Espace 67, Jean-Drapeau Park

At the heart of Jean Drapeau Park's rebirth is the use of outdoor, public lighting. The lighting design firm Éclairage Public, a division of Groupe Ombrages, choose to use several Lumenpulse luminaire families to enhance the park's visitor experience, highlight the ecological and architectural heritage, and create a strong nocturnal identity for the island and limit the effects of lighting on the environment. The Lumenpulse luminaires were capable of surpassing these needs while also providing a highly dynamic lighting experience with state-of-the-art controls, creating a flexible, multi-functional outdoor space adaptable to multiple applications, shows, festivals, and events.

To put this project into perspective, the rearticulation of this section of Jean Drapeau Park is equivalent to redefining a quarter of New York's Central Park. This section of Jean Drapeau Park, known as Espace 67, encompasses the Calder Promenade, the Osheaga space, and the Place des Nations and is a multi-use event and pedestrian area popular among visitors and locals alike. A project of this scale required the cooperation of several professionals and consultants, and the lighting design had to be of an international caliber equal to Montreal's growing presence on the world stage.

Along the Calder Promenade, which leads to Alexander Calder's iconic sculpture known as the Three Discs, Lumenbeam luminaires are mounted on poles to securely illuminate and highlight this wide pedestrian area thoroughly. Gilles Arpin, the project's lighting designer explains, "Lumenbeam fixtures create a safe pedestrian circulation zone along the promenade that increases accessibility for people of all ages and contributes to the attraction of the sculpture itself." Along the Calder Promenade, Lumentalk, Lumenpulse's control protocol which allows dynamic control over powerlines, is used to allow digital control over analogue cables without the need to install new conduits. This not only reduced installation time and cost, it also allowed the historic areas to stay undisturbed.

On the northwest side of the Osheaga space, pole-mounted Lumenbeam luminaires were used to floodlight and spotlight various Amphitheater features. "The Lumenbeams give organizers the ability to create dynamic lighting scenes that "animate" the Amphitheater area, depending on the event that is taking place," Arpin notes. "The Lumenbeam luminaires, which use linear diffusion lenses, will also provide functional lighting around on-site sales booths and vendor support tents, if needed." The system allows for the creation of an unparalleled atmosphere and ambiance, even with large distances between applications.

The rehabilitation of Espace 67's lighting wouldn't be complete without control equal to the fixtures and their tasks. Throughout the Amphitheater area DMX and Pharos controls are used over fiber optics cables to give festival and event coordinators the ability to plug directly into the lighting system and format the luminaires to their lighting show needs.

South of the Osheaga space, Lumenfacade Color-Changing RGB luminaires were used to wallwash the Screen Wall. The Screen Wall, a landscape architecture element on an earthen embankment along the south end of the Osheaga space creates a functional barrier. The barrier wall uses Lumenfacade fixtures to bathe the architectural form of the wall with dynamic light creating chevrons of colored light. Arpin notes, "With the Lumenfacade fixtures, the barrier wall is a nightly landmark of the Jean-Drapeau Parc and can be seen from across the river in Montreal's Old Port while the light remains confined within the metal form without pollution from the night sky." All lighting can be controlled by event organizers from one central console located in the stage areas during live performances.

To help congeal the multiple layers of public safety concerns, environmental protection, ease of operation, and aesthetic attraction, Éclairage Public used Fluxwerx View luminaires in the Catering Pavilion. The Pavilion is a high traffic commercial and retail space adjacent to the central outdoor event section. With the goal to minimize the visual impact of the lighting fixtures in the space, the Fluxwerx View suspended luminaires were selected due to their innovative LED design with no direct or indirect view of the light source when on.

Appearing like a floating fenestration that remains transparent when lit, Fluxwerx View suspended luminaires offer a seamless juxtaposition with the space's perimeter glass walls and abundant natural light.  Designed to integrate into the built environment, View luminaires blend seamlessly with the architecture, replicating the clean, modern lines of the windows, adding safety and accessibility to the semi-outdoor pavilion.

Éclairage Public's use of a variety of Lumenpulse luminaires has allowed for a multitude of applications to be thoroughly and dynamically illuminated throughout the vast site. Light is projected where it is needed while ensuring public safety and visual comfort. The general light is precise and oriented towards the ground letting skies light themselves. With this new lighting plan, Jean Drapeau Park is once again ready for the world stage.

EQUIPMENT SPECIFIED
130 x Lumenfacade Color-Changing (2ft, 10x60)
321 x Lumenbeam Large (3000K, Various Optics)
48 x Lumenbeam Grande (3000K, Narrow Flood)
18 x Lumenfacade Inground (4ft, 3000K, 10x60)
77 x Fluxwerx View suspended linear LED luminaire (Beam endcap, anodized aluminum finish, 20Up | 80 Dn, 0-10V dimming, 6 ft suspension, 3500K / 2300K / 3600K)