The TR2 tower is a social housing complex in Elbeuf-sur-Seine, in Normandy. Built in 1972, the tower was renovated in 2017 by the Boucle de Seine Architecture architectural practice, who added an external thermal insulation system to the building. The sustainable renovation project went hand in hand with the desire to modernise the urban architecture in a neighbourhood that is classed as a sensitive urban zone.

The building envelope was fitted with 313 Goccia 2.6 recessed lighting fixtures with a screen in sandblasted extra-clear glass and a colour temperature of 4000K. The night-time result is a fascinating cascade of stars reflected in the Seine, which flows alongside the building.

The lighting project won first prize in France’s Concours Lumières 2018 precisely because of the symbolic significance of this original and exemplary regeneration of a social housing building that, because of its location, marks the entrance to the French town.