Looking about-Looking within - Luminothérapie Event

By Anuradha K. R.

Photography: Courtesy the designers

Prismatica - night perspective & Fascinoscope                                                                 ©Raw Design & Lüz Studio

The Luminothérapie Event is all set to enthral its citizens and visitors  between Dec. 10, 2014 and Feb. 2, 2015, with two winning entries from this year’s competition: Prismatica by RAW Design, Toronto and Fascinoscope by Lüz Studio, Montreal...

By far, Québec’s largest competition for innovative urban installations involving state-of-the-art lighting design, immersive environments or interactive digital spaces, Luminothérapie draws talents from far and wide every year.

Prismatica - site plan                                                                                                                                ©Raw Design

The winning entries are entitled to cast their spell on Quartier des Spectacles, the cultural heart of Montreal, for a period of almost two months, making way for a breath-taking winter extravaganza.

Fascinoscope                                                                                                                                          © Lüz Studio

Fascinoscope                                                                                                                                          © Lüz Studio

Prismatica, an immersive installation, endeavours to mesmerize visitors by means of 50 pivoting prisms, each 2m tall, mounted on light projectors and speakers. Designed using polycarbonate panels with a lamination of dichroic film, these prisms bask in sunlight by the day and atmospheric lighting by night, transmitting and reflecting it in myriad mind-boggling ways. They harness spellbinding polychromatic effects through the interplay of overlapping transparencies, patterns and reflections with ambient music, in response to visitors’ interactions, as they pivot them.

Fascinoscope                                                                                                                                          © Lüz Studio

Fascinoscope attempts to recreate the magic of 20^th century carnivals for the digital-age spectator by means of architectural video projections / creating optical illusions on building facades. It’s only during Luminothérapie that all the eight video projection sites of Quartier des Spectacles’ play host to a single creator. Displays at each of these sites are unique and  accompanied by original soundtrack performances. One of these sites, outside Saint-Laurent Metro Station provides a platform for visitors to play four different carnival classic games; e.g. Chicken Run, taking interactivity to new highs.

Fascinoscope                                                                                                                                          © Lüz Studio

Fascinoscope                                                                                                                                          © Lüz Studio

Montreal has been a UNESCO City of Design since 2006 and an epicentre of a ‘virtuous cycle’. The city’s design credentials enabled it to acquire this distinction and the same distinction, in turn, is further expanding the boundaries of the city’s ‘Design Quotient’. Luminothérapie serves as a substantive proof.