It was in 2021 that we started working on the HALO project by IF Architects located on the esplanade of La Defense-Paris for the production of the first visuals. These initial visuals focused on the “screen-like” facade concept, using projections to create optical illusions and a sense of depth.

As the project evolved, new images were created in 2022 to show the different aspects the project could take :

• When off, HALO’s semi-reflective mirrored façades give the building an almost immaterial, highly reflective appearance.
• When on, whether brightly lit along its walkways or more subtly through colored LED bands, HALO reveals glimpses of its interior life.
• HALO’s façades are also digital, featuring a suspended LED mesh behind the semi-reflective glazing. Designed to display artistic works and video content, the building becomes a medium that reflects its identity and programming.

In 2023, IF Architectes commissioned us to produce a presentation film for the project. This film involved several technical challenges due to the façades’ simultaneous transparency, reflectivity, and emissive qualities. Another key challenge was integrating HALO into the highly recognizable context of the Esplanade de la Defense, while accurately respecting the surrounding urban landscape reflected in its facades to ensure visual credibility. Incorporating HALO into on-site footage required us to fully master every aspect of video compositing and integration.

Finally, the architects wanted to experience HALO through an aerial sequence with a very wide field of view. Flying a drone over La Défense is stricktly forbidden, at least not without months of authorization. To overcome this constraint, we created camera movements directly within the Google Earth model. This approach gave us a great deal of freedom in terms of motion, despite the limited image resolution. Managing reflections on HALO was a real feat : some elements are modeled to only appear in the reflections of the glass !

The film was produced in just three weeks. This is undoubtedly a new step in the evolution of ILLUMINENS’ work and our business : it opens up a new realm of possibilities.
Thank you again to IF Architectes (and especially to Sandra Delamotte, its director) for their trust and for giving us this opportunity.