Chauvet’s Iluminarc subsidiary may be less than a year old, but it’s scored a landmark coup of sorts: more than 400 Ilumipod 48 IP RGBW wash lights are being used for an LED light show on the Eiffel Tower as part of the structure’s 120-year anniversary celebration. The 12-minute light show, which includes changes in color, movement and modulation, follows a five-minute period where the regular lighting is dimmed and the tower sparkles. The show runs on the hour, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The Eiffel tower’s LED light show, which first appeared Oct. 2 and runs nightly through Dec. 31, was designed by Bernard Schmitt and Jacques Rouveyrollis and implemented by the Citelum Group with Magnum. Eiffage Group is sponsoring the structure’s 120-year celebration.
Along with the possibility for changes in color and movement, the LED technology has the advantage of lower power consumption than traditional lighting alternatives, part of several green initiatives implemented by SETE, the company that operates the tower.
While Iluminarc’s parent company, Chauvet & Sons. Inc., has been in business for more than two decades marketing Chauvet lighting fixtures, the architecturally-focused Iluminarc subsidiary was launched in May 2009.
Iluminarc has since been featured in several projects including the Van Berkel and Zara Hadid pavilions in Chicago and an installation at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dallas.
The Ilumipod 48 IP lights used for the Eiffel Tower were sold by CSI, a distributor of architectural and entertainment lighting in France.
