Skip to main content

The Bassins des Lumières project

Since 2018, Culturespaces has implemented a major project to enhance and develop the four basins in the submarine base, entrusted to it by the City of Bordeaux. In addition to restoration work and the restoration of the site (floors, tanks, foundations, electricity, soundproofing, etc.), and the creation of technical areas (offices, production room, servers, etc.), Culturespaces has decided to develop the site in order to improve the visitors’ experience.
In front of the entry to the base, an annex building with a surface area of 340 m2 will house a reception area, a ticket office, and a shop. The basin areas will be concealed by enormous 15-metre-hightarpaulins, which will also be used as projection surfaces.
Originally, the basins only had one gangway. It was renovated and two additional gangways were added in order to facilitate access, increase the itinerary floor space for visitors, and increase the number of viewpoints.

Several challenges had to be overcome due to the history of the base -an old bombed building and the presence of water that is 16 m deep. The projectors will be located inside air-conditioned cases and each speaker will be independently swivelled and controlled in order to control the flow of sound and adapt the quality to the audio content. Each of these elements, which respects and preserves the original site, contributes to creating the experience offered by the Bassins des Lumières.

Culturespaces has invested a total of 10 million euros in the project.