The lighting scheme for the centre of La Louvière, the Abelville district and the former Boch site was made as a part of a multi-disciplinary team commissioned to draw up and implement the master plan for the urban regeneration of the town of La Louvière.
The aim of the lighting is to create a high-quality, cosy atmosphere, recreating intimate spaces reminiscent of interior spaces, so as to support the reappropriation of these public spaces neglected by the population.
We installed the general public lighting using multiple directional spotlights, suspended by cables or wall-mounted on façades, to break down the negative image of functional public lighting that overwhelms the roads with uniform light. The pavements were regularly enhanced with luminaires that resembled interior lampshades, placed near benches that could become meeting places, and with textured effects projected onto the ground.
The 2 main squares were lit by spotlights mounted on large sculptural masts, with some of the spotlights able to change colour to bring a playful, dynamic aspect to these major public spaces in the town. Coloured lines of light were also embedded in the ground between the stone slabs.
Soon after the inauguration, we saw skateboarders using the light lines on the ground to create circuits, and a biker photographing his shiny Harley Davidson under one of the colour-changing spotlights. As we could see, lighting can play an active part in the social reappropriation of a neighbourhood!
