The owner, Vincenzo Bonaffini, is not his first restaurant. In fact, the businessman has already bought around ten establishments to renovate them. With Like before – “As at the beginning”, in Italian, is the title of a song written by Mario Panzeri with music by Vincenzo Di Paola and Sandro Taccani, performed, among others, by Dalida, whose portrait adorns one of the walls of the room –, it’s like a return to basics. Located in Annecy, avenue d’Aix-les-Bains, in the Seynod district, the restaurant whose management has been entrusted to Sébastien Bourbon offers Italian and Sicilian specialties, in a chic and warm decor. Vincenzo Bonaffini wanted differentiated lighting to accompany the spaces created by architect Jean-Louis Meyer: a bar, a room under a glass roof, a pergola, in a flamboyant red and wood decor. “It was the Pettini Electricity company that contacted me, comments Thierry Jacquot (L&S-Concept). We had worked together several times and she integrated the lighting project service into the overall electricity budget. Then, she put me in contact with the client and the project manager of the restaurant who each explained to me their expectations in terms of lighting. »
Un preliminary project in 3D
The basic principle of the preliminary project developed by Thierry Jacquot is based on good distribution of light, whatever the space considered, and programming adapted to each space of the restaurant.
“For the general atmosphere of the restaurantexplains Thierry Jacquot, I wanted customers to benefit from warm light without them being able to perceive its origin. I therefore opted for compact and discreet LED lighting in terms of design and without glare: these are recessed lights equipped with reflectors.notrs black and equipped with a UGR1 10, with good luminance control. I systematically propose my preliminary projects in 3D, which allows the client and the architect to get a good representation of the final lighting and to easily validate the choice of lights.inaries, or possibly request adaptations. »
Black spherical pendant lights descend above the bar to illuminate the counter while micro-projectors (1 cm in diameter and 2 cm long) have been focused on the bottles at the back. The counter itself is backlit by an LED strip on the underside.
The vertical decorative panels benefit from lighting using wall washers.
The tones are warm: red goes well with gold which harmonizes with the wood. To maintain this atmosphere, all luminaires display a color temperature of 2700 K, accompanied by a color rendering index of 90 (R9 above 80) which highlights the materials and contents of the plates.
Drawing beams on the facade
On the terrace, the letters of the restaurant sign “C and P” intertwine in white light on a dark blue background, all affixed to the red wall.
“The creation of the exterior lighting is an illustration of the collaborative work between the architect, the client and our agencypoursuit Thierry Jacquot. Jean-Louis Meyer wanted to achieve a beam effect on the wall, and Vincenzo Bonaffini was worried that the restaurant logo wouldn’t stand out enough or that the tables wouldn’t be lit enough. Once again, the 3D simulation proved effective and convinced. I must say that the difference between the simulation and the photo of the completed installation is barely noticeable. »
The small projectors (4 cm in diameter) are embedded in the ceiling of the pergola and oriented on the facade, and draw the beams of light without harming the illuminated sign. In addition, recessed floor lights highlight the metal and glass structure that closes the terrace and highlight the vegetation that adorns this space.
Programming based on times of day
« In restaurants, it is not uncommon to need more light, paradoxicallyindicates Thierry Jacquot, to be seen from the outside: customers must be able to capture the atmosphere of the restaurant at a single glance; while in the evening, you can lower the light intensity to create a softer and warmer atmosphere. We have therefore defined a schedule for all the lighting fixtures by grouping them by zone. »
The light sequences are also programmed by group. For example, glass pendant lights were added to complete the decor and illuminate the “standing tables”; as the lamps with which they are equipped provide a significant flow, the LS-Concept team has equipped them with a DALI system which makes it possible to obtain, through programming, a level of lighting on the high tables, homogeneous with the rest of the lighting.
Lighting is managed from a tablet or wall control and can call up pre-programmed lunchtime or evening sequences or even personalized scenarios.
Isabelle Arnaud
