The Lost Casino
The immersive journey
In partnership with the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, the Lost Casino project is part of a cultural initiative, offering a nomadic experience first inaugurated at the famous Villa Masséna.
This immersion invites visitors to dive into the history of this temple of entertainment, once the favorite place of gambling enthusiasts, glittering social events, and extravagant theatrical plays.
Discover the birth of this glass palace with its singular architecture, a dazzling reflection of 19th-century extravagance. Admire its many artistic representations by painters of the time, and let yourself be captivated by the aura of this building, which lit up the night sky of Nice.
The development of this experience introduced several innovations in our creative process. We first designed a 3D-printed model, specifically crafted for optimal alignment with the HoloLens. This approach reflects our ambition to reveal history directly within the exhibition space, anchoring the virtual in the real through mixed reality.
This miniature reconstruction of the Casino, created from carefully selected historical sources, is associated with a solid oak medallion. This tangible object serves as the physical anchor point of the augmented experience, enabling precise, intuitive, and deeply immersive interaction.
To extend the immersion, the experience also integrates a virtual reality sequence, transporting visitors onto the Promenade des Anglais, facing the majestic Casino, restored in all its splendor and colors.
How to Bring a Lost Landmark Back to Life?
Guided by the unforgettable voice of Benoît Allemane, visitors rediscover the history of the mythical Jetée-Promenade Casino through three captivating chapters:
Architecture: In 1870, the Marquis d’Espouy de Saint-Paul announced an ambitious project: to give Nice a casino that could rival Monaco’s. This exceptional monument would be built… on the sea. The building combined an English-style pier, a dome inspired by the Taj Mahal, bulbous roofs, and oriental towers.
Artistic Influence: From its opening, the Casino became a source of inspiration for artists. Alexis Mossa, Raoul Dufy, and others immortalized its fairytale silhouette, embedding its image in the collective imagination.
The Festive Life: A true temple of spectacle, it hosted 177 artists from around the world: local musicians, American orchestras, Russian dancers, Italian tenors… Music, dances, balls, and concerts animated Nice’s nights in a cosmopolitan whirlwind.
The Lost Casino was selected among 15 “Place × Supplier” duos by the Museum Connections Innovation Duos jury, recognized as one of the best real-world applications showcased at the event.
When delivered, the project included the headsets and application, the model with its transport case, and a tablet equipped with our “Companion App.”
The setup can then be installed anywhere, provided there is at least 9 m² of space to ensure an optimal experience. This format allows our clients to showcase and share the experience with their audience over the long term. Initially inaugurated at the Villa Masséna, it is now exhibited at the Nice Heritage Center.
Just one, with no special technical skills. We design our applications to adapt to client needs. For example, at Villa Masséna, a staff member simply handed out the headsets to visitors and collected them at the end. Using the tablet and our Companion App, they could easily supervise the headsets, restart them if necessary, and switch the experience language with a single click.
Timelines may vary depending on content complexity and venue specifics, but our experience and the support of Asobo allow us to shorten them significantly. For The Lost Casino, the entire development, from pre-production to delivery, was completed in just three months.
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