AURA Invalides

"AURA Invalides" transforms the Dôme des Invalides into a sound and light show. Created by studio Moment Factory and produced by Cultival, the work combines video mapping, orchestral music, and light effects for a walk of about fifty minutes under the painted dome, 60 meters high.

Visitors follow a staged route that reveals the decorations, gilding, and volumes of the monument in a sequence of visual and sound tableaux, inviting both contemplation and wonder.

3D mapping is used here as a revealer: it highlights the frescoes, gilding, and architectural reliefs of the Dome without ever obscuring their original craftsmanship. By working on a monumental scale, the artistic team establishes a respectful dialogue between the precious baroque decorations and contemporary digital spectacle techniques.

The result is a new interpretation of the site, which lets the memory of the building be seen and heard while breathing a contemporary spirit into it.

The Dome, inaugurated in 1706 and housing Napoleon I’s tomb since 1861, becomes the setting for a visual and musical narrative. Designed in several movements, the creation invites exploration of the chapels and imperial crypt through consecutive tableaux – construction, momentum, revelation – each revealing a different facet of the monument.

The group walk, in semi-darkness and to the rhythm of orchestral music, offers a pause where time stretches and the architecture speaks through light.

The scale of the Dome required meticulous design and coordination work: lighting designers, 3D artists, a composer, architects, and technicians worked with the Army Museum to adapt the creation to the monument while preserving its integrity.

More than a year of research and testing was needed to calibrate the 360° mapping and sound spatialization so that each projection fits exactly the volumes and pictorial dialogues of the dome. The result is lighting that is both spectacular and respectful of the heritage.