Olympic Village lighting
Location: Paris, France
Credits: © Vincent Fillon | Halle Maxwell
On the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Saint-Denis Olympic Village is becoming an emblematic global gathering place. Among the site’s major buildings, the Halle Maxwell illustrates an ambitious and reversible architectural conversion, designed to accompany the multiple lives of a site with evolving functions.
Formerly an RATP electrical substation, this monumental industrial hall (220 metres long, 22 metres wide, 15 metres high) has been completely refurbished to house areas dedicated to athletes during the Games: an information center, fitness rooms, offices for delegations, and adjoining accommodation in new buildings connected to the main structure.
As part of this major project, Sammode was asked to design and supply a lighting solution tailored to the requirements of this dual-purpose site. In all, around 300 luminaires were installed in two separate areas of the Olympic Village, combining aesthetics, robustness and durability.
The Elgar and Scorel models, in wall and ceiling versions, provide functional lighting for the superstructure’s staircases, while the Purcell model, designed for great heights, diffuses homogeneous light throughout the impressive volumes of the Maxwell Hall. The ensemble guarantees optimum visual comfort, while complying with technical safety constraints, particularly in terms of fire prevention.
Designed to last, these luminaires will also accompany the post-Olympic transformation of the site. Once the Games are over, Halle Maxwell will be integrated into the Universeine district and will be home to some 2,500 Ministry of the Interior employees. It will be part of a mixed-use urban complex comprising housing, offices, shops, a crèche and a medical center, for a total of over 140,000 m² of developed surface area.
This project illustrates Sammode’s ability to design technical and versatile lighting solutions, capable of meeting the challenges of adaptability and durability in complex and changing urban contexts.
