The Château de Villers-Cotterêts, a historic French landmark, has been transformed into the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française. This museum, dedicated to the French language, officially opened in 2023 following extensive restoration. The project, led by ETC Audiovisuel, involved a complex AV integration featuring Digital Projection laser projectors, which were chosen for their performance and reliability in a museum setting.
ETC Audiovisuel, in collaboration with Projectiles (architecture studio) and Lundi8 (digital scenographer), worked to integrate advanced audiovisual technologies into the museum’s historical framework. The challenge was to preserve the Château’s heritage while creating an immersive, modern visitor experience.
“Delivering an experience that integrates seamlessly with the Château’s historic architecture while maintaining the highest audiovisual standards was a significant challenge,” said Laurent Segelle, permanent installations lead at ETC Audiovisuel.
The installation covers over 60 audiovisual areas, using nearly 80 screens and 25 projectors, including 15 Digital Projection E-Vision Laser 11000 4K-UHD and E-Vision 7500 projectors. ETC Audiovisuel’s Onlyview media servers were used to manage and synchronise content across multiple displays and projectors, enabling seamless image blending and warping.
“The Onlyview media server provided the necessary functionality for synchronising the projectors and delivering high-quality images across multiple surfaces,” Segelle explained. “Its capabilities, including HAP image format, Notch generative content, and autocalibration, were crucial to maintaining the integrity of the projections.”
The exhibition is divided into thematic areas, each designed to highlight a different aspect of the French language and its history. In the “Un château, un territoire” (A Castle, A Territory) section, an E-Vision Laser 7500 4K-UHD projectorprojects onto a semi-spheric inverted table, measuring 2.9 metres in diameter.
In the “Une langue, un monde” (A Language, A World) section, three E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD projectors drive projections across multiple screens. The projectors are used in the “Love” and “Revolt” areas, with projections on 3.9m x 3m screens, as well as in the “Laughs” area, where six smaller screens are arranged across the space.
As visitors progress to the Age of Enlightenment section, they encounter a 6m x 3.8m projection screen powered by another E-Vision laser projector. In the “De la langue de fer à la langue d’émancipation” (From the Language of Iron to the Language of Emancipation) room, an E-Vision Laser 6500 projector, mounted overhead, projects onto a traditional-style wall (1.7m wide), mimicking a blackboard.
The most technically demanding area of the museum is the “La route des mots, une langue métissée” (The Way of Words, A Mixed-Race Language) room. Here, four E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD projectors with ultra-short throw lenses project onto a 16m x 2.2m 360-degree dome. The projectors are synchronised using a four-channel PC with Onlyview software, enabling precise image blending and warping. The dome structure was designed by Matthieu Dheily of Sequoia Agencement, with ETC Audiovisuel conducting 3D tests on-site to ensure the projectors were optimally positioned.
In other sections, including the “Dictionnaire de l’Académie” (Dictionary of the Academy) and “La langue de Molière” (The Language of Molière), ETC Audiovisuel deployed multiple E-Vision Laser projectors. For example, in the “Language Games” room, an E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD projector projects dynamic content on a 5.2m x 3.2m wall, with interactivity triggered by visitor actions. In the “Molière” room, an E-Vision Laser 7500 projects onto a 2.8m x 1.9m curved surface.
The “Une affaire d’état” (A State Affair) room, which highlights the 1539 ordinance that made French the official language, features an E-Vision laser projector mounted on the ceiling, projecting a 4.5m x 2.8m image onto the wall.
The final exhibit space, the Sacristy room, provides an immersive experience with four E-Vision Laser 4K-UHD projectors, which together create a 24m x 3.3m 360-degree projection illustrating the evolution of the French language.
“This project required careful planning and execution at every stage to ensure that the technology integrated smoothly with the museum’s design,” Segelle said. “We relied on Digital Projection’s technology for its performance and reliability to meet the demanding requirements of this high-profile installation.”
ETC Audiovisuel has successfully integrated Digital Projection’s projectors with their Onlyview media servers to deliver a seamless and high-quality audiovisual experience, enabling the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française to showcase the French language’s rich heritage in a modern, engaging way.
