In the heart of Villers-Cotterêts, France, stands the historic Château de Villers-Cotterêts – an iconic symbol of French Renaissance architecture where King Francis I signed an ordinance that made the French language compulsory for all official documents. In 2017, during his first presidential campaign, candidate Emmanuel Macron pledged to restore the historically significant place to its former glory. Six years later, the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française was finally inaugurated, with the help of ETC Audiovisuel, which undertook the monumental AV integration project assisted by more than a dozen Digital Projection laser projectors.
Collaborating closely with architecture studio Projectiles and digital scenographer Lundi8 (from parent creative agency Artisans d’idées), the project aimed to transform the restored museum experience through seamless integration of the latest AV technologies.
The restoration of the Château de Villers-Cotterêts presented a vast challenge, both in terms of scale and significance. With a rich history dating back centuries, the castle provided an ideal setting for the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française. However, years of neglect meant that it required extensive restoration efforts.
“This was, without a doubt, a major project for ETC Audiovisuel in 2023 and one of the biggest we ever made in the museum sector, with very specific and challenging requirements,” explains Laurent Segelle, permanent installations lead at ETC Audiovisuel.
The project consisted of more than 60 audiovisual areas using nearly 80 screens and 25 video projectors, including 15 Digital Projection E-Vision Laser 11000 4K-UHD and E-Vision 7500 laser projectors, with ten of ETC Audiovisuel’s media servers, Onlyview, handling the necessary warping and blending.
“For the Villers-Cotterêts project, the Onlyview multi-stream audiovisual server, developed in-house over two decades ago, was selected to manage media playback across multiple servers simultaneously. This ensured the delivery of the sharpest and most flawless images, as envisioned by our image production partners,” says Laurent Segelle. “The entire network was synchronised to play content harmoniously, leveraging multiple servers to facilitate deformations, overlays, and interactivity through the Notch gateway, which enables the creation of generative content, exemplified in the magic library device.”
The Onlyview server provided a comprehensive suite of tools, including HAP image format broadcast, Notch generative content, autocalibration, 4K broadcast, and automation, which were essential to achieving the meticulous audiovisual rendering conceptualised by the Projectile set design company.
“We needed to deliver a multimedia museography project while closely coordinating with the construction teams,” explains Laurent Segelle. “Additionally, we had to pay close attention to conceal the equipment, as per the client’s request, to achieve the seamless integration of technology into the historical setting.”
According to Laurent Segelle, one of the reasons ETC chose to utilise Digital Projection’s E-Vision laser projectors was the laser-based technology, allowing it to achieve low energy consumption and virtually maintenance-free operation. ETC and Digital Projection have worked together for years, fostering a strong relationship, particularly in the museum sector. Together, they have executed major projects, including Eternal Mucha and Pompeii at the Grand Palais Immersif and the 18th-century Passemant astronomical clock video mapping in Versailles, where the reliability and performance of the British manufacturer’s projectors were trusted, making Digital Projection a natural choice for its latest ambitious project.
Renowned for their performance, Digital Projection’s 1-Chip DLP® laser projectors offer impressive brightness within a compact and lightweight chassis. The ultra-short-throw lens option also proved ideal for this project, especially in rooms where space was limited, ensuring optimal projection quality.
Encompassing a 1,200sqm exhibition area and 15 rooms divided into three sections, the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française exhibit welcomes visitors with the Un château, un territoire (“a castle, a territory”) room, which reveals the castle’s history and architecture using a large chronological fresco, a tactile model and projection.
In this introductory space, ETC opted for a single ceiling-mounted Digital Projection E-Vision Laser 7500 4K-UHD projector to deliver an impressive and reliable image onto a 2.9m-wide semi-spheric inverted table.
Further along the exhibition, in the une langue monde (a global language) section, the la langue dans tous ses états (language in a state) exhibit takes visitors on a trip around the world. Three ceiling-mounted Digital Projection E-Vision Laser 4K UHD laser projectors provide content for, respectively, two 3.9m ×3m projection areas (‘Love’ and ‘Revolt’) – each hosting four ceiling-hung and wall-mounted projection screens – and a third area (‘Laughs’) which hosts six more projection screens of various sizes and heights.
As the journey continues into the Age of Enlightenment section, visitors are invited to sit down in front of a giant 6m-long ×3.8-wide projection screen, powered by another E-Vision laser projector, before being invited to de la langue de fer à la langue d’émancipation (from the language of iron to the language of emancipation) room. There, visitors are met with a setting reminiscent of a classroom, with an E-Vision Laser 6500 projector positioned overhead. The laser projector is projecting onto the wall, akin to a traditional blackboard, covering an expansive 1.7m area.
Arguably the most impressive and challenging area, the La route des mots, une langue métissée (the way of words, a mixed-race language) room, four E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD laser projectors with ultra short throw lenses feed content to a 360 degree, 16m by 2.2m dome, synchronised with a four-channel PC using Onlyview software for content blending and warping. The dome’s construction was overseen by Matthieu Dheily from Sequoia Agencement, with preliminary 3D tests conducted on-site by ETC Audiovisuel to optimise projector placement.
Six E-vision Laser Projectors were installed in the Dictionnaire de l’académie (Dictionary of the Academy), Dictionnaire des francophones (Francophone dictionary), salle des jeux (games room) and La langue de Molière (the language of Moliere) areas. “In this section, we installed two E-Vision laser projectors in each space, oriented downwards and driven by dedicated PCs using our Onlyview software,” elaborates Laurent Segelle. The use of solid-state laser technology enabled flexible positioning of the projectors, ensuring optimal performance throughout the rooms. In the “language games” room, ETC utilised E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD projectors for a dynamic wall projection, measuring 5.2m by 3.2m, activated by visitor interaction with a screen monitor. “In the language of Moliere room, we deployed an E-Vision laser projector to cast images onto a 2.8 m by 1.9m curved surface,” adds Laurent Segelle.
The exhibit continues in the Une affaire d’etat (a state affair) room, where visitors can discover the ordinance, signed by Francis I in 1539 at Villers-Cotterêts, which granted official status to the French language. In this room, one E-Vision laser projector is mounted on the ceiling for a wall projection, measuring 4.5m by 2.8m.
As the journey draws to a close for the visitors, they can find themselves in the Sacristy room, an immersive space illuminated by four E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD projectors. Together, they create a vast 24m × 3.3m 360˚ view, showcasing the evolution of words to the French language. The E-Vision laser projectors, hung from the ceiling on each side of the room surround visitors in an immersive experience, providing them with an engaging epilogue.
Laurent Segelle explains: “From the initial tests to final installation, every aspect was carefully orchestrated to preserve the château’s architectural and historical integrity while inspiring the visitor to learn more about the French language.”
“We are proud to have delivered such an important project,” he concludes. “Having worked with Digital Projection projectors before, we knew we could count on their exceptional quality and performance to help us deliver a seamless and outstanding audiovisual integration.”
www.digitalprojection.com/emea/
Photo: © Benjamin Gavaudo
About the CILF: www.cite-langue-francaise.fr