SGM illuminates the Christmas Market of Toulouse

From the 23^rd of November to the 26^th of December, the Christmas Market of Toulouse has been enlightened by 24 SGM P-10 wash lights through the magical design made by the agency Quartier Lumières.

Every Winter, the French pink city puts one of its main places under the spotlights. After the Marché des Carmes last year, it's now time for the place of the Capitole to celebrate Christmas. For the third time in a row, Lionel Bessières was in charge of the light design for the city of Toulouse. This year, visitors could discover his new work "la Nova du Capitole". A nova is a star that suddenly becomes very bright : this intense light lasts only few days, and then the star reverts to its normal state. This star was sparkling all along the winter nights in Toulouse, surrounded by the façades of the Place of the Capitole.

For this project, 24 P-10 wash lights have been used to flood the 12.000m² of the Capitole Place with colors. The P-10 highlighted the typical architecture of the place while blending in the Christmas Market decoration. In addition, the white chalets of the Market were perfectly reflecting the colors of the P-10.  

The 39.690 lumen output of the P-10 allowed us to reduce the number of units needed while ensuring a targeted, appropriate and dynamic lighting. Lionel Bessières

The choice of the SGM P-10 was made by a mutual agreement between Lionel Bessières and Arnaud Schultz, the desk operator working with him on this project. Lionel shares his experience with us : "Thanks to the P-10's high output and quality of colors, we could light up the 400 meters of façades of the Place of Capitole. The 39.690 lumen output of the P-10 allowed us to reduce the number of units needed while ensuring a targeted, appropriate and dynamic lighting."

"We needed intensive light fixtures that would also allow us to change optics in some cases (which is possible thanks to the magnetic filters)." To this practical aspect, it should be added that the fixtures were able to operate outside without protection during several weeks thanks to their IP65 rating.

It started with a challenge from the municipality of Toulouse to offer an outdoor light installation visible for the whole Christmast period on the Place of Capitole. "A Christmas light design differs from others in many ways. It's not a light festival or an artistic work, this kind of project has to meet the public and politic requirements. We also had to limit the intensity of the fixtures to reduce the potential disturbance from the lights on the façades (due to the use of intensive light fixtures set with a crossover light plot)."

For this project, the light designer has collaborated with a local company, Concept Group's Toulouse agency. "The city of Toulouse is not used to work on this type of installation. Thus, we offered this simple yet effective project, that fully suited this complex context and intensive operating conditions." Mission accomplished for Lionel Bessières and his staff, and a successful Christmas celebration for the city of Toulouse. 

Use the links below to learn more about Quartiers Lumières and Concept Group.

Light design : Quartiers Lumières

Technical provider : Concept Group - Toulouse Agency