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Renovations

Singapore, 10^th January 2011

Back in Singapore and yes I did not blog over the weekend…I am taking my weekends of…J

Today I have been discussing a renovation project. It is amazing how quickly commercial properties can age. The project in question was last commissioned more than 15 years ago but when visiting the premises today I was struck by how much our (lighting) technology has progressed. Over the years the maintenance engineers had obviously done their best to go with the times by replacing light bulbs with more modern (CFL) versions, but it was more a “patch up” job rather than a well thought lighting improvement. Some light sources looked definitely at odds with their housing (obviously as they were not originally designed for it)… I am sure you know what I am talking about…The now planned (total) renovation offers several great opportunities in terms of lighting, namely: Get rid of all out-dated and energy consuming light sources, redesign and re-configure the lighting in line with the latest technologies in combination with state of the art lighting controls to minimise the carbon footprint and reduce maintenance to an absolute minimum.

The risk with the so called state of the art technologies is that designers often tend to over-sophisticate things with as result an installation too complex to operate for the average Joe. Operation of lights should be simple and straight forward and there lies the challenge for the lighting designer. The technology may be high-tech, but its operation should be simple and easy to understand.

Most of all as the renovation is total, the lighting designer has a great opportunity to engage with the lead architect/ interior designer to integrate the lighting design as part of an overall concept right from the start and create a balance of brightness and interaction with the space that makes you appreciate the space right from the moment you enter it.

Today’s Light Watch is an example of both a renovation as well as a heritage project worth paying a visit to. Originally built more than 100 years ago by the Sarkies brothers Raffles Hotel is a cultural heritage icon. Also from the Sarkies brothers and the same time are the E&O Hotel in Penang, The Majapahit Hotel in Surabaya and the Strand in Yangon.

Light Watch 6: Raffles Hotel, Singapore

10. January 2011 by Martin Klaasen
Categories: light watch, lighting and culture | Leave a comment

Heritage

Perth, 7^th January 2011

Many major cities around the world have a long cultural history with many buildings classified as architectural heritage. Perth (and Western Australia in general) has buildings dating way back to the 1800’s, the time of the gold rush. Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie in the Goldfields, where I was earlier this week, was the “epicentre” of the gold rush with many historical buildings. Today I had a meeting with Heritage Perth, an organisation looking after and promoting Perth’s beautiful and precious heritage. Through events and discovery trails (I-Phone apps included!) people can enjoy “guided” tours through the city and get a great feel of the historic building architectures and places including descriptions of historic back ground stories and events relevant to it. Though mostly promoted as daytime trails and tours Perth’s climate also favours night time events and therefore lighting up of the buildings is one of the things the organisation is looking at in coordination and consultation with the key stakeholders.

Lighting up heritage buildings however requires thoughtful preparation and coordination with the City and the Property owners as the lighting is not necessarily a case of just adding some lights! Some of the buildings fabrics are heritage protected meaning that application of lights need to be in accordance to heritage regulations. Alternatively lights may have to be integrated in the City’s street and pedestrian lighting infra-structure. Additional provisions for the lighting installation need to be developed and connected to a lighting control system that allows separate interaction by the operator as well as with the public.

Night tours are inherently more magical than daylight tours as artificial lighting can add a touch of mystery and drama that is not necessarily available with natural daylight. Heritage lighting is therefore today’s subject for Light Watch. I was personally involved in the conceptual lighting design of Wesley Church one of the heritage buildings featured by Heritage Perth.

Light Watch 5: Heritage Perth, Wesley Church at night

07. January 2011 by Martin Klaasen
Categories: city beautification, light watch, lighting and culture | 1 comment

Marketing

Perth, 6^th January 2011

One of the key elements of a new business is obviously your marketing material. You need to be able to give your potential clients and business associates an insight in your experience and capabilities. In the early days we used to do that with brochures, printed materials and slide presentations. Now everything is electronic. Websites, email, power point presentations, USB drives…it’s mostly gone paperless. In this day and age it’s hard to be successful without it! Add to that the fact that today’s generation is into Facebook, Twitter and I-phone applications…something I am struggling with being from an older generation. I am already proud that I am able to handle this blog! But as I am setting up KLD I obviously need to engage and develop this to go with the times and today’s ways of marketing.

My first goal was to develop a strong visual identity, something important for lighting designers and thanks to the expertise of Patrick Cheah (DPC Design) we managed to develop a strong but simple and easy to remember company logo for KLD. It expresses light and shadow (black and white) with a green accent to emphasize our care for the environment. I am very pleased with the result and the reactions have been very positive…thanks Patrick! Today my business cards went to the printer.

My next step will be the development of the KLD website, a key component in our marketing plans. In lighting seeing is believing, so the website will have to have strong visual project references showing our expertise and capabilities. I am in a fortunate position that I can look back on 30 years of project lighting design experience… One of the great things of the internet is that it is dynamic and interactive, a great way of communication. Watch out for the KLD website coming soon…

As part of Light Watch I will also introduce lighting events, educational lighting institutions and the like. In Western Australia, the IES (Illuminating and Engineering Society) plays an active role in the lighting industry with regular seminars, lighting events, lighting design awards and training courses. The IES , or Lighting Society in short, has chapters in all Australian states and in many countries throughout the world.

Light Watch 4: IES, The lighting society

06. January 2011 by Martin Klaasen
Categories: lighting design practice | Leave a comment

Power Companies

Kalgoorlie & Coolgardie, 5^th January 2011

Out in the bush today! We have some projects on-going in the “countryside” and today I followed up on our multi-year staged lighting implementation plan with the city council and shire to improve and upgrade the street lighting as part of the state’s road safety campaign. This involves dealing with power companies, as in most of Australia, most of the rural street lighting is under control of the electrical power company. The actual ownership of (and hence responsibility for) the lighting however belongs to the City Council or Shire when it comes to the city or the town streets (depending on the population size it is called a town or a city) or to the state’s Main Roads department when it comes to general state’s road network. So in my case I had to figure out first whether the roads belong to the City or the State to determine the responsibility for making sure the lighting is compliant to road safety standards.

However the execution is in the hand of the power company, in Western Australia that is Western Power. These state companies are run as commercial enterprises and they have (the City or Main Roads depending who owns the “property”) pay for doing the lighting installation works. It is not like you can buy your own lights and install them along the roads, they somehow need to be approved by the power company. This construction applies in different versions in many other countries as well and makes dealing with public road lighting installations quite a complicated and at times frustrating undertaking. Today however was a pleasant experience with the power company’s representative in a very cooperative and supportive mood. But then he is not the one that will be paying for it…

Today’s Light Watch relates to the importance to community sporting facilities in rural areas. A case where good does not necessarily mean expensive. I took the opportunity to visit one of our completed projects that has been enthusiastically received by the local community. This is a clip from the local newspaper, the Kalgoorlie Miner:

Light Watch 3: Digger Daws Oval, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

05. January 2011 by Martin Klaasen
Categories: light watch | Leave a comment

Announcing KLD!

Perth, 4^th January 2011

For those who haven’t heard it through the grapevine yet, I guess the biggest event of the new year for me is the start of my new company Klaasen Lighting Design, in short KLD. As of 1^st January 2011 I am no longer with Lighting Images (long story…) and will be running my projects and apply my passion for lighting design exclusively through KLD. Definitely a new adventure and a big step…does not come much bigger then this in life. But I have reached a point in life where I want control of my own destiny, have new challenges, but most of all enjoy what I love doing most…lighting design. I did not realise until someone pointed out to me that the 1^st of January had the auspicious date of 1.1.11, so there you go, the signs are aligned for a great success!

I have build some great relationships over the years and so far my friends and clients have been absolutely positive and supportive of my move. I am now in the process of assembling my team for the projects ahead! For the moment I am operating from Australia and Singapore but if all develops and progresses well we may reassess and look at other opportunities.

Key to enjoying my passion for lighting design is to devote more time to education and sharing my knowledge with others through my blog, articles and other lighting related events. I am open to any suggestions! Last year’s participation in I-Light Marina Bay has also opened other avenues to pursue in a more artistic and event related direction. I am roaring to go with my new venture and look forward to meeting many of you in the coming year!

Today’s Light Watch is the Perth City Council House, which not long ago had a million dollar façade lighting upgrade. I am personally not a great supporter of random colour changes, but for a “sleepy” city like Perth it’s quite something!

Light Watch 2: Perth City Council House, Western Australia

04. January 2011 by Martin Klaasen
Categories: light watch | 2 comments

Light Talk Season 2 – Introducing Light Watch

Perth, 3^rd January 2011

Happy New Year to all my loyal and regular followers, I wish you all the very best for 2011! I trust you all had a lovely time with your family and friends to welcome in the New Year, I certainly have. After a well-deserved break I am picking up from where I left last year with Light Talk Season 2. This year I intend to continue along the same lines as last year but I will introduce some new elements. One of them is pictures. Seeing is believing and a picture tells a thousand words are sayings we use to express that and which are so true for lighting. Another element I want to introduce as part of the blog is “Light Watch”. One of my blog followers last year asked me about what to see or do in regards to lighting when she was travelling in Europe. I thought that was a great question and have therefore decided to include that as part of my blog. As I travel a lot I am exposed to many countries and cultures. Throughout the year I intend therefore to report on lighting things to see, do or experience. It can be anything from projects, building façade lighting, events, exhibitions, educational things, etc. Please share with me “lighting” things to see, do or visit. At the end of the year we should have compiled a nice list.

As to the regular blog I will endeavour to write daily but not like the 365 days I did last year. I may take the weekends and public holidays of and if travel or location does not permit I may skip a day or two, but otherwise pretty much the same. As I have just returned from spending Xmas and New Year in Sydney so what better way to start Light Watch then with the Sydney Harbour Bridge. One of my “to do things” was to see the fireworks on New Year’s Eve on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. For those who have missed it I have copied the link to the Channel 10 news reel.

It’s going to be a magic year!