From street light to moon light
Langkawi 22nd August 2013
After two busy days in Jakarta I find myself literally in the middle of the jungle, from one end of the spectrum to the other. Where Jakarta was a cacophony of light (street lights, media facades, billboards, etc.) and sounds (people, horning cars) I now find myself in the jungle of Langkawi where lights a scarce and moonlight (it’s close to full moon) and torches are a more common way of moving about and the overwhelming sounds are the rolling waves of the sea and hordes of crickets that are serenading their evening concert to us. The contrast could hardly be bigger. I am starting on a refurbishment of a resort that was build more than 20 years ago and still predominantly depends on good old incandescent lighting technology.
My challenge is multiple…First there will be the need to subtly transit towards new generation lighting technology (note I am not necessarily calling it LED as there may still be a good option for new generation conventional lighting!) with the man aim to starkly reduce the energy consumption and lamp maintenance as right now this seems to go through the roof, certainly by today’s standards. It is “glaringly” obvious that LED cowboys have visited the site as there are ample examples of inconsiderate replacements and additions of LED lighting. Because of the vastness of the site much of the jungle site is in darkness including most of the pathways. If not for the headlights on the buggies there is no enough light to circulate around by foot at night. A torch is being provided as part of the room accessories :). Therefore finding a balance between what to light and what NOT to light will be my other challenge. Basically the lighting should be as close to nature as possible so lights should be concealed and any physical structures or housings should be as minimal as possible. We should not lose touch with the fact that this is a jungle resort and therefore lighting (if and where needed) should be limited to a basic minimum…after my recent “basic stay” in the South of France I look forward to this lighting challenge.
Light Watch 4-139: One of the key inspirations of lighting design concepts is the way the site looks during the day, the play of light and shadow, sun and clouds. Here are some impressions.
The long awaited book compilation of Martin's first year of blogging is available. Order now.
Feedspot Top 100 Lighting Blogs