Carré Janson - Tournai (Belgium)

In Tournai, Belgium, Ponctuelle designed the lighting for the Carré Janson, formerly known as the Smart Center, for the City of Tournai. The project brings new life to the Anciens Prêtres site, an 18th-century heritage complex at the foot of Notre-Dame Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The site combines restored buildings with contemporary additions: a covered atrium, exhibition spaces, a 250-seat auditorium and a belvedere offering panoramic views over the city and its five bell towers. The project’s quality lies in the dialogue between the richness of the existing heritage and a modern, minimalist architectural language.

The lighting design supports this approach, revealing the qualities of the spaces and materials while blending discreetly into this contemporary intervention.

The challenge was to provide comfortable, legible lighting, in keeping with the building’s architecture and suited to its various uses. Ponctuelle worked in two phases, with two complementary approaches. The first, museographic, covers the lighting of the visitor and exhibition spaces. Here, light reveals volumes and materials, from the restored historic fabric to the contemporary additions, while remaining comfortable and suited to each use. The second, scenographic, accompanies the sensory and immersive journey designed by Marion Golmard and Christophe Gaeta. Here, light becomes a storytelling tool that draws visitors into the experience.

This second phase is still in progress, with opening scheduled for the second half of 2026.

Client: Municipality of Tournai (Belgium)
Area: 2,000 m² (immersive journey)
Total project area: 6,500 m²
Scope: lighting design, site supervision and focusing
Completion: 2025 (museographic phase)
Lead architect: TANK architectes

Partners:
Scenography: Marion Golmard
Graphic design: Atelier Télescopique, Vinciane Clemens
Lighting design: Ponctuelle
Multimedia design: RELAB
Museography: Christophe Gaeta