The Soleil Tunnel is a sensorial passage through which visitors travel upon arriving at the circus. It takes visitors from the out- door circus grounds to the indoor circus lobby by way of a fully immersive, interactive experience. CONCEPT
Passage through the Soleil Tunnel is meant to release visitors from the accumulated tensions of their fast-paced urban ex- istence. It is a stress decontamination process that stimulates the visitor’s senses with imagery, video, lighting, music and even odors. There is a feeling of rebirth, the senses are recali- brated, and the visitor is released in the ideal emotional state for experiencing a Cirque du Soleil show. INTERACTIVE SCENARIO
Architectural setting The Soleil Tunnel is integrated into the lobby tent architecture and does not reveal itself from the outside. It is positioned as the main entrance and as such all visitors must pass through it to access the show. The tunnel exits centrally into the lobby area. The tunnel has multiple narrow straight sections and broad curved sections. A succession of themes is introduced in each of the curved sections using imagery, video, sound and odors that work to achieve the desired effect of detach- ing visitors from their day-to-day world, and pulling them into the world of circus. The effect is enhanced through the use of the architectural technique of accelerated and decelerated perspective.
