A major works package to bring the "Bassins de Lumières" digital art centre to life
In 2018, the city of Bordeaux (France) made a part of its famous submarine base available to Culturespaces to create a digital art centre. Guillaume Arsaut (Cegelec Bordeaux Génie Climatique business unit manager) and Mickael Debarre (Cegelec Bordeaux Electricité business unit manager) are proud to have been chosen to implement a major technical works package in one of the world’s largest multimedia installations.
The “Bassins de Lumières” project
The base, a remnant from the Second World War, will now house a new space called “Les Bassins de Lumières” where immersive digital exhibitions in the spirit of the Carrières de Lumières (Baux de Provence – France) and the Atelier des Lumières (Paris) will be held. The project will offer high-quality, customised visual and audio experiences.
How did you win the call for tender?
This project is a good example of synergy within the Group, because we learned about the call for tender from Mickael Debarre.
The City of Bordeaux has a framework contract under which it asked CEGELEC Bordeaux Electricité to conduct an audit of the existing electrical system at the submarine base. This gave us early information and involvement in the project.
The customer, Culturespaces, was looking for a company able to deliver the major works package. We have provided this expertise for many years, thanks in particular to Christophe Laborde, who consistently encouraged his teams to offer it.
We made a commitment to deliver a comprehensive technical solution, and this proved compelling for the programme manager Culturespaces and the technical design office Beta Fluides.
What are the technical works packages at the site?
In terms of climate engineering, we are in charge of heating and cooling for the project as a whole; this includes installation of a VRF direct expansion system. The special feature of this system is the use of nine hydraulic heat exchangers immersed to a depth of five metres. The exchange will be with the water in the basin, which will completely avoid noise in the museum’s exhibition rooms.
The premises (exhibition rooms, offices, restaurant space, ticket office) will be ventilated by four dual flow air handling units, and the hygienic air in the exhibition area will be treated by a blower and an extraction unit, each with 20,000 m3/h capacity.
In terms of the electrical systems, we installed 5 km of cable trays (at a height of 10 metres), a 1000 kVA high-voltage substation, a 350 kVA rackable UPS (10 minutes, with Hoppeck batteries), and the low-voltage distribution system.
In terms of the ELV systems, we are in charge of security systems (which we will implement with CHATENET, which has teams specialising in TIL equipment) and a dedicated optical fibre network to control the architectural and exhibition lighting system.
What are the special features of the site?
Visitors will move on gangways installed above the basins, which are surrounded by walls with a height of more than 12 metres on which the digital works will be projected; the works will be reflected in the water.
Technologically, the machines will be cooled directly via heat exchangers immersed in the basins to avoid noise.
The special feature of the electrical works was the height (10 metres) at which they were carried out and the length of cables and cable trays to be installed; and, of course, the aesthetic appearance of the systems, since we were working above all in an exhibition space.
We also worked closely with the CADMOS company, which specialises in Multimedia (sound and lighting) systems.
What is the project timeline?
The project got under way in July 2019 and handover is scheduled in the spring of 2020.
What is the value of the contract?
The value is €600,000 for Cegelec Bordeaux Génie Climatique and €1.2m for Cegelec Bordeaux Electricité.
To find out more about the “Bassin de Lumières” project, click here
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