Danse of Lights

At dusk, the twisted silhouettes of the two Mondeal Heights towers, designed by Blocher Partners for the developer HN Safal and illuminated by Atelier dada, seem to resonate with one another through grazing light that heightens their illusion of movement.

At the design stage, an initial concept explored the idea of dynamic light beams, like two opposing breaths intensifying the visual tension between the towers, marking each hour through a brief luminous dialogue in contrast with the static grazing light that reveals their twists. A suspended vision, ultimately not retained for execution, yet one that continues to inhabit the project’s imagination.

From 9 p.m., as the offices grow quiet, the lighting scenario that was implemented unfolds its own silent magic: a nocturnal prayer addressed to Shri Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity. The façades then become lanterns suspended in the sky, evoking the flames of the Diya, symbols of welcome and benevolence in Indian culture.

Through dynamic LEDs integrated into the window reveals, Atelier dada composes a matrix of “flames” whose subtle movements seem to invoke harmony and fortune at the heart of the nocturnal business district.

Ideally, these lanterns would have risen only at the beginning of each hour, giving the façade a slower, more economical, more sensitive rhythm. The client chose continuous illumination instead. Yet this other temporality remains inscribed in filigree within the project: that of an hourly breath playing across the towers’ envelope to reveal time with greater delicacy in the urban landscape.