Dark exhibition room punctuated by lit display cases

Fondation Iris

Exhibition design

Deep Lights

A 650 m² exhibition on the deep sea, designed to travel.

Client
Fondation Iris
Venue
Lyon
Size
650 m²
Timeline
16 weeks · build-up 9 days
Year
2025
01

The brief

Fondation Iris was preparing a public exhibition on life in the deep sea, set to tour four cities. Visitors had to be plunged into the darkness of the abyss while fragile specimens were protected, with a journey that could be dismantled in less than ten days.

Vaulted passage lit by lanterns
02

The idea

A journey of gradual descent: the light fades from room to room until total darkness, where only the display cases guide the eye. The modular walls go up without tools and adapt to the volumes of each host venue.

Suspended installation and lights in a museum space
Three sculpted wooden discs on display
03

Production

42 climate-controlled museum display cases, a modular wall system developed by our workshop, controlled-spectrum LED lighting, sound and multimedia installations, accessible signage.

Timeline · 16 weeks

  1. W-16Programme & journey writing
  2. W-13Sketch & lighting mock-up
  3. W-10Drawings & display case prototypes
  4. W-8Modular wall fabrication
  5. W-3Multimedia content & signage
  6. W-2Build-up (9 days)
  7. DOpening
  8. M+4Breakdown & tour departure
04

Installation

Nine days of build-up for the first stop in Lyon, then six days at the following stops thanks to the modular system. Maintenance provided throughout the tour.

48,000visitors at the first stop
42climate-controlled display cases
4tour cities
82%of materials reused
A journey of great accuracy, and a team that understood the conservation constraints as well as the emotion we were after.
Hélène F., Exhibition Curator, Fondation Iris

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Team on the project

Project managementExhibition designerGraphic design & signageLighting designerJoinery & display case workshopTour management
Space lined with curved wooden slats

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