Lycée Charlotte Perriand
Award-winning AMBITUS design luminaire enhances historic school site
The magnificent historical backdrop of a French castle. A modern high school under the patronage of the famous French designer and architect Charlotte Perriand. And a multiple-award-winning design luminaire that combines energy saving, lighting efficiency and an exceptionally elegant ring shape. Zumtobel has supplied 23 AMBITUS luminaires for the canteen of the Lycée Charlotte Perriand in the south of Lille - creating visual comfort and a futuristic look for an outstanding communal facility.
From Forest Heritage to Modern Efficiency
Château du Bois means ‘castle of the forest’ - a description that characterises the location of the Lycée Charlotte Perriand very well. Built around the historic ‘château’ and nestled in an 18-hectare park in the heart of a forest, the mid-20th century school building was completely restructured and remodelled by FRDZ Architectes in 2006. Its timber frame and large bay windows blend in perfectly with the surrounding nature.
However, the high school's lighting solutions with fluorescent lamps and metal halide lamps were very outdated. As the European Union has phased out fluorescent lamps by September 2023, the Lycée Charlotte Perriand urgently needed a refurbishment solution. After receiving a budget from the ‘Hauts de France’ region, the technicians in charge, EMOP, approached Zumtobel to offer a lighting solution for the school canteen.
Advanced lighting technology meets award-winning design
The Zumtobel design luminaire was developed by Yorgo Lykouria, founder and creative director of the renowned Rainlight Studio in London. Despite its discreet design, the flat, black light ring with a diameter of 60 centimetres is a real eye-catcher. The luminaire’s perforated underside shows off its circular shape while creating optical accents throughout the cafeteria. Above all, the sophisticated aesthetics of the Zumtobel luminaire are a perfect match for the school’s namesake Charlotte Perriand and its artistic orientation, offering specialisations in ‘Fine Arts’ and ‘Audiovisual Design’.
From Forest Heritage to Modern Efficiency
A lighting study in DIALUX further underlined the benefits of AMBITUS for the educational environment: ‘As the school canteen is a place for socialising, we opted for a warm white colour temperature of 3,000K,’ says Zumtobel Sales Project Manager Frédéric Lamard. ‘This results in less aggressive brightness, minimal glare and more visual comfort for a calm and friendly communal setting for the pupils.’
Ecological and economic aspects also speak in favour of the design luminaire: despite its high output of 10,000 lumens AMBITUS saves up to 50 percent of lighting energy compared to fluorescent and metal halide lamps.
‘The school management was looking for a solution out of the ordinary. They are delighted with our representative yet energy-efficient lighting installation in the canteen,’ summarises Frédéric Lamard. ‘As AMBITUS offers great potential for enhancing any building, I am convinced that the Lycée Charlotte Perriand will be just the first of many prestigious scenarios in which the design luminaire will be used.’
The project was among the first installations of AMBITUS in France and marks one of the first times that the luminaire was chosen for an educational application.
« Ce projet démontre comment une collaboration internationale, un design d’éclairage précis et une compréhension approfondie de l’identité de marque peuvent conduire à une expérience cohérente et impressionnante en magasin. De l’organisation créative mondiale aux États-Unis au développement technique en Autriche et à la mise en œuvre à Paris, chaque détail a été soigneusement orchestré »
déclare Jörg Linden, Responsable Zumtobel des applications Retail