light magazine 4

lightmagazine4

style et inspiration pour l’illumination contemporaine

light magazine 2009 - page 1

light magazine 4january 2009

head office and workshops:Blachère Illumination S.A.SZone Industrielle84400 Apt - France

tél. : +33 (0) 490 742 095fax.: +33 (0) 490 741 463

mail: [email protected]: www.blachere-illumination.com

© Blachère Illumination S.A.S 2009

layout:blachère design apt

photographers:Jérémie Pitot - Véro Martin - Jean-François CholleyOlivier Anger - Michel Djaoui - Orlando AlmeidaLiliana Barata

© Fondation Jean-Paul Blachère 2009

Published by Blachère Illumination France, société par ac-tion simplifié au capital de 480 000 €. Siège social : ZILes Bourguignons 84400 APT, France. SIREN / RCS :343829784. CEO : Jean Paul Blachère

publishing editor: Christine Blachère

printed by: imprimerie rimbaud - cavaillon

No unauthorized copying.This document may not be copied or reproduced by anymeans without the written authorisation of Blachère Illumi-nation S.A.S.All our designs and graphics are protected by INPI andWIPO registration and international industrial property laws.

Respect the environment. Do not discard.

intro

How Blachère is lighting up whole towns and cities page 2

event

Westfield - London page 4

Paris Champs Elysées 2009 page 8

Lisboa page 10

Geneva Post Tenebras Lux page 14

high-techiLED Cubes page 16

Animation page 18

Lyon - Festival of Lights 2008 page 20

Coeur Défense page 24

Hotels page 26

Solar energy page 29

ethicsSustainable development page 30

inspirationTrend book page 32

regionVal d’Isère page 50

Apt, our town page 54

Mont Saint Michel page 56

Christmas markets page 58

artFondation Jean-Paul Blachère page 62

get inspired atwww.blachere-illumination.com

he Luberon region, with its protectedlandscapes, its Provençal fortifiedtowns, its people... and its Ali Baba’scave: a mountain of sparkling stars, awhole host of gems, a huge pile of gar-lands, etc. It is here, just outside Apt,that half of all French towns with more

than 5,000 inhabitants come for their Christmas lights!Blachère is an innovative family-run SME which hasbecome the European leader in this highly fragmen-ted sector, generating turnover of more than 50 mil-lion euros and employing a hundred full-time staff,although its workforce triples during the peak season.Over the last fewmonths, fifteen or so semi-trailers, allbursting at the seams, have been heading off every dayto deliver their festive decorations to the four cornersof the country. At the same time there has been thesame flurry of activity at the company’s seven subsi-diaries in Europe and North America.Because hidden behind these innocuous warehousesin the south of France there is a hotbed of creative staffwhose job is to put together the motifs dreamt up bythe local councillors. Using photos of streets broughtback by the twenty or so sales reps whose job is to dealwith the local authorities, the graphic designers put to-gether lighting simulations on their computers. ‘I workfrom a snapshot taken during the day. I make it darkerit so as to create a street at night, I light up the streetlamps and I add the decorative light sources to givethe decision-makers as accurate a view of the final re-sult as possible’, explains one of them.Within ten daysthe town council receives a proposal including detailsof the chosen motifs, how they will be fastened, theenergy consumption and a costed estimate.

Custom motifsEighty per cent of the towns pick products from thecatalogue - a new version is produced every year -whereas the others are after specific projects: from thelights on the Eiffel Tower in 2000 to the sparkling treesof the Champs Elysées last year, from the giant Santadesigned for Manchester to the 25-metre fir tree de-corated with sophisticated sets of lights produced forLisbon... Although the bulbs are manufactured inChina and most of the motifs in Europe, any customwork is carried out on-site, by the ironwork and wi-ring workshops, and this amounts to approximately70,000 motifs per year. On the hand-crafted side ofthings, the relatively high prices can be explained bythe increasing costs of metals and transport: 100 eurosfor a small motif, from 1,500 to 2,000 euros for afresco and up to 150,000 euros for an installation usingthe latest animation technologies. The designs produ-ced by the in-house stylists are inspired by the latesttrends: so there are ‘jewel’, ‘designer’ and ‘environ-mental and nature’ ranges.

As for the colours, there is an infinite variety ofwhites, from gilded to ice, but also a whole host ofshades of amber, crimson and blue. ‘As in fashion, weuse the term "collections", we use artists in residenceor big names such as Matali Grasset’, commentsChristine Allain-Launay Blachère, the founder’sdaughter who is in charge of marketing. Even so, it isdifficult to get away from the imagery of Christmas: firtrees, angels, reindeer, snowflakes, stars, etc. This is

Christmas: how Blachère islighting up whole towns and cities

ZOOM ON THE EUROPEAN LEADER IN LIGHT DECORATIONS

T

page 2

why the manufacturer offers local councillors the op-portunity to hold drawing competitions for school-children and then to produce the winners' work, or toshow off their logos: Saint-Lary-Soulan now has asparkling version of its emblem, a Pyrenean shepherd.The wide variety of motifs produced for customerscommissioning projects such as Cartier on 5thAvenuein New York, Disneyland in Florida, the Barrière deDeauville Casino, etc. sometimes give the municipa-lities lighting ideas of their own. ‘Although the mayorsare afraid of upsetting their constituents if they strayoff the beaten track, creativity is given free rein withthe big budget projects and then it spreads like wild-fire’, continues the Blachère executive. So this Christ-mas a lot of towns are drawing their inspiration fromthe cold white crystals, the light strings and the rain ofstars chosen in 2007 to decorate the Champs Elysées.

There was always going to be plenty of media co-verage last year because the job of switching on30,000 crystalline lights on the loveliest avenue in theworld was given to the singer Vanessa Paradis. The

day before yesterday it was Marion Cotillard’s turn.“The local councillors treat the Christmas lights as areal event, the TV news programmes are interested,and that means people want to do something similar”,observes Franck Peschier, Blachère’s sales director.Some towns in eastern France understood this a longtime ago, the Christmas market in Strasbourg attractsmillions of visitors, as does the festival of lights heldin Lyons in early December, which has become amajor event, so much so that the city is even expor-ting its know-how abroad (…).

Light-emitting diodesOn average, the municipalities invest from 4 to 6 eurosper inhabitant in the Christmas lights and some of thesmaller ones spend more. And there is no question ofcutting back on the party just because times are tough,(…) ‘Local people feel this is just as important as thetown’s flowerbeds. Once you’ve put up gorgeous de-corations one year, there’s no way you’re going to set-tle for anything less the next’, notes Florence Hardy,

managing director of services for Sarnt-Thibault-des-Vignes, in the Seine-et-Marne region. Getting thelights ready is also often a communal event in Plom-bières, a town in the Vosges region with fewer than2000 inhabitants. The carefully designed decorationswhich attract 100,000 curious onlookers are made by120 volunteers from February to September.The Christmas lights are popular both with the localpeople and with tourists but even so, this year they arecoming under fire from a number of environmental as-sociations (…). However everyone has to take sustai-nable development issues on board and localauthorities genuinely have become more aware ofthem. Many of them, following the example set byReims, now swear only by the LED (light-emittingdiode), which lasts for 10 times longer than a conven-tional light bulb and consumes 5 times less power(…).

MARTINE ROBERTLes échos – 21st November 2008.

This Luberon based family-run SME alone takes care of the Christmas lights in almost half of all towns in main-land France. Since Wednesday it has also been lighting up the Champs Elysées. Its market, driven by popularenthusiasm and local authorities all vying to emulate one another (…) places the emphasis upon creativity.



westfieldlondonWestfield, the best place in London for fashion,

entertainment and British style is also a story of a succesful co-operation.First Xmas by Rosenau in partnership with

Blachere Illumination has developed a Haute Couture sparkling dress oflight, bringing the elegance of lines of the shining white LED.

event

The 'forest' theme has inspired our creative department.The forest needs us and we need it as well: one can seethe forest is not the result of the natural evolution alone.As man takes care of the forest, it becomes richer andmore beautiful. Blachere Illumination has developed a fo-rest of lights, an extraordinary warm place to create a na-tural yet sophisticated shopping environment.Big twinkling trees covered with a million LEDs give theirsplendour to the atrium, combining aesthetic sense, im-mensity and ecology.The brightest LEDs available on the market were selectedto elaborate the light decoration indoor and outdoor.

As well as being beautiful and mysterious, the forestbrings a strong eco-friendly aspect to the wholeproject.Indeed, using LEDs cuts electricity consumption by 90%.On the outside, we played with exceptional architecturalfeatures, transforming them into luminous ice bankswhere the stars from an imaginary galaxy come to be re-flected.Aware of actual environmental concerns, we designed,animated, and illuminated this gorgeous place for the big-gest pleasure of all those who will stroll here during Christ-mas holydays.

page 6

Westfieldkey figures

1,217,972 LEDscreating a forest of light, five glacier shaped glass canopies,animated façades...

90 % lessenergy consumed.

5,000 hoursmanufacturing time of the illuminations.

700 hourscreating and designing the Westfield illumination concept.

1,500 iLEDcubesBlachère Illumination’s latest technology in world premiere.

30 mhighest point of the light trees in the Atrium.

80 kmof electrical wire. 600 m

wireless animated façade with Blachere SAR® System .


Paris’ Champs Elyséesevent

2009

page 8

2009 Project

Covering 430 trees in the avenue with 1 million lights, ateam of 15 people worked for two and a half months toinstall the whole system. The system consumes ten timesfewer Watts than a conventional system.To extend its actions to help our planet, for the first timethe power supplied by GDF Suez will be entirely from ahydraulic source.To honour the French Presidency of the European Union,the participants of the Champs Elysées pay tribute to Eu-rope by colouring the illuminations blue.

PeopleLa Môme lights up the Champs

A star to light up the stars. The Oscar-winning actressMarion Cotillard yesterday switched on the illumination ofthe Champs Elysées (8). This year, projectors are addinga touch of blue as a tribute to Europe, of which Francecurrently holds the Presidency.Benjamin Jérôme - Le journal de Paris

2008 Christmas lights at the Champs Elysées:‘green’ and blue!

Address: Avenue des Champs-Élysées

Like every year, the largest avenue in the world is adornedwith luminous garlands for the end-of-year festivities.

On 19 November 2008, the lights were switched on infront of the Renault garage at 18.00 h, in the presence ofthe Mayor of Paris and the celebrity chosen for the oc-casion, whose professional year was as bright as the gar-lands, Marion Cotillard! She succeeded Vanessa Paradisand several other celebrities such as Catherine Deneuve,Johnny Hallyday and Monica Bellucci, who have also gra-ced this fairy-tale event.Paris evous.fr

Christmas is in the air in‘the most beautiful avenue in the world’

This Wednesday evening, the Champs-Elysées wereadorned with their most beautiful lights for the end-of-year festivities. And to switch them on, the actress MarionCotillard.Europe 1

For the second year in succession, the Champs Elysées illuminations have been created byBlachère Illumination with respect for sustainable development, with a 75% reduction in powerconsumption by using light-emitting diode technologies.


‘You don't see Lisbon,you feel it...’


Lisboalatitude 38° 43' N - longitude 9° 8'W

event

Portugal's capital, thewesternmost inWestern Europe,a citymade up of seven hills at themouth of the Tagus, is also one of themajor European cultural capitals,more ancient thanRome,and the homeland of famous seafarers (Vasco da Gama) and renowned authors and

artists (FernandoPessoa,Maria Helena Vieira da Silva).

In response to an imperative requirementin the initial specification, special carewas taken to choose and design motifsthat mostly use LED technology, aimingfor a significant and tangible energy sa-ving, with a large number of motifs on themain roads and squares operating onBHS® solar energy supply systems ex-clusive to Blachère Illumination.

page 12

From the historic districts of Baixa, Ala-fama, Bairro Alto and Belém to the newerdistricts showing off the city's prosperity,the project, conducted jointly with theLisbon Euro RSCG agency, aims tobring together tradition, modernism andinnovation.So following the theme of ‘Conto de Luz’traditional Christmas stories, displayedon monumental luminous books dottedalong the luminous route crossing thecity, 730 motifs scattered along thestreets, alleys and avenues adorn all thecity's districts, each with its own charac-ter in the midst of such a variety of de-coration.

Luminous tunnels, a decoration of inno-vative design created exclusively for Lis-bon, line the main pedestrian precinct,passing giant chandeliers featuringplants, while Praça Figueira is coveredwith original creative designs lit up in thecolours and trademarks of the main fi-nancial partners and economic playerswho are supporting the 2008 lights to-gether with the city of Lisbon.

Lisbon, a capital bathed inlight, between traditionand modernism, certainlya major beautiful lightingproject for 2008… not tobe missed.


730motifs scattered along the streets,alleysand avenues adorn all the city's districts

event

Diamond light jewels run along the streets, as jewelry inspiredgarlands turn everyday lamp posts into precious chandeliers.

A crystal crown animated with a light stream, recalling thewater of the near Lake Léman.

The successful intent to revive a tradition of old:to honour light in the dark winter months.

‘Geneva, surrounded by snow-covered moun-tains, gives an impression of whiteness, so Ithought about Geneva as a sparkling jewel in itswhite casket, as the city of luxury and sophistica-tion, good taste and simplicity. Thus I offered whitedecorations as an extension of the surroundingmountains. I chose light decorations that recalledsnow, chandeliers, gems, pearl rivers, and jewelry,to dress up the city in a classical yet elegant livery.I was inspired by Geneva as a water city as well,so I decided to decorate the fountains with lumi-nous water and to evoke a water stream in theheart of the city.’Mourka Glogowski


Geneva Post Tenebras Lux

Fountains with luminous watercan be spotted as the passers-by stroll...

EVENT

h i - t e c h

his product, with its innovative design,both hardware and software, offers realnew concepts for your illumination

concepts. Its simplicity of wiring, all I-LED-Cubesbeing in series, allows a rapid material installationmay adapt with any kind of shape and relief (spe-cific frame, building wall, giant screen, …). In ad-dition, the distance between two I-Led can bemodified with appropriate extension cord.The controller and its associated software allowyou to give free for your creativity for animationthat you want to run on your installation.

i n n o v a t i v e p r o d u c t si LEDCubes


T

high-tech: animationMafra, magnificent in bright colours, and as lively as the castle in a fairy tale.

Create dynamism, attract the public's attention, change the illumination simply by changing the animation... that is the challenge of the new animation systems.We spoke to Christophe Malmejat, an independent light designer. Talking about animation with this light designer gives a better understanding of a very broadand creative field. Blachère Illumination has the best know-how concerning simple animation, SAR and DMX. We export this skill everywhere in the world (Eu-rope, Asia, United States).


B.P: For years, animation was dismissed, whyis this?CM: Technological developments now make itpossible to create more expressive animationsthan simple flashing which, a few years ago, couldappear repetitive and in some cases could be-come boring to watch...

B.P: How has Blachère LED facilitated the ani-mation of illuminations?CM: Because of its brightness and also reliabilitydespite the multiple graduation movements requi-red.

B.P: Our company is now developing synchro-nised musical animation systems for large-scale projects; do you think these couldbecome popular?CM: Music which activates light effects can be abonus, but the sound and light must accompanyeach other perfectly for the effect to be captiva-ting.

B.P: How do you see animation developing inChristmas decorations?CM: With time, technology offers more and morepossibilities. We must make full use of them tomake sure everyone is delighted…

B.P: What are the main advantages of anima-tion?CM: It ensures a constant presence of the deco-ration, and in some cases it can tell a storythrough a motif.

B.P: Do you work with DMX?CM: Yes, all the lighting is managed from a lightconsole using a DMX system. We can thus syn-chronise all the lights (spotlights, garlands, etc.)and activate them at any given moment.

Every year, on 8 December, the inhabitants of Lyon putlanterns in their windows and gather to stroll around thecity's streets. At 18.00 h the first windows light up, and by20.00 h the whole city is illuminated. Much of the popu-lation goes down into the streets and every walker isamazed. For a few nights, light becomes an essentialcomponent of the city, revealing its treasures in all theirglory.

This year, in collaboration with the Lyon city light designerJérôme Donaand the municipal lighting department of thecity of Lyon, we created a marquee of lights for the Hôtelde Ville courtyard - a traditional use, and the most inno-vative technologies thanks to the brightest LED on thelighting market.As for sustainable development: the Festival of Lights isexemplary, at 0.1% of the annual energy consumption..

LyonFes t i v a l o f L igh t s 2008

page 20

hi- tech

Previous page and next page: Galerie de Lumière, Cour de l'hôtel de ville, LyonDirection Eclairage Ville de Lyon, Antoine Bouchet, Jacques Fournier, Jérome DonnaPhotographer: Michel Djaoui

Above: L'île perdue, Parc de la tête d'Or, LyonDirection Eclairage Lyon, Antoine Bouchet, Jacques Fournier, Jérome DonnaPhotographer: Michel Djaoui


hi- tech


DirectionEclairage

VilledeLyon,AntoineBouchet,JacquesFournier,Jérom

eDonna-Photographies:M

ichelDjaoui

unique know-how:cœur défense

news

For the low building linking the two tall towers, we crea-ted three chandeliers over 6 metres high equipped so-lely with pure white LED. One is suspended, the othertwo are mounted on the ground.Our designers gain inspiration from the splendour ofLouis XVI chandeliers and produce a shape combiningstyle and modernity. Then come the study and valida-tion stages.

The first stage, conducted internally, comprises thestructural drawings and dimensional study.The second stage is the technical validation by an exter-nal control office. This independent body studies thestructural elements in relation to design rules for alumi-nium alloys, taking account of European standards. Itdraws up a report in the form of a design statementcertifying the mechanical strength and stability of thethree-dimensional element. This document is then for-warded to our customer.

The huge three-dimensional motif is built at our Aptworkshop. 600 hours of metal working for the internalaluminium structure, and 200 hours of wiring will be re-quired to manufacture these ‘event’ lights.The chandeliers are a manifestation of ecologicalbeauty, arousing nothing but wonder on the faces ofpassers-by as they discover the illuminations.


hotelshotels

George V - ParisJeff Leathman, designer and florist of the most luxurious

parisian palaces, elected a red coloured thematic forthis Christmas 2008. The red is successively :

‘joie de vivre’, optimism, vigour, combative instinct,longing, passion, seduction...

page 26

hotelsFacing the Luberon, on a hill of Vaucluse mounts, the ‘Domaine de la Coquillade’ iscelebrating its first Christmas in the middle of vineyards. A luminous finery constitutea real jewel case to elegance, sweet comfort and stylishness of this site.

Domaine de la coquillade - Luberon


hotelsCasino Lucien Barrière - Toulouse‘Always more dreams, always more faerie, always more emotions... ‘,inspiring motto of Lucien Barière Casinos, which guided us towards theblazing red and the warm white LED to realise decorations integratingsimplicity and creativity.

page 28


high-tech solar energy

The Blachere® Hybrid System: BHSAn energy revolution!

In response to concerns about over-consumptionof energy, Blachère Illumination has invented thehybrid system for supplying lighting motifs (BHSsystem).

This exclusive innovation (European patent filed)permits 100% autonomous (*) supply of LED ligh-ting motifs (specific range).

The principle consists of recharging a battery du-ring the day by means of a mini-solar panel in orderto self-supply the motif at night.

In sunny weather, the fully charged battery is suffi-cient for supplying the motif in total autonomy. Incloudy weather when the battery is no longer suf-ficient, the system automatically changes over tothe mains supply, so ensuring continuity of opera-tion of the motif.

As a result, and thanks to the BHS Blachere® sys-tem, the motif is supplied preferentially by solarenergy (total energy saving) or by electricity if wea-ther conditions are unfavourable.

In the news : Les Echos - 21st october ‘08

‘Solar energy. Concerns about energy saving sti-mulate innovation. In Menton on the Côte d’Azur,after LEDs the next stage is already in mind: sup-plying Christmas frescoes using photovoltaic cells!Solar garlands, the prerogative of southern towns?Not necessarily. Encouraged by Blachère, Mau-beuge, in northern France, has already tested a hy-brid device designed to ensure the continuity ofillumination of LED motifs even in cloudy weather.Verdict: a satisfactory lighting level, a reducedenergy bill, an initiative hailed by the local press.For the time being, the range has offered a limitedchoice but the Luberon company is already wor-king on second-generation solar decorations.’

(*) : with maximum insolation

sustainabledevelopment

ethics


Partnership

6 billion others6 billion Others, a project by Yann Arthus-Bertrandadvocating the values of listening and diversity.After 10 years of flying above the planet to make‘The Earth from the Air’ Yann Arthus-Bertrandwanted to get closer to all the people he had pho-tographed from above, and take an interest in howthey lived so as to understand them better. By supporting the ‘6 billion Others’ exhibition, wewould like to link our company's image to a uni-versal project on the values of listening and diver-sity, to Yann Arthus-Bertrand and to his struggleto protect the planet.

[email protected]

Ethics

CO2: so what's our position?Since 2002, BLACHERE has shown its commit-ment by an ambitious action plan, seeking to beexemplary in all environmental problems:- by developing the technology of our productsand reducing their energy consumption,- by the facilities installed at the production site.

A Sustainable Development Charter drawn up in2007 reinforces the company's attachment tothese ‘good citizenship’ ecological values, andnudges the customer relationship towards a part-nership of joint responsibility and mutual commit-ment to these issues.

We now feel it necessary to quantify the effects ofBLACHERE's environmental investment, and givea new dimension to our actions. This is why wehave decided as from this year to measure theCARBON FOOTPRINT of all the company's acti-vities.

This modern, recognised tool will enable us tomeasure the greenhouse gases (carbon equiva-lent) generated by each job (internal manufactu-ring process, impact of suppliers, transport,waste, infrastructures, etc.).

There are strategic advantages:- to determine the position of our environmentalperformance in relation to the national average,- to create awareness on the part of staff and part-ners (suppliers, subcontractors), by giving thesame orientation to different activities - to focus the action plan on the most pollutingjobs and envisage other methods of operation.

Updated every year, this Carbon Footprint will actas both the reference framework and the drivingforce for our actions.

Just tell us your history and your wishesand we will dram up the most beautifullighting in keeping with your style, yourrequirements and your identity.

your wishes are our inspiration

your world is light-sensitive,

inventsurprise

seduce

We want to create newdesire clad in lighting creations.

Better use of imagery to create more easily around a theme,idea or story.

Light is no longer limited tomotifs, it becomes a game,

a stage productiona discipline, an art of living.

frost

pasture

starsnowflake

snow

white

mountain crystals

puritybo

real

is

pure

storycrystals

crystals

purity enchantment

limpidfineryornamentpearl

precious transparency

comed

y

baroquechandelier

finerygemspendant

crystalline

sequin

mirror

jewel

family

celebrationthreewise men

presents

candle

christm

as m

agic

christmasevecribs

trees

family

celebrationthreewise men

presents

candle

rhyt

hm

ribbon

festivitysnowball

flight

flightspiralcollection

ornament

scroll

movement

cube design perspective

modernity rhythm outline

stylish spark

future

graphic

cube design perspective

modernity rhythm outline

stylish spark

future

frost

forest

nature

thorn

naturalundergrowth

branch

plantbush

twig

poetrycrystalline

opalescent

mystery

featherlightness

gaietyvitality

inspiration

imagination

energy hybrid patent

autonomy led battery

revolution

environmentecology

solarconto de luzlisboaportugal2008

energy hybrid patent

autonomy led battery

revolution

environmentecology

conto de luzlisboaportugal2008

essential

essential

brightness

glow

splendour

illumination

shine

sparkle

twinkling

garland

stalactitlight

We offer a unique service which is withyou from design to actual completionin the following way...

you contact us for a lighting project

we visit youto gain an understanding of your world,your history, your wishesin lighting matters...

we suggest an artistical study with priced estimate andsimulations of your residence illuminated.

when approved the project is delivered and follwedthrough completion

meetinginspiration

study

completion

v a l d ’ i s è r e

T h i s y e a r , V a l d ’ I s è r e i s o r g a n i s i n g t h e W o r l d A l p i n e S k i i n g C h a m p i o n s h i p s . Af i r s t f o r t h e t o w n a n d f o r B l a c h è r e I l l u m i n a t i o n , t h a t ' s h o w i m p o r t a n t t h e e v e n ti s . I n a t r e a s u r e t r o v e o f s n o w a n d a s t o u n d i n g n a t u r a l b e a u t y , t h e m o d e l s t h a th a v e b e c o m e c u l t t a k e o n t h e i r i n n o v a t i n g a n d r e s o l u t e l y m o d e r n d i m e n s i o n .


REGION

This event meets the desire of the two partners toparticipate in sustainable development - a globalrequirement - as LED lighting systems save 90%of the energy used by conventional lamps. Thisevent is part of the dynamics of territorial deve-lopment - wanted by the locals - in fact, Apt hasbeen labelled a hub of rural excellence with thetheme of ‘colours of light, colours of material’.

AptOn 28 November, the newly elected town council pressed the button toswitch on the fairy-tale blaze of lights in the capital of Luberon. The Blachèrecompany and the city of Apt joined forces to create this exceptional eventwhich, for one and a half months, transforms the small city in the Vaucluseinto a kind of laboratory of festive lighting in an urban environment.

The company thus epitomises its motto of ‘localroots and global development’. The lighting mo-tifs are the link between local and global, betweenthe town of Apt and large metropolises. The treesin the public squares will be treated like those onthe Champs Elysées and will receive illuminatedsnowfalls. The Grand’Rue regains its brilliance ofyesteryear with... Hapsburg chandeliers installedin the centre of Vienna. The Bouquerie column isclad with an ultra-modern electronic mantle at thesame time as Westfield in London, the largest Eu-ropean shopping centre.

A p to u r t o w n


REGION

‘Mont-Saint-Michel appears (...) likesomething sublime, a marvellous pyramid.’

Victor Hugo, 1865

Mont St MichelRegion

page 56

‘Mont-Saint-Michel appears (...) likesomething sublime, a marvellous pyramid.’

Victor Hugo, 1865

Mont St Michel Illuminating a monument town, with such subtle natural lighting, was a marvellous project. We had to do what awardrobe mistress would have done a long time ago, and let the magic of Christmas pour out... For the 1300 yearsof this amazing place, we proposed walkways of light in the streets, costumes of LED stalactites for the ramparts, lu-minous coat of arms, and so on...

‘A true display, reminding us that Le Mont Saint-Michel was founded 1300 years ago. Every day at 17.30 h, thanksto a simple electronic box the entrance to the village and the ramparts are adorned with crystalline lights. In the highparts, on the side of the rock, the coat of arms suggests the two salmons, the emblem of Le Mont. A mount recom-mended to be seen from the outside...’Ouest – France le 01/12/08.


On a square or in the streets, Christmas markets are always very popular with the general public.Just look, we can create a special luminous harmony for a truly festive atmosphere around these

little stalls which tell us about the magic of Christmas.

region

christmas markets

Austria - VillachParticular illumination know-how dedicated to thisAustrian Christmas market in Villach. Classicism,

sharing and tradition hold place of honour.

France - Avignon

France - Montpellier


France - Avignon

France - Toulouse

Christine Allain-Launay: Creating a surprise everyyear, it's not so easy?Pierre Bardet: Indeed, but it's essential. Every year, wetake up the challenge to keep our place among the‘best illuminated cities in Europe’.

C.A.L.: How do you tackle the subject of creative des-ign for the Christmas market, for example?P.B.: We work on it more than a year in advance withthe help of Blachère Illumination for new creations.

C.A.L.: Has the arrival of the LED helped you?P.B.: Yes of course. The LED, because of its brightness

and strength, is the equipment we prefer for all newcreations and all renewals. It is also very important forus to increase our involvement in ‘green’ and environ-mental fields for our illuminations.

C.A.L.: As part of its ‘Art and Illumination’ residential ar-tists visits, Blachère Illumination could lend these custo-mers luminous works depicting objects or concepts -made using recent technologies, what do you think?P.B.: It's a lovely idea, and should be introduced andpublicised through the media. The synergy between in-dustry - ecology - art is important in this approach.

C.A.L.: In your view, what are the specific features ofBlachère Illumination compared to its competitors?P.B.: Trust first of all, the quality of human relationships,the originality of proposals, initiatives concerning newproducts and new approaches.

Strasbourg, France: Pierre Bardet, the chairman of Les Vitrines de Strasbourg, headed with us, without breaking with tradition, towards large-scale LED light objectsin three dimensions, such as the "blue tree" mounted at the entrance of the Christmas Market, photographed by over one and a half million tourists each year.

interview

France - Strasbourg

France - Besançon France - Toulouse

page 60

‘ ’The LED, because of its brightness andstrength, is the equipment we prefer forall new creations and all renewals.


The Jean-Paul Blachè

re enterprise foundatio

n is the image of its fo

unding chairman and

reflects

his passions and com

mitments.

Africa was chosen be

cause of the chairman

's fascination for this

continent and becau

se of the

desire to give some a

id in return for the joy

received over many y

ears.

The foundation is ba

sed on a system of a

esthetic and ethical v

alues expressed in th

e efforts

undertaken by institu

tions, collectors and

first and foremost the

key figures of art, ar

tists, gal-

lery owners, critics, a

nd everyone in fact w

ho works towards br

inging into existence

contem-

porary art in Africa an

d elsewhere...

An extraordinary five

-year experience prov

ided the opportunity t

o find out about conte

mporary

African art, while hel

ping production and

distribution in the form

of workshops, reside

ntial vi-

sits and exhibitions.

The final stage of glo

balisation is taking p

lace in Africa and cul

ture is a major aspec

t.

This is the foundatio

n's standpoint, based

on the free exchang

e of thoughts and pe

ople for a

fairer world.

fondation@blachere

-jp.fr

art

fondationjean-paul bl

achère

“Peindre la ville, vi

te, vite...”

Ouagadougou Work

shops - 2006

“Visages, villages,

paysages”

Ateliers de Joucas -

2007

“Peindre la ville...”


2006

Alice Cuvellier

page 62

2009 Programme

28th oct. – 15th jan. 09

Bamako exhibition (p

hotography and vide

o)

Invited artists : Adam

a Bamba(Mali), Sam

my Baloji(RDC),

Jodi Bieber (South Af

rica), Ghislain El Ma

gambo Gulda (RDC),

Tsvangirayi Mukwa

zhi (Zimbabwe), Ama

l Kenawy(Egypt) an

d

the ESN (Paris) and C

AMM (Bamako) comm

unities.

10th feb. 09 – 31s

t mai 09 ‘Rosa Parks

’ Refusal ’exhibition

by the Senegalese ar

tist

Ndary Lô.

10 fév. 09Private op

ening of exhibition.

9 juin – 11 oct. 09

'Animal, anima' them

ed exhibition

How does the anima

l figure haunt creative

design and what is t

he

importance of the zo

omorphic world in co

ntemporary works?

9 juin 09Private op


27 oct. – 17 jan. 10

DAK’ART: exhibition

of the works of the 5

artists selected by t

he

Foundation at the Da

kar Biennale:

Ngoor (Senegal), Tch

alé (Cape Verde), Tour

e Mandémory (Seneg

al),

Yoko Breeze (South

Africa), Samba Fall (

Senegal).

28 oct. 09Private op


art

fondationjean-paul bl

achère“Visages,

villages, paysages

”


2007

Espace Boutik’

Book shop

N’Dary Lô

Animal,

anima


blachere exportblachere illumination s.a.s

zone industrielleles Bourguignons84400 Apt France

direct export office

fax: +33 (0) 490 741 463 [email protected] tél: + 33 (0) 490 747 330 [email protected]élanie tél: + 33 (0) 490 747 396 [email protected]éraldine tél: + 33 (0) 490 747 323 [email protected] tél: + 33 (0) 490 747 642 [email protected]

Jasikova 282103 Bratislava - Slovakiatel : + 421 248 291 449fax : + 421 248 291 338email : [email protected] : b.i.c.e.web : www.blachere-illumination.sk

blachere illumination Central Europeblachere Iluminación España s.a

Urbanizacao da Pedrulha,Rua Das Convertidas, n°10, Apartado 200043025 - 065 Coimbra - Portugaltel: +351 239 914 732fax: +351 239 911 802email: [email protected]: www.blachere-illumination.pt

blachere Iluminação Portugal, LdaGriesmühlstraße 64600 WelsAustriatel: +43 (0) 7242 25 20 21 - 0fax: +43 (0) 7242 25 20 21 - 9200email: [email protected]: www.blachere-illumination.at

blachere Illumination GmbH

Via A.Tadino 320124 MilanoItaliaTel : 0039 02 29511514Fax : 0039 02 700539730Email : [email protected]: www.blachere-illumination.it

blachere Illumination Italia

blachere internationalGladstone PlaceLadybank, Fife, KY15 7LB, UKtel: +44 (0)1337 832 910fax: +44 (0)1337 832 919email: [email protected] : www.blachere-illumination.co.uk

blachere illumination UK Ltd

Po Box 41, 4198 State Highway 14,West Warehouse 4, Illinois62822 South ChristopherUSATel : +1 618 724 1500Fax : +1 618 724 9600e-mail : [email protected] : www.blachere-illumination.us

blachere Illumination USA Inc.

C/ Academia, 8 – 6°-B, Dcha28014 Madrid – Españatel: +34 913 882 877fax: +34 913 883 057e-mail: [email protected]: www.blachere-illumination.es

9-7321 Victoria Park Ave.Markham, Ontario L3R 2Z8 - Canadatel: +1 905 475 6553fax: +1 905 248 3070email: [email protected]: www.blachere-illumination.ca

blachere Illumination Canada Inc.

blachere distribution/retailblachere illumination s.a.szone industrielleles Bourguignons84400 Apt France

service distributiondirect retail officeanne mariekristelkathy

fax: +33 (0) 490 747 366tel: +33 (0) 490 747 339tel: +33 (0) 490 747 334tel: +33 (0) 490 747 325

[email protected]@[email protected]@blachere-illumination.com

blachere franceblachere illumination s.a.s

zone industrielleles Bourguignons84400 Apt France

service france

tel: +33 (0) 490 742 095fax: +33 (0) 490 741 463mail: [email protected]

light magazine 4

Documents

lisboa page

town page

hotels page

animation page

cities page

christmas markets page

inspirationtrend book

solar energy page