Buddha

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Singapore, 30^th July 2014

Today was in the sign of Buddha. We had a kick off meeting for a new project in Nanjing ,close to the location that is known as the centre of Buddhism in China. As history goes Nanjing was the place where a piece of skull was found of the founder of Buddhism. It was found at the site of a former temple. Today this site is being revamped as a tourism and religious destination and the hotel is one of the components of the site that also will house a museum a huge multi-storey pagoda and a covered outdoor space where the famous piece of skull will be on display. It is expected that many will go to the site in pilgrimage. The whole site is tucked away in the mountains covered with a lush bamboo forest…great site from the looks of it.

Not surprisingly architect and interior designer are taking their design cues from Buddha and the related Ming Dynasty and today’s presentation saw the lead consultant’s first attempts to incorporate a bit of this rich history into the overall concept. Not sure if it came out all-right but the overall look and feel was certainly “Zen” and serene. Still some way to go. We are yet to start on the lighting design and really I am trying to get a handle on what the essence of “enlightenment” is (pardon the pun). It’s not that there are Buddha statues strewn over the lawn or tucked away into niches, even the architecture is not really “Ming” but rather contemporary oriental. The “Buddha” feel, if there is such thing will have to come from perhaps material finishes and its interaction with light as well as overall simplicity and serenity. Warm colours, candle feel, gold reflections, moonlight, peacefulness, that kind of thing…

While I am not a religious person, I have a lot of respect for any ones beliefs as long as it in turns respects and enriches fellow humans. As I plunge in the world of Buddha I will need to find a lighting concept that expresses the essence of Buddhism, the serenity, the peacefulness…

Light watch 5-124: Buddha statues as well as Buddha temples (like the Borobodur in Indonesia and the Budhanath in Nepal, supposedly the birthplace of Buddha) can be found a lot around South East Asia, lit in a varying ways…even under natural daylight…