Page 69 - Designing Ways 273

a deep and unique connection between
public and place – and among the visitors
themselves.

High-tech prowess showcasing an
exceptional heritage site
Dôme des Invalides provides one of
the most ambitious projection surfaces
that Moment Factory has ever had the
privilege to work with. The technical
challenge was enormous. At more than
90 metres high, the building is topped
by a dome whose smallest diameter is 30
metres. In all, more than 45 million pixels
were mapped onto a 3,500-square-metre
surface.
One of the building’s distinctive
features is a reverberation time that
spans nearly ten seconds, a result of its
architectural configuration. To ensure
that AURA Invalides visitors can fully
experience the orchestral score, the team
employed a sound-spatialising technique
that involves localising sound with utmost
precision. As a result, visitors can clearly
perceive where the sound emanates from.
The experience combines sound and
image to create a 360-degree immersion
effect, making visitors feel as if they are
fully immersed in the show.
Another major challenge was to blend
technology seamlessly into this space so
as to create a truly magical effect. In fact,
since Dôme des Invalides is a protected
historic monument, the projection
equipment had to be installed on the
existing structure without altering the
site’s architectural integrity.
To that end, the technical team
produced a drone-enabled architectural
scan, which it then transcribed into
virtual reality, in the form of a 3D
model, to produce a technical design
that encompassed all of the site’s specific
features. Throughout this delicate stage
(from design to implementation), the
firm's collaboration with Direction
régionale des affaires culturelles (DRAC)
– whose role is to protect the building’s
integrity – was particularly invaluable.

A creative process that celebrates a
historic monument
When the team at Moment Factory
embarked on this ambitious project, above
all it wanted to pay tribute to the genius of
Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and the talent of
the architects, artists, and craftsmen who
created Dôme des Invalides so that today’s
visitors may discover, or rediscover, this

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