A lamp for life
Shanghai, 23rd March 2010
Today I was writing my regular column for the next issue of Lighting Today magazine, something I always enjoy doing…when I find the time. I have been writing my “Reflections” column for the last several years (lost count) in the magazine that is published in Singapore with a fairly wide readership in Asia. In fact this blog is a direct offspring from my regular magazine writing. While the magazine reflects back on what happens in our lighting industry on a quarterly basis, my blog is a more interactive daily affair. The two are obviously related and not surprisingly so are the subjects.
The article mulls over whether it will be possible to design zero energy, zero maintenance lighting installations, a favorite subject in one of my earlier blogs. It brought up the thought of…what if we had a lamp for life? One that you buy once and never have to replace…We know it is technically possible to make such a lamp, but it obviously does not make much commercial sense for the manufacturers…a lamp is a commodity, not a luxury item. At least that is how it is now. You buy, they fail, and then you replace them with a new one. Sometimes after a month, sometimes after a year sometimes they inexplicably last for years.
Even if an everlasting lamp would be commercialized would we be prepared to pay hundreds of dollars for just a single lamp? Because that is likely the price it would cost. Hence you would really have to invest in a lamp, like buying furniture or a car.
An interesting thought…who knows, if it ever takes off there may be a market for second hand lamps in the future. 🙂
Fireworks
Shanghai, 22nd March 2010
China is supposedly the land of fireworks; it was invented here centuries ago. I regularly hear the firecrackers in the neighborhood when newlyweds are arriving or departing from their home in celebration. Though one could say that fireworks are synonymous with China, it is interesting to note that fireworks are universely used, pretty much through any culture in the world as an expression of joy and celebration.
Today’s subject is triggered by a report I saw on the news about the fireworks world championships…yes it does exist apparently. Interestingly it is not held in China but in Germany and several teams from all over the world are competing for the title. I believe the venue is a big stadium and teams spend days preparing. As we know from major event ceremonies (world cups, Olympics, etc) firework displays takes a lot of planning and preparation …then it is gone in seconds 🙂 They showed some of the fireworks and I must say it was quite spectacular…I imagine the costs of participating must be too!
Of course it is all high tech nowadays with electronic ignition and computer driven programming. There is probably elaborate software that sequences and programs the firework displays, but I always wonder how they get the patterns and explosion sequences once up in the air as I assume the high tech somehow stops on the ground.
Fireworks are a one off event, never to be reproduced the same as weather conditions continuously change, hence each display being a unique piece. I guess that is the difference between lighting for a show and lighting for architecture. Most of our lighting designs and thus the related lighting effects are reproducible to the dot as they happen under controlled conditions. Fireworks are not…yes they are controlled from a safety point of view, but manual installation and weather conditions would render each display different even if the set up exactly the same.
Bending light
Shanghai, 21st March 2010
We have always been told that we cannot bend light or that we cannot make things invisible. I was send an article by one of my colleagues about German scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology who have managed to create a three dimensional “invisibility cloak” that can hide objects by bending light waves! The article was published in the Journal of Science last week, so I am assuming this is a true report.
According to the article they used so called transformation optics, which uses a class of materials called meta-materials that guide and control light. It mentions photonic crystals being used to create an invisibility device. This “cloak” has special lenses that work by partially bending light waves to suppress the light scattering of the object beneath… I am quoting from the article as this is a bit beyond my area of expertise 🙂
It claims that the results are the first proof of principle that the technique works and that by bending light they can render objects invisible. Though still far away, in the future anything as large as a person or a car could be made “invisible”.
We always see light as being something to make things visible. It is an interesting concept to bend light to make things invisible and you wonder for what applications (other than creating magic) this could be used. Bending light to reach around the corner though could open interesting opportunities… It seems a lot of research is being undertaken (I quote from the article again) in the field of beam concentrators, beam shifters, super antenna’s that concentrate light from all directions into one points, etc. Maybe in the future we will call ourselves “lighting magicians” rather than lighting designers…
“Chinese” copies
Shanghai, 20th March 2010
First let me clarify that the expression “a Chinese copy” nowadays is more a generic indication that an original has been copied and not necessarily means copied in China. It could have been copied anywhere else in the world. However as history has it, China probably invented it and making a copy became synonymous with China.
Why am I on to this subject? As you know the World Expo is about to open its doors to the world and the Shanghai authorities are doing everything (and I mean everything!) to show off in similar style as at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. So as I walked through the city this morning I noted that the usual DVD shops (there where you can buy all the latest movies, even before they are out in the theatres sometimes) are being closed or “re-organised”. What it means is that the shop front no longer openly displays the latest DVD’s, they have all been relocated to back rooms, basements or upper floors, leaving a nondescript shop front. A secret passage in the back lets you through to the “Garden of Eden” :). I was told that during Obama’s recent visit to Shanghai the authorities simply closed down the fake good markets for the day…Chinese copies? Nah… not in China…
In lighting we still have to deal with “Chinese copies” but I must say (respect where respect is due) that they have come a long way over the last 10-20 years. Where the “Chinese copies” used to be of easily detectable bad quality, some strong and good quality local brands have emerged over the recent years. I am not ashamed to say that we specify some local Chinese brands at times with good results. Add to that the international manufacturers who have their manufacturing facilities in China and it is easy to see that the expression of a “Chinese copy” is gradually being replaced by “Made in China”.
Hard or soft copies?
Shanghai, 19th March 2010
With modern computer and internet technology moving fast forward we are steadily arriving in a paperless world. .. or are we? Today it is much easier to send an electronic file to a client instead of kilo’s and volumes of paper documents and drawings like we used to do in the past. Even better… we don’t send the electronic files anymore due to the enormous file sizes…we just send them the link to our FTP site or use You-Send-It type of mail facilities and basically give them the responsibility to retrieve it. Again, like the good old days, we can say: “It is in the mail”. 🙂 (By the way: finding the right files between hundreds of uploaded files and then downloading them is another story!)
In my early days as designer we had a whole storage room full of drawings stuffed away in drawers or hangers. Now it is all in our office computer network. We don’t call anymore, we “skype” or “chat” with our clients. We read our newspapers online, we Google images for our projects on line…our lighting manufactures have all their products “on line” too now…that is practical for our lighting specification works. But thank god most of them still issue hard copy catalogues! Publishers now also issue electronic soft copies of their lighting magazines. Again handy for our work and practical to carry along for reference.
But the question is: “Where are we going in this society?” You can’t talk to people anymore as they are too absorbed by their mobile phone or laptop. I don’t know about you but I do like my newspaper in the morning…the real paper. I do like to enjoy images (even the smell!) in a real hardcopy magazine or book. And how many people can still actually use pen and paper? People who know me, know that I like to use pen and paper to sketch when discussing lighting design… It’s personal, it’s engaging, it’s direct, its real, and it’s pure. Therefore I dont see myself sketching on or reading from an electronic tablet anytime soon ….
Playing with water
Shanghai, 18th March 2010
“Playing with water” for today’s subject is brought up by some lighting issues we faced over the last two days in regards to illuminating some water bodies. Coincidentally three of our projects have different types of issues in regards to lighting and water so my mind is kind of into this frame at the moment. Water bodies always have water proofing and maintenance access issues, besides the obvious electrical safety that is needed.
The first one is about a swimming pool where the client wants something different from your standard wall mounted under water lighting, so we are exploring different lighting systems such as fiber optic and unusual locations and configurations. However regardless, any pool lighting need early coordination to assure electrical power provisions and light fitting block outs are provided where we want it so that waterproofing is not compromised. When it comes to applying fiber optics the optic cable installation needs to be done before the water proofing as well.
The second is about a reflective pool. Interestingly some clients do not understand or appreciate the meaning of a reflective pool. As the name says it should be reflective, so there should be no lighting in the pool but what it’s what we put outside and around the pool that is important for the effect to work. So this needs understanding of viewing directions and reflection properties. Where water is moving the reflection is obviously dynamic with ever changing reflection patterns.
The last one is about a water fountain. Water fountains can be beautiful and mesmerizing to look at as the lighting is captured by a continuously moving mass of water…if we do it properly. Hence they are generally a focal feature at entrances or key vista in garden areas. As water “conducts” light to a certain extent, location of light is critical but often fountains are not designed with integration of lights in mind and we end up with disproportionate underwater fixtures being an eyesore, certainly in daytime. Hence the challenge. ..
Water is and remains one of the favorite elements to play with light, but unfortunately many water bodies find themselves without lights working shortly after installation due to poor quality, workmanship and maintenance.
Time capsule
Hong Kong, 17th March 2010
On my way to Hong Kong I read about the tradition of the World Expo’s to burry a time capsule with objects and things relevant at the time of the Expo, so future generations can learn about what was cool and hip at the time. Which obviously begs the question, if we would prepare a time capsule to tell people a few 100 years from now what was cool and hip in lighting, what would it be?
For sure LED would be part of it in all its forms and shapes, including its many offshoot applications such as in clothing and instruments. Would fiber optics still make it? Laser technology, holograms and 3D imagery are strong contenders. Then there is the whole array of intelligent lights, moving heads including the video projection types. Touch screen, computerized, remote and sensor driven controls are some that cross the mind when thinking about controlling and managing light. We can probably add in renewable lighting systems (rechargeable lights, solar energy driven lights) which certainly are a hot topic now. Sustainable lighting solutions are part and parcel of today’s lighting, but how to put that in a time capsule? Probably with picture references of successful project solutions?
From research we already have innovative concepts like OLED technology, luminescent films, etc but we can’t really say they are commercially and commonly used yet. We may want to consider actually including a conventional light fitting, such as a down light or a flood light as in a few decennia they may not exist anymore! With the way we are going lighting (also because lighting becoming more and more compact with lesser power needs) tomorrow’s lighting is becoming an integrated part of our architectural fabric rather then an individual light fiiting!
We just have to look back 50 years to see how far lighting has already come, and there is no indication that this process is stopping anytime soon!
Lighting and the economy
Shanghai, 16th March 2010
Now there is a loaded word, the “economy”!
I arrived in Shanghai this morning and am always astounded by the amount of work going on. Many parts of the upcoming Expo site are still looking far from finished but I am sure they will turn it around in time. This country has managed to keep its economic growth well above 5% even in the darkest recent recession times. How much the figures are inflated I wouldn’t know but you just have to be here to see that things are moving!
What I always find hard to understand though is how prices always seem to be going up. House and land prices, car prices, energy prices, food prices, transport prices. Why does it never go down? Yes there are so called market corrections, but historically costs keep going up. It affects us because as a result the salaries keep rising, our overheads keep rising. Thus we increase our fees again.
These increasing costs affect the lighting manufacturers as well and thus the lighting budgets of our clients. It is not only the cost of labor but also the costs of material components. To my understanding the cost of producing only goes down after the machinery and production equipment costs have been written off. That is why we are looking at reduced costs of LED in the near future, but I bet you that in the long run the costs of LED will rise again in line with our general costs f living.
Note I am not an economist or financial analyst, which probably shows (just trying to make sense out of it all :)) …but wouldn’t it be interesting if things would become really cheaper over time?
The energy paradox
Jakarta, 15th March 2010
I am in Jakarta for the day, a country rich in resources and one of the most populated countries in the world. I spoke about black-outs and brown-outs 2 blogs ago and Indonesia is certainly one of those countries where the availability of energy supply is critical to its development. So fittingly I read in the newspaper on my way this morning about the paradox between the commonly agreed need to safe energy and thus seriously reduce our carbon emissions and the fact that little seem to happen on the front of actually doing so. Are governments failing in their campaigns to create awareness or are developers and consumers simply ignoring or not interested following up on it?
The paradox seems to lie in the fact that those using the energy are not necessarily the ones paying for it. For instance why would a developer invest extra money in premium “green” products if he is not the one benefitting from the savings? Why would a consumer pay a premium price for more expensive energy saving lights if it takes several years to earn back the additional costs? With the expectations of falling (LED) lamp prices, it looks like many are adopting a wait and see attitude.
We encounter this continuously in our projects. The developer of a hotel for instance, is generally not the one operating it. So while the operator may request, and actually specify, in their design manuals the maximum power load per m2, the developer is the one who has to foot the bill for the premium costs to achieve this. It is not surprising therefore that many developers are reluctant to invest in it. Why should they?
So how to solve this paradox…I’m not sure, but there will need to be some sort of incentive for the investors to make it work beyond just environmental consciousness.
Night Safari
Singapore, 14th March 2010
There are two night time lighting attractions in Singapore that are rather unique in the world. One is the Formula 1 night race on which I shall report on later this year (in September), the other is the Singapore Night Safari. What better time than the weekend to enjoy this experience.
I know a little bit about this project as I was still working in Philips at the time when it was developed. The lighting designer (Simon Corder from the UK) developed the lighting concept together with Philips. The idea to create a night time zoo experience is quite challenging, as you would expect that the last thing the animals want at night is lighting. Reversely the first thing we as human need to see is light! So that seems pretty much at odds with each other.
The only (natural) light source that animals know at night is the moon so the team set off to develop a special light source with the intensity and color characteristics as close to that of the moon as possible. As moonlight comes from above, the light source location and beam direction had to come from there as well, which meant the lights had to be mounted on high poles. The moon has an obvious direct, but also diffuse, lighting effect which had to be recreated in the optics as well.
Having resolved the lighting part, the final challenge was to make sure the animals are out there to see at night when the public visits! The only sure way to get the animals is through feeding, so for more than a year animals were trained to get their food at locations (and times) specifically lit by the artificial moonlight. By the time the Night Safari opened the animals were used to be in the “moonlight” during visiting hours and the first night time zoo experience was born.
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