Lighting at a high level

Illuminating an atrium from a height of 18 metres and achieving illuminance in excess of 800 lux! Impossible? Not to ETAP... The result can be admired in the main branch of the Le Furet du Nord bookstore in Lille.

Le Furet du Nord on Place Charles de Gaulle in Lille is a concept in northern France. Books, multimedia and office supplies are on display over seven floors with an impressive 6,000 m² in surface area. Every day this bookstore, one of the largest in Europe, attracts thousands of buyers in search of reading or audio material.
In 2014 the store underwent a thorough overhaul, with a lot of attention on lighting. In this context, the focus was on adjusted lighting levels in the various zones, visual comfort and energy efficiency. It is no coincidence that the architectural firm TGMP turned to ETAP for this project. ETAP has been Le Furet’s partner for ten years, with projects in both newbuilds and conversions, in Englos, Coquelles, Aéroville and Dunkirk to name a few.

Mission accomplished
The eye-catcher in the renovated store in Lille is the atrium, with a void across the building’s entire height: 18 metres. Since the atrium serves as the store’s lobby as well as its reception area, the lighting level on the ground floor had to be high: more than 800 lux. The client requested an energy-efficient LED solution that would not require maintenance. ETAP’s answer consisted of two 8-metre E7 lines with narrow-angle lenses. Our engineers were confident , which was a good thing: the correct measurement of the lighting level could only be carried out after the scaffolding required to install the luminaires at that height, was removed. Mission more than accomplished, and as a bonus it appeared that the imposing relief on one of the walls – a ‘brick library’ – could benefit from floodlight, thus attracting even more attention.
The new lighting in the remainder of the store may look less spectacular, but it contributes just as much to the lighting comfort. For each zone (middle aisles, wall racks, cash register) ETAP supplied the most suitable solution – primarily LED luminaires.