Lighting in Design Q4 2024

Braving the river with innovative lighting at canoe museum Lightemotion transforms architectural spaces into multisensory environments, making experiences like shopping, dining, or museum visits memorable and engaging. N ow, this renowned lighting design consul tancy, known for enhancing human expe riences, proudly introduces its contribution

project, which highlights Canadian heritage and living history,” says François Roupinian, President and Design Director of Lightemotion. “The Canadian Canoe Museum is a love letter to our nation, and we aimed to convey the human connections behind each of its inanimate objects.” For over 25 years, the Canadian Canoe Museum has housed the world’s largest collection of canoes, evolving from a community project to a world-class museum. Its new premises, which opened on 13 May, include two 1,850-square metre floors, dedicated to showcasing canoes through thoughtfully curated exhibits detailing their histories. “This project was many years in the making, and we were fortunate to work closely with the clients from the start,” adds Roupinian. “This allowed us to fully grasp the significance of each vessel, particularly in relation to Canada’s Indigenous history.” A non-conventional approach Breaking away from traditional museum lighting, Lightemotion adopted a theatrical, immersive, and sensory approach. It was essential to convey the emotions and craftsmanship behind each canoe, creating a lighting system that immerses visitors in the experience. Lightemotion introduced a layered lighting technique, staging objects in ways that capture their defining elements, be it engravings, wood grain, or canoe shape. “If you simply light an object in its entirety, it can end up resembling a generic store display,” explains Roupinian. “By focusing on specific details directionally, the object can evoke emotional responses.” Each canoe is illuminated to suggest a sense of movement while highlighting its unique features with sculptural light angles. Like an arrow in flight, a closer look reveals the detailed craftsmanship behind each piece. Immersed in a dream Lightemotion aimed to create a dreamlike atmosphere with lighting that emanates from the ground up. They developed a system of small ground lights with targeted caches, effectively detaching the canoes from one another and

to the new home of the Canadian Canoe Museum on Little Lake’s waterfront in Peterborough, On tario. As part of a CA$45 million project to build a two-storey, 6,000-square-metre space, Lighte motion was commissioned to breathe life into the museum’s historic display of Canadian heritage. “We are proud to be part of this significant

20

LiD Q4 - 2024