Hydro-Québec plays a 51-story tower like a piano — ADC Best of Experiential Design 2026

Quebecers consume four times the world average of electricity, and 72% of citizens pointed at office towers lit at night, believing big business was not doing its share — Hydro-Québec needed visible proof from companies before asking citizens to change.

Prove business is acting on energy: a pianist's live keys switch off a tower's 110 light circuits note by note, so the building itself performs the message.

On the night of Oct 27 2025, LG2 staged a 'tower-concert' at Montreal's 1000 de la Gauchetière: Alexandra Stréliski performed an original composition on a piano whose keys, via a custom program, commanded 110 circuits across the 51 floors, plunging the tower into darkness note by note before an audience of journalists and guests.

48M impressions, 64% of citizens surveyed said the demonstration inspired them to take concrete energy-saving actions, and an alliance of 25 buildings committed to cut nighttime lighting — plus ADC 105 Best of Experiential Design and an Idéa 2026 Bronze.

Hydro-Québec, Quebec's electricity utility, faced a perception problem with a real cost. Quebecers consume four times the world average of electricity, yet when asked to consume better, 72% pointed at office towers glowing all night, wrongly believing large companies were not doing their part. That belief was the perfect excuse for inaction: 'if they don't, I won't'. The task was to prove corporations were committing to energy sobriety in a way people could see.

The answer, created by agency LG2 with REF Digital and Parade, was a 'tower-concert' — a world-first live demonstration at the foot of Montreal's 51-story 1000 de la Gauchetière on the night of October 27, 2025. Pianist Alexandra Stréliski performed an original composition on a grand piano whose keys were wired as switches: a custom program translated live key data into commands controlling 110 distinct electrical circuits across all 51 floors, turning off the building's lights to the millisecond as she played.

For the journalists and guests gathered at street level, the event was a 'visual receipt' of corporate change: note by note the glowing tower darkened, ending in total darkness on the final chord. Rather than announcing a sustainability policy, Hydro-Québec let the public watch it happen in real time, then used the film of the performance as an advertising campaign. The stunt launched the Alliance of Exemplary Buildings, with 25 major buildings committing to reduce nighttime lighting.

The campaign generated 48 million impressions, and 64% of citizens surveyed said the demonstration inspired them to take concrete actions to consume better. It was named Best of Experiential Design at the ADC 105th Annual Awards, won a Bronze at the 2026 Idéa awards, and was recognized at the Prix NUMIX — proof that a sustainability message could be engineered as a public spectacle rather than a statement.

Making corporate commitment visible removes the public excuse for inaction ('if they don't, I won't') — the audience watched proof instead of hearing a promise.

Turning the building into the instrument merges the message with the medium: every extinguished light is simultaneously the performance and the evidence.

The event was designed for journalists and spectators, so the film of a real, high-stakes live moment carried more credibility than a staged ad.

Precision engineering (110 circuits, millisecond timing) made the gesture feel like a feat rather than a gesture, which is what earned global attention.

The follow-up alliance of 25 buildings turned a one-night spectacle into a durable commitment, so the campaign's meaning outlived the event.

When the audience's excuse is 'if they don't act, I won't', give them a visual receipt of corporate change instead of another claim — proof performed live out-travels a promise.

Within the following months the tower-concert traveled from live event to campaign: the performance film aired as advertising, 25 buildings joined the Alliance of Exemplary Buildings committing to cut nighttime lighting, and the work collected an ADC 105th Best of Experiential Design, an Idéa 2026 Bronze and Prix NUMIX recognition. Hydro-Québec reported 48 million impressions and that 64% of citizens said the demonstration moved them to concrete energy-saving actions, giving the utility a proof point it could reuse as it pushed its wider energy-transition agenda.