PARIS – Silence is often elicited by the sight of the Louis Vuitton Foundation building, Frank Gehry’s stunning architectural gem. Soaring skyward like the giant sails of a great ship, its 3,600 curved panels delicately balancing form and function with infinite precision, the distinctive structure inspires a quiet, cathedral-like reverence through the sheer power of its design.

Inside the expansive auditorium section of Louis Vuitton Foundation, silence is not only a natural response to the room’s beauty, it is also quiet desirable – enriching the experience of hearing performances by internationally renowned artists like Yuja Wang, and Vladimir Spivakov that take place within its walls.

It was with this desire for utter quietness in mind that Prodster recently installed 14 CHAUVET Professional Maverick Silens 2 Profile fixtures inside this performance space. The 560W fanless fixture operates in complete silence, making it well-suited for this intimate venue, according to Bruno Madec, Technical Director of Prodster.

“We manage several cultural and institutional venues in Paris, including Louis Vuitton Foundation,“ said Madec. “For several years we have been wanting a silent LED spotlight projector of a reasonable size and weight. Considering the shows we host, including classical, dance and jazz performances, we want to create an environment that is as silent as possible.“

Delivered to Louis Vuitton Foundation in June, the Maverick units are arranged on three different front stage positions. From here they can cover the entire stage, in addition to highlighting the architectural features of the room during a vernissage or cocktail party.

“Beyond their silent operation, the Maverick projectors have the qualities we wanted,“ said Madec. “The Chauvet engineers added 16-bit graduation with tungsten emulation, a perfect color spread, and a 10:1 linear zoom, which make the units very versatile for us. It is important for us to be able to reformat our stage in two hours, because of the variety of functions and shows that take place in this room.

“The programming here is very rich and eclectic,” continued Madec. “This requires having a particularly flexible and adaptable lighting system to go from a piano recital, to a jazz scene, to a reception, for example. Therefore, it is very desirable for us to have motorized moving heads that allow us to make adjustments, while also providing very fast and very sharp lighting.”

On 23 September, the Maverick Silens MK2 Profile created this “fast and sharp lighting” inside the Louis Vuitton Foundation, as the renowned venue reopened its doors for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown went into effect. People who return to the auditorium for its socially distant shows this fall will see the effects of the new Maverick, but they will not hear it, as it works away in silence to contribute to each show. This is exactly what Bruno Madec and Prodster had in mind.