Voltaire-Cordelet district

Known for its famous motor racing circuit, the city of Le Mans also has a rich history, with the best-preserved Gallo-Roman wall after those of Rome and Istanbul. The historic part of the city is known as the Plantagenet City. The Voltaire-Cordelet district, on the opposite bank of the Sarthe, has recently been redeveloped as the area was very noisy and congested. The main objectives of the redevelopment were to:

• improve traffic flow;
• enhance accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists;
• create an urban ambiance and stimulate commercial activity;
• redefine the traffic plan for the main streets;
• treat rainwater in a virtuous way and creating natural spaces;
• increase the presence of nature in the city by planting 250 trees.

We worked in close collaboration with the teams from Le Mans Métropole (contracting authority), INGERIF design office and the landscape and urban planning agency L'Anton & Associés, who was managing the project. Public workshops were held at the outset to take account of the opinions and needs of local residents, shopkeepers and consumers. 
 

A unique, bespoke mask to stimulate the imagination

The BOREAL lantern, a tool for urban animation, was chosen to light this redeveloped area, thanks to its mask, which can be customised to reflect the character of a city.

The teams were inspired by the layout of the foundation blocks of the Gallo-Roman wall. They drew on the study 'La Muraille du Mans dans son Environnement' (Le Mans Wall in its environment) and extracted motifs from the wall. Once they had been extracted, "the motifs became abstract", explains L'Anton & Associés. "Through these squares and lines, anyone looking at the lanterns can create their own imaginary world based on the shapes they see, without thinking directly of the historic wall," explains the agency. 

Visual artist and lighting designer Franck Franjou helped to customise the mask.

By integrating the local architecture, the city of Le Mans has created a unique nocturnal atmosphere with this urban luminaire.
 

BOREAL, a luminaire with a dual function

For this urban lighting solution to deliver the photometric performance and modularity required for the project, the light sources had to be adapted. The BOREAL lanterns were fitted with POSS modules with RGBW LEDs to complete the customisation.

This bespoke BOREAL lantern provides both:

• public lighting with a warm white light (2,700K) to create a welcoming ambiance all year round and 
• scenic lighting thanks to the RGBW LEDs. 

The city can use the scenic lighting to create different atmospheres throughout the year and highlight specific events such as Halloween, Pink October and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

All the masks were customised and manufactured by our Schréder STUDIO team at our Bourges production facility. A total of 38 bespoke lanterns were installed on the KOM'1 mast by TMC Innovation as part of this redevelopment.