The Story
Following our first collaboration in Bastogne, Tour des Sites Organisation once again placed its trust in us for a new challenge: bringing 400 years of history to life through a monumental show combining video mapping, artistic performances and historical storytelling.
This time, we headed to Waterloo, where the Centre Scolaire de Berlaymont was celebrating four centuries of history.
Entitled Les Dames du Berlaymont, the show traced the history of the Berlaymont nuns, from the convent’s origins to the modern-day school.
A journey through the eras, missions and transformations of an institution whose name resonates far beyond Waterloo, particularly through the famous Berlaymont building, home to the European Commission in Brussels.
To accompany this historical journey, waaaw.studio was commissioned to design and animate 11 visual sequences, integrated into a production combining storytelling, live performance and architectural projections.
The Challenge
Making façades tell 400 years of history isn’t something you can improvise!
The first challenge was artistic. We had to integrate our 11 sequences into a show conceived and orchestrated by Tour des Sites, alongside other artists and performers.
Each animation needed to find its place within the narrative, follow the rhythm of the performances and contribute to the show’s overall emotional impact.
From a technical perspective, the Centre Scolaire de Berlaymont presented another challenge: an architectural structure made up of several façades, each with different volumes and perspectives.
Unlike a conventional projection surface, every architectural element had to be considered to create coherent animations perfectly adapted to the building.
A genuine architectural video mapping challenge, where precision in perspective, proportions and movement was essential.
Finally, we had to strike the right balance between respecting religious heritage and embracing creative freedom.
How do you tell four centuries of history without keeping the story trapped in the past? How do you combine memory, poetry and contemporary performance?
These were the questions that guided our artistic approach.
The WAAAW Effect
To bring this story to life, we created 11 video mapping sequences, each contributing its own atmosphere to the narrative.
Our approach? Using the Berlaymont’s architecture as an integral part of the staging.
Stonework, windows, architectural volumes and perspectives became the canvas for graphic animations, visual transformations and narrative sequences.
We favoured a sensitive, immersive artistic direction, blending historical references, graphic compositions and touches of visual magic.
Because telling 400 years of history deserves a little more than three transitions and a crossfade!
Throughout the project, we collaborated with the artistic teams at Tour des Sites to ensure consistency between the video projections, storytelling and live performances.
The result? Three evenings of performances where the façades of the Centre Scolaire de Berlaymont became the living backdrop to a story spanning four centuries.
A meeting of heritage, digital creativity and live performance, demonstrating how video mapping can transform a historic location into a visual and narrative experience.
And when walls start telling stories, we at waaaw.studio simply can’t resist adding our own little touch of magic!
What if we brought your heritage to life?
From historic monuments to immersive scenography, let’s create a memorable video mapping experience together.
Let’s Talk About Your Project