectacles, and we hope that this signature project will be enjoyed by the public for years to come,” company founder François Roupinian said.

The challenge in the project was the need to integrate the lighting of each building in the overall lighting signature of Place des Arts while ensuring that the museum and the theatre have their own visual identity. Lightemotion chose to establish a dialogue between the bottom and top of each building by using dynamic lighting that suggests either movement or stasis.

The stair-like upper volume of Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts will be wrapped in a fixed and warm light, while the lower volume of the building is covered with bands of white LEDs embedded in concrete walls. These bands produce a dynamic programmable LED belt effect that will showcase the large windows of the building. To complement the new perspective of the theatre, directional lamps create a visual contrast between the top and bottom volumes of the building, giving the illusion that the roof is suspended in air.

In a similar fashion, the base of the MAC will be studded with lights that flood the facades of the museum in blue and white, while in contrast, the copper volume that caps the building is bathed in red amber. Besides the play of light that will establish a dialogue between the architectural volumes of the building, the designers have added a temporal element on the wall that faces the inner court. An illuminated pendulum will appear in the form of a moving point of light before coming to rest every 15 minutes and spreading over the entire surface of the wall .

Each of these two lighting concepts respects the architecture of the buildings, carefully concealing the light sources that, for the sake of saving energy, are largely LED,. This design is part of the Lighting Plan of the Quartier des spectacles, which aims to showcase Montreal’s principal cultural venues.