The alder at the civic hour

In January 2022, Atelier dada presented a conceptual lighting study to the City of Aulnay-sous-Bois for the illumination of its Town Hall.

This proposal was part of a broader research led by the studio on an original nocturnal aesthetic for Paris and Greater Paris. The idea was to start from the most important civic monument of each municipality, the town hall, and imagine a luminous thread capable of connecting territories without erasing their singularity.

A town hall is not only an administrative building. It is a shared address, an urban landmark, a republican threshold. It belongs to everyone, while carrying the specific signs of the city that hosts it.

For Aulnay-sous-Bois, Atelier dada imagined an illumination attentive to the architecture of the façade, its volume, materials and civic inscriptions. Light would restore the lines of the building, reveal the republican motto, and give renewed presence to the clock, the campanile, the cornices, the windows and the details that often disappear at night.

The project also sought a sign that belonged specifically to Aulnay.

This sign was the alder tree, emblematic of the city and already present in its visual identity. Rather than adding a decorative motif, Atelier dada proposed to turn it into a discreet and cyclical luminous appearance, like a vegetal breath inscribed onto the façade.

The alder appeared rhythmically throughout the night, marking the beginning of each hour. It first emerged at full intensity, then gradually faded until it disappeared into the depth of the night.

Its colour changed with the seasons, following the rhythm of nature: fresh in spring, more solar in summer, warmer in autumn, deeper in winter. Between these appearances, the façade returned to calm. Architecture, civic signs and the silent presence of the building could then fully resume their place.

Light was therefore not conceived as a permanent spectacle, but as a breathing presence.

It could intensify during special moments, accompany festive periods, then soften as the night progressed. The project sought a balance between local identity and republican dignity, between vegetal memory and civic house, between urban presence and respect for darkness.

This study was part of a series of initiatives developed by Atelier dada with several municipalities of Greater Paris. Each explored a way of revealing a distinct nocturnal identity, using a common sign capable of linking them to one another and to Paris, without repeating the same formula from one city to the next.

In Aulnay-sous-Bois, the Town Hall thus became more than an illuminated façade.

It became a point of recognition in the night, a familiar presence able to tell each inhabitant: this city is yours, this building represents you, this light welcomes you.

Beyond the concept itself, this research raised a question that remains deeply relevant: how can Greater Paris create a sensitive continuity between its municipalities without standardizing their faces?

Atelier dada believes that a metropolitan lighting strategy should not only connect infrastructures, avenues or economic hubs. It can also reveal symbols, civic thresholds and places of trust.

In this perspective, the town hall is not only a building to illuminate.

It is a common lamp.

© Atelier dada

This project is part of the “Lavis de lumière” research, whose concepts, principles and tools are protected by prior deposits.
Any reproduction or transposition of this approach without authorization is prohibited.