The Saint-Pol-de-Léon Cathedral, LED light control and trichromy

As LEC Lyon celebrates its 40th birthday, the company looks back at its contribution to lighting with Pascal Gougeon and the illumination of The Saint-Pol-de-Léon Cathedral.

« Our request was clear, we wanted a liturgical control system »

Pascal Gougeon, Lighting designer

In 2004, Pascal Gougeon already uses trichromatic diodes twinned with a control system to create dynamic LED lighting. 

The trichromatic LED lighting of the Saint-Pol-de-Léon Cathedral begun as a completely original and complex idea. The result is a light show with a unique control system and custom-made colours.

Pascal Gougeon (Kandela lighting agency) explains how the liturgical control system came to be.

Pascal Gougeon recalls his collaboration with LEC

"The idea was to illuminate the Saint-Pol-de-Léon Cathedral with four alternating religious colours in keeping with the Christian calendar.

This lighting is meaningful to visitors who come back to see the building in white (purity), red (love), green (hope) and purple (penitence).

The aim was to respect the Catholic religion and the liturgical colours by using lights to highlight the different symbols of the religious rite."

A year-round LED show

"I needed a resolute and cutting-edge manufacturer to perfectly synchronise the colours throughout the year and illuminate different elements with each colour.

Everything went smoothly with LEC, from drawing up the specifications and the sketches to the custom colour tests, the made-to-measure controls and the implementation.

We chose LEDs for their small size, lifespan and suitability for custom controlling. Thanks to the trichromatic diodes that were new to the market, we brought the stone lacework to life while respecting the limitations of an historic monument.  We had to adapt to the climate conditions, without making the installation visible, and by minimise maintenance as much as possible".

LED lighting in the service of art, architecture and history

"We needed state-of-the-art technology to fulfil our artistic vision of alternating colours on the Saint-Pol-de-Léon cathedral using historic information.

At that time, I was designing concept lighting for religious edifices, and I noted how expensive such installations were to maintain. Thanks to LED technology, we no longer needed to change the lamps every 3 years: the sources didn’t overheat, lasted longer and were controllable, programmable and invisible.

I am very happy with the result, because the less we see the technical aspects, the more we can enjoy the architecture."

⇒ Did you know? 
In 1977, LEC decided to focus all its attention on LED technology. These decades of dedicated expertise have allowed the company to meet strict requirements in terms of reliability, efficiency, maintenance and aesthetic appeal. Relive with us 40 historic years devoted to LED technology and the lighting industry.