In collaboration with the Architecture department of the University of Liège and the “Société libre de l’Émulation”, this event based on a participative nocturnal event project which aim to illuminate the “Place de l’Yser” was proposed to the users of the site by Radiance35.
This square, neglected by the population for years, was at the heart of an activity called “Lumière sur la place de l’Yser”, reflecting on the theme of “body and space”.
For 3 months, the university students, supervised by their professors and in coordination with the inhabitants, reflected on the problems of the square, in order to propose 3 distinct projects, ephemeral or permanent. Radiance35 accompanied them on the nocturnal aspect, initiating them in particular to participative methodologies.
The participative process took place in two stages:
Firstly, on 15 September 2022, four night-time exploratory walks were carried out in parallel and made it possible to gather the feelings of users regarding the square’s environment and its surroundings.
Secondly, on 7 October 2022, a “light happening” staged the nocturnal concepts imagined by the students, giving users the opportunity to manipulate the light and “live” the concepts. These light shows are therefore an application, a materialization, of the students’ projects having been in direct contact with the inhabitants and users.
With the collaboration of students, teachers and users of the neighborhood, this dark and inert square was transformed, for one evening, into a real field of experimentation. Warm lights, coloured lights, shadows, candles, disco balls: so many devices to translate the imagination and creativity of these projects.
This experience allowed us to understand how slight interventions/adaptations can already change the perception of the place. Through the intervention of Radiance35, the “Place de l’Yser” will have taken on a new face for an evening, in the desire that this intervention will give the “kick off” to a more permanent intervention and make this central square the heart of the neightbourhood once again!
