Project
Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE)
Site
Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE)
Location
Mexico City, Mexico
Client
Fideicomiso del Espacio Cultural Betlemitas (FECEB-MIDE)
Lighting Design
Jorge Zinser, Zinser Studio
Architecture
Ricardo Warman, RIWA Arquitectura
Luminaire Manufacturer
formalighting, luxled
Casambi Integration Partner
Signl
Photography
Jaime Navarro Estudio
In collaboration with Zinser Studio, RIWA Arquitectura, formalighting, and Signl, the Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE) in Mexico City implemented a Casambi-based wireless lighting control system that modernized its 18th-century heritage building without invasive cabling or compromising conservation requirements. The solution enables flexible, reversible, and individually controllable lighting that can easily adapt to the museum’s evolving exhibitions, enhancing visitor engagement and supporting immersive storytelling. By combining advanced wireless technology with thoughtful architectural and lighting design, the project demonstrates how historic preservation and innovation can successfully coexist in cultural spaces.
In collaboration with lighting designer Jorge Zinser of Zinser Studio, architect Ricardo Warman of RIWA Arquitectura, lighting manufacturer formalighting and Casambi partner Signl, the Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE) in Mexico City stands as a compelling example of how advanced wireless control can transform a complex heritage space into a dynamic, adaptable environment.
Housed within an 18th-century historic building in the heart of Mexico City, MIDE presented a significant technical challenge: integrating a modern lighting infrastructure within a protected architectural framework where conventional cabling solutions are limited or invasive. To overcome this, a wireless control system based on Casambi technology was implemented, eliminating the need for extensive rewiring while fully respecting the integrity of the heritage structure.
This approach not only simplified installation, it also ensured that the intervention remained entirely reversible and compliant with conservation standards — an essential requirement for protected historic sites.
Beyond its installation advantages, the control system plays a critical role in the museum’s day-to-day operation. As an interactive museum dedicated to making economic ideas and systems accessible through immersive museography, MIDE continuously evolves its exhibitions and requires lighting schemes that can adapt quickly and precisely. Through Casambi, every luminaire can be individually controlled, allowing curators and operators to modify scenes, intensities and focal points in line with the narrative needs of each exhibition.
This level of flexibility enables the lighting design to remain responsive over time, supporting a wide range of museographic scenarios without the need for physical modifications. Graphics, digital displays, interactive elements, objects and architectural features can all be dynamically highlighted, ensuring clarity, visual comfort and an engaging visitor experience.
The lighting design by Jorge Zinser enhances both the historic character of the building and the contemporary museographic language, drawing on a curated selection of high-performance LED luminaires from formalighting. The architectural intervention led by Ricardo Warman of RIWA ensures a seamless integration between old and new, while Signl, as Casambi partner, delivered the wireless control infrastructure that ties the entire system together.
Jorge Zinser, Principal Lighting Designer at Zinser Studio, commented: “In a museum where ideas are the exhibits, light becomes a language. At MIDE, lighting was designed to guide, to clarify and to create atmosphere. Combining formalighting’s high-quality luminaires with Casambi’s wireless control gave us the precision and flexibility to support the visitor’s journey and reinforce how economic concepts are perceived and understood.”
Omar Reul, Principal at Signl, added: “Working within an 18th-century heritage building required a solution that was as discreet as it was powerful. Casambi’s wireless ecosystem allowed us to deliver an intelligent, fully tunable control layer without compromising the architecture — and one that can keep evolving as freely as the museum’s exhibitions do.”
Together with the broader museographic design, the project demonstrates how intelligent control systems can bridge heritage preservation and technological innovation. At MIDE, lighting is not only a design element, but a flexible, scalable tool — capable of evolving alongside the ideas it helps communicate.
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