16 Oct 2024
Lightemotion, a global lighting design consultancy creating pathways to enhanced human experiences, proudly introduces its illuminating contribution to the new home of the Canadian Canoe Museum, located on the Little Lake waterfront in Peterborough, Ontario. As part of a $45 million project to build a two-storey, 65,000-square-foot space, Lightemotion was commissioned to bring the museum’s historic display of Canadian heritage to life.
“We are proud to be part of this important project, which shines a light on both Canadian heritage and living history,” says François Roupinian, President and Design Director of Lightemotion. “The Canadian Canoe Museum is like a love letter detailing what our nation is about, and we strived to convey the deep human connections behind each of its inanimate objects.”
For more than 25 years, the Canadian Canoe Museum has been home to the world’s largest collection of canoes, evolving from a community project to become a world-class museum. The museum’s new home opened its doors on May 13, with two 20,000-square-foot levels dedicated to a collection of canoes on public display through thoughtful exhibits detailing their histories.
“This was a project many years in the making, and we were very fortunate to have had direct access to the clients from the very beginning,” notes Roupinian. “That enabled us to gain a deep understanding of the importance of each of these vessels, particularly concerning Canada’s indigenous history.”
A non-conventional approach
In contrast to the object focus of a traditional Canadian museum, Lightemotion took a very theatrical, immersive, and sensory approach that would go well beyond the process of simply making the objects visible to visitors. It was essential to convey the emotions and craftsmanship behind each of the canoes and to create a lighting system that would immerse visitors in the experience.
Lightemotion introduced its trademark approach of applying multiple layers of light. Rather than simply lighting up each object, they endeavoured to stage them in ways that captured the defining elements of each creation, whether that be an engraving, the grain of the wood, or the form of the canoe.
“If you simply illuminate an object in its entirety, it can end up looking like a generic box store display,” notes Roupinian. “However, if you individually highlight some of its core elements in directional ways, the same object can generate emotive responses.”
Each canoe is directionally illuminated to infuse it with a sense of movement, but also to highlight its characteristics with angles of light that embrace it sculpturally. Like an arrow in flight, a closer look divulges the remarkably detailed craftsmanship of its construction.
Immersed in a dream
Lightemotion endeavoured to create a sort of dream atmosphere through a lighting system emanating from the ground up. They developed an elaborate system of mini ground lights with caches to target specific details, effectively detaching the canoes from each other to create an immersive atmosphere for each display.
Lighting was similarly deployed against graphic elements depicting the backstories of each display, with simple LED strip uplighting applied to bathe the banners and create a 3D environment that allows the canoes to float separately. That combination contributes to a very theatrical atmosphere while preserving the value of museologist details.
“You feel like you’re a part of each scene because you’re enveloped by the individual displays and are breathing in their DNA,” describes Roupinian. “The overall presentation is quite theatrical, but each detail is captured in captivating and easily identifiable ways.”
The intrinsic value of close collaboration
Lightemotion came aboard during the first phase of the CCM design process after being commissioned to conduct a study and develop a schematic design for the GSM Project. During COVID, they were called back into action as the project moved forward into the design development phase.
“The directors worked very hard for years to gather funding for this project, and we were determined to deliver a lighting system that would be both spectacular and budget-friendly,” summarizes Roupinian. “Part of that process was accomplished by working with fantastic local crews from the Peterborough area, and it became a labour of love for all involved.”
Lightemotion’s artisanal approach delivered an elaborate lighting apparatus worthy of such an important heritage project, optimized by a meticulously magical touch that has earned the company international renown. Brought down to a very human scale, Lightemotion’s design is poised to deliver immersive experiences to as many as 87,000 projected annual visitors for many years to come.
“Each of these creations has been carved by hand, and that has inherently developed a strong emotional bond between humanity, nature, and the canoe,” concludes François Roupinian. “Each one was initially a labour of love, and our lighting strives to convey those strong connections.”
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