The Vigan Tunnel, using LED railway lanterns to choreograph the greenway

On its 40th birthday, LEC looks back at its contribution to lighting with Pierre Nègre: the Vigan Tunnel, choreographed with a LED railway lantern.

« We thought that we could do much better than simple guidance lighting, that there was a story to tell…»

Pierre Nègre - Lighting Designer

Pierre Nègre is a lighting designer with a background in the performing arts. When he saw the call to tender for the greenway Vigan Tunnel for pedestrians and cyclists, he instinctively wanted to tell the story of the railway through lighting.

He explains to us how he came to have the idea of reinventing railway lanterns with LED technology to choreograph the various elements within the tunnel.

Pierre Nègre recalls his collaboration with LEC

I wanted to create lighting that brought out the architectural quality of the Vigan Tunnel, and that facilitated its use for pedestrians and cyclists in the daytime.

We also needed to mark the ceiling for signage and safety reasons, showcasing the tunnel’s curves.

Finally, our challenge was to make the stone vault into a performance piece to break the monotony of the crossing, using the rhythm of the ‘refuge’ niches found on both sides of the path.

 
The Vigan Tunnel: lighting a railway tunnel converted into a cycle and pedestrian path.

An LED railway lantern to illuminate, mark and choreograph

I took inspiration from the lamps that railway workers used in the last century along tracks to design an LED lantern which symbolised the site’s history.

On the ground, I added my designer’s touch with customised graphics, playing with white strips that evoke the former railway and that gives tempo to the crossing by reflecting the light emitted by the lanterns.

In 2011, LED for public lighting was in its infancy, and we used LEC’s first spotlights. We succeeded in creating an individual product where each lantern had its own unique colour combination.

Creative and economical LED lighting

The result is a multi-function LED lantern that saves energy — we wanted it to only turn on when users passed by. We went beyond that by creating lighting inside the Vigan Tunnel that entices you in with each detection.

This luminaire combines lighting for crossing, marking for signage and choreography of the various colours to liven up the crossing.

Pedestrians and cyclists were particularly pleased with the project’s visual qualities and serene lighting. The illumination is soft, from the centre to the outside of the tunnel.

⇒ 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.