A few months ago, architects, designers and lighting companies came together at an event on lighting organised by the British magazine FX magazine.
The topics for discussion were the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies, as well as the level of collaboration between architects and lighting designers.
Most of those present agreed that the lighting designer should be involved in the initial design of a project in order to grasp the architect’s vision.
They also pointed out that the new technologies that appeared on the market some years ago, LEDs in particular, were used without even having been tested, owing to lighting designers’ tendency to accept anything new without much evaluation.
Theatre lighting versus architectural lighting
The discussion began by looking at where the profession of lighting designer first emerged and whether there is a clear career path for aspiring designers.
Lighting designer and director of “Light & Design” Lee Prince noted that the first design practices began operating in New York at the end of the 1960s, while in Europe, and more specifically in the United Kingdom, they first appeared in the 1970s.
He added that he has seen many more practices enter the lighting industry over the past 7 to 10 years, but that there is still no clear path to becoming a lighting designer. In his view, those who have graduated from theoretical lighting schools are less technical, while those who come from a hands-on background find it hard to understand what “creative work with light” means.
For his part, Max Eaglen, managing director of Platform, stressed that in his experience, “there is a noticeable difference between theatre lighting designers and architectural lighting designers. The former light an event or the interior of a space really well, but the lighting is often heavy-handed rather than subtle, and the heat given off is excessive. On the other hand, architectural lighting designers often opt for quite subtle lighting, but it is a little dull. Finding the balance can be quite difficult.”
Martin Preston of the luminaire manufacturer Lutron agreed and added: “I always say that if you sit down with paper and pencil to draw up a design, whether it’s for a building, a hotel or an office, and you choose the type of lighting, you certainly have to think about how the lighting can affect the material. If you don’t work with a lighting designer, how will you achieve what you want?”
Martin Preston also referred to the environmental issues that are currently in the spotlight and have brought luminaire designers and architects closer together. MET Studio CEO McCuaig believes it is important for lighting designers to work closely together from the very first stage of a project. He also addressed the thorny issue of cost. “I think it’s a question of money,” he said. “We only call in the lighting designer if we’ve taken on a big project. If it’s a small one, we say, ‘Let’s not call him.'”
New technologies in the lighting industry
Speaking about new technologies and LEDs, Lee Prince accused luminaire manufacturers of using designers as guinea pigs. “Some manufacturers rush these products onto the market to save on research and development costs, so no testing is done. LED manufacturers use our luminaires to find out whether they work.”
Works and the quality of light
Next, SCIN director Annabelle Filer raised the subject of materials. She underlined that while lighting has until now been used to showcase a material or a space, the works themselves are now becoming mere parts of the lighting design. As a result, greater value and weight is given to lighting in its own right, and so we now speak of the “quality of light”.
In the end, the discussion was far too wide-ranging for any norms to be set, and it continued with arguments, concerns and experimentation, aiming to explore a variety of issues surrounding lighting design in greater depth…
Source: WIDN
Text: Anastasia Chrysanthakopoulou
