PikiP
PikiP and the Friche la Belle de Mai: Europe's first self-powered, solar-powered contemporary music venue
We were asked to propose a self-powered, solar installation for this first weekend of operation. Fully designed and built by our team, it meets the goals of the BISOU cooperation (made up of AMI, Bi:Pole, Cabaret Aleatoire, Rad
La Friche la Belle de Mai, a former tobacco factory converted into a cultural third place, this month inaugurated a new venue for contemporary music in Marseille: the Petit Cab. This performance and creation space will host concerts, residencies, immersive performances, media projects and experiments throughout the year.
We are proud to announce that the Petit Cab is now the first contemporary music venue in Europe with stage equipment that is entirely self-powered and solar-powered, thanks to a Pikip Solar Speakers installation.
An energy self-sufficient contemporary music venue
We were asked to propose a self-powered, solar installation for this first weekend of operation. Fully designed and built by our team, it meets the goals of the BISOU cooperation (made up of AMI, Bi:Pole, Cabaret Aleatoire, Radio Grenouille - Euphonia and the cooperative company Friche la Belle de Mai), which is behind the Petit Cab project: to embody a concrete approach to ecological transition and imagine more self-sufficient and responsible venues. Two strong commitments that are of course at the heart of the Pikip Solar Speakers project.
15 solar panels were installed on the roof of the Friche la Belle de Mai, located in the 3rd arrondissement. They are themselves connected to 3 energy stations, our SE 10000, each providing 10.2 kWh of autonomy and 10 kVA of power. They power all the venue's stage equipment: lighting, sound and control.
→ Discover the PikiP Energy range
Each station is mobile and self-powered: a modularity that makes every configuration possible, indoors as well as outdoors. And to guarantee uninterrupted continuity, a smart system switches over to the grid at certain points.
Acoustic power and immersive experience
With a capacity of 350 people, the Petit Cab is 100% sound-equipped with PikiP gear, designed in our Marseille workshop. For the occasion, products from the Stage LT range were paired with some new additions.
6 constant-curvature VCH30 speakers are suspended in the venue to ensure even coverage: fitted with a multi-entry conical-exponential horn, they cover a band of 85-18,000 Hz with constant directivity. They are paired with our new hybrid dual-resonator VTL218 subwoofers, placed on the ground in front of the stage. Finally, on stage, 6 full-range coaxial VCX12 speakers provide precise monitor returns for the artists.
→ Discover the PikiP Acoustics range
This whole installation uses the 16 channels of 4 self-powered, battery-based patented PikiP amplifiers. The result: power, precision and total immersion for the audience, a live experience in its purest form.
Photo credits: Isis Mecheraf (1,3), @funklavie (2)