Location: Tours, France.

Architect: PCA – Philippe Chiambaretta Architecte.

The Centre de Création Contemporaine-CCE in Tours, a cultural center for contemporary art, underwent a facade intervention by architect Philippe Chiambaretta at PCA. The initial bare concrete facade was given a “second skin” through the use of 240 custom cut transparent PMMA panels, each equipped with a white LED string fixed to the back of the panel. The design was created by deforming a flat with imaginary forces from the materialization of the encounter between subjective spaces of individuals. The 82.4-foot-long facade comprises 150 12.1-foot-high Plexiglas profiles spaced 9 inches apart, held in place by slotted metal brackets. White LEDs are glued to the back edge of each plastic sheet. A dark translucent film was installed over the existing building’s windows, and the original elevation was black painted to contrast with the glowing slivers of the project. The objectives of the project were differentiation, communication, and exchange.

Photo credit: ACT lighting design.