The week that was Sept 28 – Oct 2
Singapore, weekend 3 -4th October 2015
Monday 28th September, Singapore – A week to “breathe”…
There is a play of words here…as while yes I have a week of unexpected non-travel ahead due to project coordination meeting being pushed back to a later date giving me a week to breathe and get my teeth in some outstanding project design work, it is also a week in Singapore where breathing has become a real challenge with the haze reaching hazardous levels. While the air pollution standard index (PSI) is supposed to be less than 50 to be considered healthy, we have seen the PSI levels reach over the 300! It is a problem that has been plaguing Singapore ever since I have been here now well over 25 years and every year the government acts and reports as if it is something new. The truth is that the land burnings by multi-national companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia, have so much commercial implications involving both governments that somehow over the last 40 years it has remained just verbal sparring rather than real action. In my memory I cannot remember any of those land owners in Indonesia ever been fined or their licence suspended for failing to stop the burning…Of course in Singapore protesting is not allowed other than somewhere on a field in a remote park (for which a licence needs to be obtained first!) so expressing anger to the government does not really happen…and so life of passive acceptance just goes on…
In the meantime I have dug myself into one of my “off road” projects, the stage lighting of a multi plenary theatre hall in Jakarta. Together with my specialist team we have developed the design of stage lighting to a high level of detailing providing the client (experienced mainly in TV Studio’s) with the information required to complete the architectural infra-structure of the performance venue. With a limited weight load available for truss suspension to the ceiling and a client insisting that they want air-conditioning systems in place over the stage area, we have a real challenge on our hands to distribute suspension and hoisting points over the ceiling. An interesting learning curve for all involved!
Tuesday 29th September, Singapore – Blossoming the design
One of my most challenging projects at the moment must be the preparation of a master lighting plan for a resort island (reminiscent of Dubai’s Palm Island) of the coast of Hainan in China. However this island has everything imaginable thrown on it; hotels, 7-star resorts, shopping malls conference centres, observation towers, spa’s, Disneyesque theme parks, water worlds, marina’s (did I miss anything?), oh yes and TV studio’s…I am in a joint venture with a Chinese design team for which communication seems to be the most challenging part. But scarier of all it now appears that the island itself has no real master concept itself other than that is has the shape of a flower. Yet we are required to develop a lighting master plan to fit in…how is that going to work? Anyhow never shy of a challenge we decided analysing what they have done and developed so far and work our way back ward to a master plan (reversed engineeringJ). We submitted a plan today but then found that the team thought it was too Chinese! They wanted a more international world approach….there was I thinking they wanted something to represent the Chinese culture…no of course not…it should be an internationally acclaimed Chinese Disney World of sorts…we went back to the drawing board and basically changed the narrative and a bit of the imagery while actually keeping the same storyline as the basics within this project remain the same…we are now on the same page! Xie-xie…
Wednesday 30th September, Singapore – When termination is good
We all end up in projects at times where regardless your skills or expertise it somehow does not click with your client. It is hard to know at the beginning when you start a project with a new client whether you are on a rosy or rocky path. Sometimes it can turn sour on small little details, miscommunication, misunderstanding or being on completely different wavelengths. As it happens this week we are signing out of 2 projects prematurely simply because we have not manage to come to a reconciliation with the clients desires or expectations in relation to our proposed deliverables both in time and service. We always set out to give our clients the best possible service, hopefully beyond their expectations, but unfortunately sometimes it does not work. I share this because no one is perfect and we have failures besides our successes. It is not always easy to decide to quit, as proud as we are, but sometimes it is better for the good of the project (and your own sanity!) to call it quits and accept that it does not work.
In the first case the client’s budget and their demands were nor compatible and trying to make it work only created more frustration on both sides, leading to the client withholding payments and subsequently us withholding our submissions and service…it died a natural dead culminating in an agreement to terminate our services. At least a proper settlement on the outstanding payments was reached.
In the other case, we should have seen it coming as it was not the first time we had worked with this organisation. The lure of high profile reference projects (as the previous one) made us decide to go for it again and initially it all started well. However along the way when we came to actual implementation suppliers and contractors started to fail us in a big way, but their combined political power pushed the blame time and again to us and with the project manager clearly under their “influence” it gradually became a losing battle. We have kept our professional attitude all along the way facing up to each challenge and issue, providing professional support as needed until completion of this stage. On the start of the second phase of our contract we mutually agreed to terminate our services and again were duly paid any balance outstanding.
For both projects we were sad to see it end, but on hindsight we are relieved and feel good. It has released us of a lot of negative energy, which we now focus on positive and stimulating projects!
Thursday 1st October, Singapore – Deal brokers
There are times when you wonder why you did not get a project when all communication and discussions pointed you to a positive outcome. Today I was reminded of how we lost some projects in a neighbouring country last year. We had met with the big boss, had made our presentations, had already been introduced to the architects, the interior designer and all seem to be set for an appointment only to suddenly die down with complete drying up of communication. Now the point I need to mention here is that we were introduced to this client by a supplier who told us they had very close relationships with the owner…we found out how close…
In our discussion with the supplier in question we had been made clear that it was a quid pro quo deal, we were being recommended under the understanding that we were to specify their products. I of course could not make such commitment but told them that of course if their products were suitable I would consider it. Anyhow we got to the owner made our presentation and reached an understanding on our fees. Where it went wrong is when the owner asked my expert opinion on a box full of light fittings that had been submitted for tender; innocently I obliged to show off my expertise. Little did I know however that all these fittings were actually from this same supplier and my harsh (but in my opinion truthful) comments ultimately did not help my cause.
As in so many projects in this region it turns out that there is a deal broker behind the consultant’s appointments that is driven by money…
Friday 2nd October, Singapore – Staying put
We often reach a stand-off situation in a project where we have our requirements for the lighting but the architect or the interior designer does not want to budge on their concept and riding their high horse to forcing you to adapt. While I am all for a coordinated and integrated approach and open to look for alternatives or acceptable compromises there are times where you have to stand put. Today I went to meet the Singapore based lead architects on one of our overseas projects to discuss a stand-off situation where the local architect was forcing our team into a lighting design direction that I felt would do little to achieve the desired lighting result shown on our approved renderings.
The main issue at hand was the location of the flood lights for the façade. To obtain the desired lighting effects the light fittings need to be located in the proper locations and on one side of the building this meant on top of the canopy. The architect and façade consultant kept saying that our floodlights were too bulky and also that it was not possible to mount them on to the façade or on top of the canopy. Away from the local team I met with the lead architect’s boss in Singapore today to discuss this. He quickly understood and agreed that either we do it right or we don’t do it at all and not soon thereafter had found a solution to integrate the floodlights into the canopy and façade. A potential stand-off was resolved in the shortest of time and he will take it upon him to inform the client of the decision…
The morale…yes we are team players, but draw the line and stay put when the quality of your design is in danger of being compromised…
Have a great weekend ahead, the week that was
The week that was 21-25th September
Singapore, weekend 26-27th September 2015
Monday 21st September, Singapore – The time management challenge One day in my office to catch up with my team and outstanding matters before going on the road again for the rest of the week. This is probably the biggest single challenge for all designers…time management. It is our commodity. Our knowledge and expertise, sure we need to have it, but how to allocate and distribute this, is in my opinion by far our biggest challenge. Time is allocated towards many different components and the more responsibilities you have in an organisation the bigger the challenge. You need time to be creatively designing your projects of course but the reality is that, even though that is at the heart of our profession, it ends up to be just a minor part of your time allocation. On the business side of things most of the time you end up managing, directing your team, communicating with the client’s project team and for those who have family/friends outside work also your private life! Time is also needed for personal education, if we don’t learn along the way we don’t improve…add travel into the mix and you can see this becomes a huge challenge to anybody’s standards. You will need energy to drive all this, so understandably pacing yourself and creating reasonable timelines is crucial. So today I was happy that I could have a project conference call with one of my clients in the Philippines rather than having to go there. The equitation is easy; 1 hour versus 2 days…problem solved…client happy!
Tuesday 22nd September, Hainan – When a lighting review is not about lighting Travel remains essential though. While there are many issues that can be resolved via a simple conference call (communication is critical at all times) there are things that need face to face or site presences to resolve. This morning I left on an early morning flight to Haiko, Hainan for the review of a mock up room in one our resort project. It is the third review of the same room again over the space of 1 year, just showing that it takes time to get things right. We had a daytime review for the interior fit out details and a second review at night for the assessment of the lighting. You know you got the lighting right when that review turns out to be discussing other issues then lighting! The best comment about your lighting design is NO comment I generally say as that means everything just feels natural…not too much, not too little. That is to my great satisfaction exactly what happened. As it turned out there was no discussion about lighting and the review turned out to be am extension for the afternoon’s review focussing more on interior workmanship details rather then lighting. In the end when we were about to leave the client realised we were there for the lighting and sked a few minor questions about light distribution and programming…Personally besides workmanship quality issues and installation details, the overall lighting design mood feels really good…the no comments confirming that everybody was happy with the overall lighting result…
Wednesday 23rd September, Hainan- Guangzhou – Copies of copies After last night’s mock up room review we also wandered through the resorts landscaping to review some of the landscape lighting that was installed. To our and the client’s horror, the installed lighting had no relationship with our design and we found light fittings that were obviously copies from what was in our specifications. It became clear that the landscape contractor had a different mind and agenda then the rest of the project team, which cost him a humiliating tirade from the owner/client. Whether that was window dressing we don’t know because in the end it is all about money and somewhere down the line somebody gives instructions and approvals to proceed, buy and install. I certainly have not given any approval and by the looks of the client and project manager they neither…which begs the question why did they go ahead and install anyhow? One of the things I have discovered over the years is that the Chinese are so good in copying that they even copy their own copies! We discovered that some of the lights installed were actually a copy of a local brand that was already a substitute alternative to our specification! How low can you go! To counter this I am now on my way to the factory in the Guangdong area to personally meet with the big boss, visit the factory tomorrow and explain clearly the process of design, specification, samples and approvals so that they own up to their own local agent and make sure that we get the approved alternative and not a copy of it! Meanwhile here are some images from the site…
Thursday 24th September, Huizhou/ Shenzhen – Q-day Today is Q-day, quality control day. I am visiting the factory in the morning and have asked that all light fitting samples as proposed alternatives be presented to me for review and approval, including full spec sheet descriptions. For the occasion and to lend weight to my visit I am accompanied by the project manager as well as the president of the Chinese Lighting Designers Association, a strategic move to impress on the boss that this is serious and that short cuts will not be tolerated. By including the CLDA in this process I want to make sure he understands the implications…you want to keep your lighting designers as friends! Personally I have no issue with this manufacturer, on the contrary, and the factory visit and company introduction were impressive, certainly considering this company has come out of nowhere and over the last 10 years grown into a major LED lighting manufacturer with a reported turnover of USD 130 Mio a year! But they are relatively young and are learning to come out from under previous shady copying practices by developing their own brand and quality standards. They are certainly on their way with products that start to rival their more illustrious western competitors. However quality control of product and process remains crucial and in that respect todays visit was an imperative step to take.
Later in the day I had a long project meeting in Shenzhen with the local team with whom I am developing a master lighting plan for a mega resort island. Here the underlying theme was the same…quality control. The work done so far by the local team had no concept, no story, no coherent design, just hap-hazard ideas thrown in one big basket and presented as a masterplan. It took me till late in the evening to organise the thinking patterns, coordinate them in a cohesive approach, with a proper and meaningful concept strategy. We have another two weeks to prepare the presentation, but at least now I feel there is logic and meaning (and quality) to the main design approach!
Friday 25th September, Guangzhou – Singapore – In Memoriam; Navin Krishen As I am flying back to Singapore I have time to digest and reflect on the sad news of the passing away of my business partner in India, Navin Krishen, who was rudely and unexpectedly taken away from us after a short illness earlier this week. I had met Navin several years ago; we clicked instantly and decided to join venture together for the promotion of the lighting design business in India, with his office in Delhi effectively becoming our representative office in India. Over the years a great friendship and deep professional respect for each other developed and when I received the news of his passing, it was a great shock, we still had so many plans…I will miss his infinite wisdom and expertise, his guidance and look on life. My thoughts are particularly with his wife for whom this is a double tragedy after losing their son to illness just recently as well. Navin was greatly respected by his peers in the industry. For me and my team it is a great personal loss…Navin was taken away from us way too early. I will be forever indebted for his immeasurable contribution to my personal development in particular and the electrical and lighting design world in general.
RIP.
The week that was 14-18th September
Perth-Singapore, weekend 19-20th September 2015
Monday 14th September, Perth – LED till death do us part…?
On my way to Perth I read an article in the Straits Times, Singapore leading English newspaper, about how the famous Ruriden Columbarium at the Koukokuji Temple in Tokyo has installed LED lighting to illuminate the Glass Buddha statues. From the article I understand that the columbarium houses more than 2000 crystal Buddha statues each fronting a drawer in which people’s ashes are stored. According to Shinto Buddist beliefs those passed away are to be cremated and the ashes are then to be stored for 33 years before they are buried below the Ruriden. The displays were always an attraction but the addition of the new LED lighting seems to have added a new dimension. Next stop, LED illuminated coffins?
Tuesday 15th September, Perth – The birth of a beauty
One of the projects close to my heart is the Palace Hotel in Perth which is close to being commissioned and one of the reasons I am in Perth this week. While the heritage building used to be a hotel in the last century, it has been a bank office building for the last 10-20 years (I have only known it as such). Today it is being converted into a social hub with executive lounges a bar and more. The lighting design of the public areas and the heritage façade were part of our scope and today I went to inspect the progress of the interiors. At the heart of the design were a number of custom designed light fittings; ceiling pendants and wall sconces, designed with a period look but with today’s technology. It was the first time I saw the finished products after we had reviewed the mock ups a few month ago following we made some important changes in regards to proportions and look. Interestingly the lighting effect was never a discussion, everyone loved it from the start, it was the physical execution of the initial dimensions and finishes that needed a serious tweak. The end result is going to be beautiful and I can only look forward to the final completion in the next few weeks to see it in its full glory…
Wednesday 16th September, Perth – Design and reality After yesterday’s interior review, it was now time to review the exteriors façade lighting and I was not disappointed. These so called “D”-days where you see for the first time all you lights coming together tells you whether you got it right when you designed the concept or not. Renderings are easy to make but executing it in reality to a level that you can say yes that’s just the way I had it in my mind is a totally different ballgame. Quite friendly I think there are very few lighting designers around that can claim that the final lighting result is exactly what they had designed. Most of the time I certainly can’t! But today’s first assessment was very satisfying…yes there are still quite some tweaks to be done, but from the first looks I can see it is going to be very close if not better than expected, brightness balance, coverage, colour, the overall picture is going to add a new landmark to the Perth skyline…:)
Thursday 17th September, Perth – Persistence wins the day! If one illuminated landmark building is not enough we finally got the go-ahead today for the façade lighting of one of the other heritage buildings in the city; the more than 110 year old “His Majesty’s Theatre”. Very similar to the Palace Hotel it has very ornate and beautiful architectural features which so far have not been “exposed” to the public at night other then through the glow of the city streetlights. It has been a long time coming, with many political hoops to take, but finally we are there, approvals have been received, quotes have been analysed and budgets now confirmed. Time to start the count-down.
Friday 18th September, Perth – Flaming beauty This has definitely been a week of creative satisfaction and to top it up I today received the hand blown glass shades in the shape of flames that will be going on top of the newel posts inside the Palace Hotel stair well. In one of my previous blogs last year I will have blogged about my trip down south to meet with one of the few glass blowers left in Australia to work out shape, size and glass composition of the shade. I had asked them to be sent to my office so we could test it with lights to determine the best and final light source. While I was keen not to use any retrofit LED lamps, I had to succumb to logic and practicality. I tested the shades with my preferred Xicato smart module, which definitely gave me the desired lighting effects, but the practical impossibility to integrate the module and its driver into the heritage newel posts had me abandon this. Instead we settled for a simple E27 LED globe, which beautifully lit up and oh so simple to install. Considering the clients budget probably our only option anyhow…the end result will be stunning!
Have a great weekend ahead, the week that was
The week that was 7-10th September…
Singapore, long weekend 11-13th September 2015
Monday 7th September, Singapore – Mega projects are they for real?
I have always thought that projects like Dubai’s Palm Island where excessive and unrealistic for our world, yet it was built against all odds and as far as I know still a place for the rich and famous…I have never been there, will probably never go and have no idea if it is successful or not. Yet there seems more to come…Today we have signed on for a similar project of the coast in China and honestly I have no idea if it will ever see the daylight. At the same time I also read up on another such project in Malaysia just outside Singapore, where a mega rich developer plans to develop some islands in a similar spirit, apparently in a bid to compete with Singapore in general and Sentosa’s Resorts World more specifically. With the world economy as it is, it seems like a science fiction dream.
So the question I put to myself before going into this was, does it make sense to venture my company in such business and the answer was yes, but with a big caviat…provide they pay…These pipe dreams have a way of suddenly vanishing or being put indefinitely on hold and the last thing you want is put in heaps of efforts and time in a project only to find out there is no money when its pay time…So I agreed carefully with specified steps and required payments. For now we start with a master plan and concept designs only…pay and we work…let’s see how that goes…this may well take 10-20 years to realise and a lot can happen between now and then…
Tuesday 8th September, Singapore – Coal and solar
In an interesting development in India, the government has ordered the older coal-fired power plants to help making energy produced by solar farms more affordable and competitive by bundling together the electricity generated by both technologies for sale to the grid. In other words by combining the cheaper coal-fired power with the more expensive solar power as one energy unit. The intent is to lower the price that power distribution companies pay for solar energy and so forcing them to use more of the cleaner energy…interesting initiative…
I have mixed feelings about it as it still keeps the environment polluting coal fire plants in action full action…if anything possibly even encourages them to increase the output. On the other hand whatever solar energy is being produced, is now being used to the full, at least so it seems…I just get the feeling that overall we do not really improve the situation…more solar energy usage is just being offset with more coal fired energy production…is there a winner?
Wednesday 9th September, Singapore – Renovation or reinvention Renovation projects are always interesting and challenging. Today I visited the site of one of our new projects, for a “mettre a jour”, where he lead interior designer has been tasked to reinvent the interiors of a place that has long been an institution in Singapore. The original gilded and ornamental ceilings, features and interiors are rumoured to have cost several millions of dollars and therefore not surprisingly the (re)design brief calls for keeping the features as part of the concept. A renovation yes, but also a reinvention.
While the interior design task is already challenging I think the lighting redesign will be monumental and a make or break part of the projects final end result. As the interiors date back from nearly 2 decennia ago, it is clear that a lighting technology upgrade will be needed, both in lamp as well as in lighting control technology. The current installation is predominantly conventional incandescent and fluorescent lighting and it is likely that also its electrical infra-structure will need a serious update.
The space is however inspiring and as we inspected, assessed and started to discuss the interiors the first ideas already started to bubble to the surface…there is no better place to get inspired then on location…
Thursday 10th September, Kuala Lumpur – Is the artist always right?
My first trip away since my return from leave (yes indeed it did not last longer than a week, and I had to fight for it 🙂 ) brings me to KL where I attended a progress meeting on one of our hotel projects and took advantage of being in KL to visit a new potential client and a night visit to the site of our IB Tower project that is in its final stages of commissioning. It is on this site that I saw the recently installed artworks commissioned from some of the leading artists of the world. One notably is from well-known Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei. What struck me immediately when touring the site with the project manager was the awful lighting that was installed to light up AWW’s artwork. While I reserve my opinion in regards to the artwork itself I did have my outspoken opinion on its lighting; a lighting that was commissioned directly from a local supplier, no disrespect to him by the way as he just delivered what was asked for.
In querying the PM on the lighting and that we should redesign and reposition the lights for greater and better impact I was told that they had already told AWW but that he was adamant that this was the way he wanted it lit! Which of course begs the question are the artists always right? I can sympathise a little bit as I classify myself also as an artist in which my lighting design represent my vision on how it should look like…I am the creator, so I know right? This is where holding on to your idea of what is right is potentially a form of egocentric hard headedness. So how do I convince AWW that he could improve on the lighting of his artwork…I took a picture of it (see below) and intent to make a night time rendering of the lighting effect to show him how it could be. I don’t mind if he then presents it as his idea… There is lots of art in this project with a special gallery that already opened its door to the public on level 5 with works from local artists Hoessein Enas…
This Friday is polling day in Singapore and hence a public holiday. For the first time since the birth of the nation 50 years ago, all parliament seats for the government are contested by the opposition…this will be a very interesting battle…
Have a great weekend ahead, the week that was
The week that was, September 1-4th
Singapore, weekend 5-6th September 2015
Tuesday 1st September, Singapore – Back to reality I arrived back from Europe early this morning, all bearded up, after a really enjoyable few weeks away…it had been long in the planning, but actually going away for a month and really shutting yourself of from work seemed a nearly impossible task. But I wanted to do it, make that break to taste the other side of life where work is not the first thing on the day’s menu. On my little farmhouse in the South of France I had no radio, no TV, no phone and our little village has no street lights, no shops, no church, just a few houses and some friendly neighbours that I have known and who have known me since I was little…a place to recharge and reconnect. While I did have my mobile phone and a prepaid portable internet connection, I used these only sporadically, preferring to connect at a local café with more reliable wifi if needed, while having my morning coffee and croissant. The de-connect was very relaxing…admittedly possible because of my great team holding the fort in my absence.
Living with nature (no alarm clock to wake you up), taking morning walks at sunrise, watching unbelievable starry skies at night where you can actually see the Milky Way with falling stars every now and then just makes you realise how the world has changed…not being in an airplane or airport lounge for one month was also kind of a novelty! It certainly made me realise how quickly we adapt to life’s circumstances. In a big city we are used to light pollution, continuous noise, etc…back there it is pitch black at night, but interestingly you adjust and even with just the bright starry sky you can find your way around without a torch! You can count the sounds on the fingers of your hand, distinctive sounds like a bee humming, or a dog barking in the distance or the wind rattling the leaves…but other than that it’s just you…
Now it’s back to reality…and back to work!
Wednesday 2nd September, Singapore – Landslide After a relatively good’s night sleep, which is not evident because of the strong jetlag when you come back east, I went back to office and my first task of the day was to update myself on all projects with my team. It took a good part of the morning to go through all project matters and while everything seems to be under control my travel schedule for the coming months looks quite heavy. Our working territory is rapidly expanding to locations now a day travel away rather then just a few hours with new projects in the Middle East and Caledonia.
As a novelty in project delays, I got to know that one of our projects was put on hold due to a major landslide on the site, to such extent that the local government had taken possession of the site until such time it deems it safe to return. I pity the owner who has invested heavily in the project and with control now taken out of his hand being forced to watch from the side lines till the government allows him to return to the site…luckily we are more or less paid up on our fees, but it remains a shame as it is a really cool project, on a really nice site…I hope it will all work out… Flooding in Nanjing…
Thursday 3rd September, Singapore – Building and maintaining relationships In our business a lot rides on the relationships you build and over the past few months we have been appointed in several new projects purely as a result of the continued relationships and appreciation built up between our clients and key consultants we have worked with. It is nice to hear that your work is appreciated and most of all the service and support is highly trusted and valued. We provide expertise yes, but most of all we provide a service which means our response and response time in supporting our client is crucial. We have found time and again that replying and putting our clients, but also our fellow team consultants and operators, at ease, has been key in forging durable relationships. Most of the projects in which we have been appointed lately are the result of trust, past work and support quality. It makes me proud as a business owner to see my clients happy.
But not all of them are happy of course and we also lost a few projects before reaching the end; here as well it came down to relationships…in this case failed relationships. There are always situations where it does not click, where the services you wish to provide do somehow not satisfy the client’s desires, realistic or not. Most of the time it comes down to the client not showing respect for our expertise, your time, wanting unrealistic targets and budgets. We are in the business to satisfy our clients but there are obviously limits to how far service, quality and costs can be compromised…we are fortunate though that these clients are few…with most we have great and respectful relationships…
Friday 4th September, Singapore – Elections and seniority Back in Singapore I realised I missed Singapore’s big 50th anniversary birthday bash which was followed swiftly with the announcement of general elections to be held next week, no doubt with the aim to ride on the festive mood reigning in Singapore on the back of the feel-good anniversary. Adjusting back to life in the relatively fast lane being Singapore, I had two interesting “discoveries”.
The first when I went shopping this week was from a cashier at NTUC’s supermarket across the road asking me whether I was a “senior”…I quizzed her about the relevance of her question, but unfazed she told me that if I was 60+ I would qualify for NTUC’s senior Tuesday discount…haha…great way to get back to reality. I said yes and got an amazing $1.37 discount! Guess I have reached seniority in life…finally 🙂
Finally reading up on the elections…a soap opera in its own way…I noticed that LED has made its way there as well with supporters to the ruling People’s Action Party (the PAP) proudly brandishing LED party signs!…LED technology has arrived in politics as well!
Have a great weekend… The week that was…
The week that was 27-31 July
Europe, weekend 1-2nd August 2015
Monday 27th July, Ubud-Bali – Land of dreams
Before I start my well-deserved annual leave I still have two key site visits to attend, two new clients who have put their trust in our services, clients who promptly paid the appointment fees. Starting on a good footing is critical for the success of the project when clients put their faith in you and hence I had no hesitation to delay my leave and reschedule to attend these important kick off meetings. I arrived yesterday and today, with the full consultant’s team and owners present, we presented our concepts and walked the site, area by area.
The site is a land of dreams, nestled on the steep slopes of Ubud with the sound of water(falls) and the chirping birds and crickets in the background. Typical Balinese rice fields adorn the frontage of the property. This high end boutique resort will be one for the “rich and famous” tucked away with a very high degree of privacy. Our lighting concept, which follows and integrates with the architects, interior designers and landscape consultants, will be one of contained and controlled effects, softly enhancing and integrating with its environment. It’s there without being to obvious, focussing on the architectural and landscape features instead. The serenity of the location will be reflected in our approach… a little Garden of Eden on earth…
Tuesday 28th July, transit Singapore – Last minute preparations…
Today I am literally in transit in Singapore, back from Bali and on my way to Istanbul tonight. I use the time to write my site report following yesterday’s site meetings and brief my team on the follow up required as I will be away over the next few weeks. Some other project matters that need my input before I go are attended to, but otherwise it’s mostly last minute preparations in getting ready for my Istanbul project presentation and packing for the long break ahead.
Wednesday 29thth July, Istanbul – Turkey – Island of dreams
After the land of dreams in Ubud earlier this week, I have now arrived on the Island of dreams, a small little island about a 45 min boat ride out of Istanbul that oozes a tranquility and serenity of a totally different type; back in time. There are no cars on the island bar some for necessary utility and services, all transportation is done by horse carriages or bikes. Many buildings have a distinctive period style and date back from early last century at least. Architecture is an elaborate mix of Ottoman, Asian and western elements. The hotel we are staying aptly called the Splendid Palace, just a stone throw away from our project site reminds us of the Grand Budapest Hotel.
The site is a large plot of land along the sea with the buildings layered in two crescents up the hill with a Grand Mansion as the resorts centre piece. The resort aims to be an unique experience with everything from product to services reflecting style, quality and uniqueness…an experience you are not likely to forget. Not surprisingly the lighting design will be bespoke and tailored to provide and enhance the uniqueness of the site and its peculiar buildings. We have come in to replace a previous lighting designer which means we have inherited parts of some existing concepts which we will review and remodel to clients satisfaction while adding in our own touch of lighting flair for all new areas yet to be completed. The first day on site was a hot affair with temperatures soaring to well over 40 degree Celsius…but somehow because of the majestic views and the excitement of the project we hardly noticed…
Thursday 30th July, Istanbul – Turkey – Bespoke lighting design
It is clear that this project will be anything but an ordinary run of the mill hotel resort. For starters there will be no down lights and no (ceiling) cove lighting which means creative ways will need to be found to create lighting effects commensurate with the intended unique blend of East meets West in a residential cosy home style setting. We easily get routed in typical standard solutions, generally commercially driven. Most hotel operators have tied themselves down with design manuals that typically lays down what is to be designed and how with the idea that this will then reflect the hotel branding and image. In the process there is little room for improvisation and creativity… often creating a “drawer” concept in the process. With this I mean that you take previously proven lighting concepts and reproduce them within the new projects architectural limits.
This projects aims to be totally different and hence the intensive design workshops between the project’ team aims to find the bespoke opportunities within the boundaries of what is physically and economically possible, preferably something that was not done before or a great and successful concept but now applied in a totally different way. I personally rejoice in head to head design meetings. Most good designs are achieved when the top experts of each disciplines cross swords with their ideas and creative inputs, specifically when passion gets involved! We have just started but I am enjoying this project already, not in the least because there is tremendous respect for each other’s expertise.
Friday 31st July, Istanbul – Turkey – The Ottoman empire…
My final morning is spent going through some areas such as the ballroom and the speciality restaurant. We each pitch in with our thoughts and specific requirements standing our grounds or compromising where it makes sense for the benefit of the project. We are “rudely” interrupted when told that my boat ride has arrived and after warm goodbyes I am on my way for the ride across the Bosporus to a marina close to the airport. After a short taxi ride we arrive at the airport where we await our flight in the award winning Turkish Airlines lounge designed by ID firm Autoban. This is an experience not to be missed. I have travelled around the world but this is certainly one of the top lounges in the world with a distinctive “Ottoman” look. The Turkish design group left no stone unturned in this stunning design and even if I only saw the lounge during the day I could envisage it’s lighting by night easily…a great and inspiring end to this trip.
I am now on leave for the next 4 weeks but will endeavour to capture some light magic during my stay in France and upload these mood images once in a while to keep in touch…see you on the other side. For now I enjoy the good side of life 🙂
CHEERS!
The week that was…
The week that was…20th-24th July
Singapore weekend 25-26th July 2015
Monday 20th July, Singapore – Quantum dot lighting technology
As I prepare myself for a busy travelling week ahead (luckily my daytrip to KL today got postponed to a later date as the contractor is not ready), I read up on a new (potential lighting) technology, where quantum dot technology is used to create a hyper efficient light emitting crystal. Ever heard about it? It sounds very Einstein-ish and by the looks of it, it probably is. Let me quote part of the report so you may understand what this is about…”By mixing two optoelectronic materials called Perovskite and Quantum Dots which individually have been used by researchers to boost sunlight conversion to electrical current in solar cells and to increase the efficacy of electrically generated light, engineers at the University of Toronto have managed to combine both these materials to create an ultra-efficient, super luminescent hybrid crystal that will enable new records in power to light conversion efficiencies.” At this point the light is produced near the infra-red end of the spectrum which the researchers believe could form the basis for a new family highly energy efficient near infra-red LED’s, which could improve night vision technology, but also biomedical imaging and high-speed telecommunication. It seems that (like with blue LED’s) this may become another breakthrough towards highly efficient, near zero energy lighting technology. Parallel to this the further development of highly efficient solar energy conversion technology which is taking place bodes well for the future. We seem not far away of light sources that soon can generate their own power supply from sun and or daylight! It is without doubt that lighting and the lighting technologies that drives our lighting design profession keeps pushing the boundaries, year after year…there is always some “excitement” in the air!
Tuesday 21st July, Bandung – Patience with a smile…
Some clients will never get it and my trip to Bandung today feels like a charity trip as I know that although my client is full of goodwill he will never get it. He is from “small town” Indonesia (absolutely no disrespect meant) and even though he is very well travelled with kids studying in the US, his mind set and attitude to developing this project are still very local. Yet he wishes to develop a 5 star world class hotel. The problem is that you need an international approach and attitude to this certainly if you wish to represent an internationally acclaimed operator that prouds itself on its brand standards. My task in this project is to lead him by the hand, no he did not want full lighting design consultancy…too expensive, so I review drawings, mark up plans, review site progress and let him know how to move forward. The thing is that when I explain and direct him he is all good and understanding, but as soon as I leave his local “mind” takes over and he makes decisions on his own understanding and appreciation of what value for money is. Not surprisingly most external consultants initially appointed have left tearing their hairs out in despair, but I have decided to hang in their and as long as he pays my fees and expenses I am fine. When he called me that I could come now to commission the dimming system I did ask him if everything was now working fine…yes, everything works, you can come test, program and commission now! Again not surprisingly when we did our rounds on site today it was (very) far from being “ready”. Wrong circuit connections, emergency lighting connected inside the dimmer, some critical circuits not connected at all (with on-off via the circuit breaker in the main electrical switch board!), no control panels to actually pre-set scenes…Anyhow we worked patiently through all control circuits, explained to the contractor what he needed to do, explained to our client what still needed to be done…we will get their eventually as the property location is breath taking…patience with a smile!
Wednesday 22nd July, Bandung – Singapore – Visa mess…
For those travelling to Indonesia on a regular basis like me and need a visa-on-arrival the whole experience has just become even more messy. Since 1-2 months those coming in for a social visit or tourism do not need a visa anymore and are granted a 30 day free visa exemption. It is not difficult to see that this extremely difficult to police. So on arrival in Bandung yesterday I tried the social visit approach (note that every visa costs USD 35!) only to find that the visa exemption does not apply to all airports! Oh, right, why? I probed the officer upon which he produced an A4 sheet with an internal memo listing a number of airports (I saw 4 listed) in Indonesia for which the visa on arrival remains in force. OK so I went back to the VOA desk, forked out the money for the visa and re-joined the queue! Grrrrr! The irony is that the next day (see below) I went to Jakarta for another meeting and tried it again as on arrival there was a big sign showing that I did not a need a visa. This time the officer looked at me and said…noooo, you are here for business. So I replied, how would you know? I maintained my social visit approach to test the system. He looked at my passport full off VOA stickers and kept saying I had to go get my VOA for business. I did not budge and told him as he could see from my passport I indeed by a VOA when I come for business, but today I was here on a social visit and he was holding up the queue with his hard headedness. He then went to his supervisor who saw the ridiculousness of our argument and came back and stamped my passport as below…it says tourism purpose only! I did not really lie…I went “site” seeing. 🙂
Thursday 23rd July, Jakarta – Visiting TV Studio’s
So I did come into Jakarta on a social visit visa exemption so I just went to meet some “friends” and visited the site. In fact as part of this project we were invited to have a look behind the screens at Indonesia’s biggest TV studios from MNC TV, Global TV and IRTC. Our client is familiar with TV studio set ups but has never done a TV Studio approach inside a theatre performance setting, so as part of our “reconnaissance” we visited the various studios to get an idea what they were really familiar with. Amongst others we visited the X-Factor Indonesia set in its final testing before the first show, The Master Chef Indonesia set that was being bumped in and a TV Chat show set from Global TV. As always the reality is very different from what you see on TV as the recording angles are such that all is neat and focussed; you only see what you need to see. We saw all the peripheral areas that have no presence in any show as it really is back of house. But more interesting to us were the control rooms from where the lighting is being controlled, the lighting equipment that is being used and the infra-structure that supports it and that is what we came for! An educational (social) visit!
Friday 24th July, Singapore – Getting ready
Today is physically my last day in the office for a while. In the coming week I am travelling for work and then go on for my long planned one month break in France. That meant catching up with the team to discuss project issues and getting ready for our presentations next week. We have to major kick off meetings for which we have prepared many rende rings and want to present ourselves to the (new) team to our best possible. I always think that first impressions are important and this specifically counts when you start a new project where you join a team already on the “run”, a team with whom you have never worked before. You know how people look at “new comers”…ok let us see what you’ve got, let us see why the client selected you as the lighting designer for this project. Hence we created extra renderings, smoothed the presentation, printed and bound the presentation together as a neat hand out. In the coming week I will still keep up my blog from my various location, but by the time I will be uploading my adventures I will be high and dry in Europe. Have a great weekend.!
The week that was…
The week that was 13-16th July
Singapore long weekend 17-19th July 2015
Monday 13th July, Singapore – Internet of things
Back in Singapore with a relatively quiet week ahead in the office without travelling and a long weekend at the end to top it off…yeah! Good to recharge and catch up ahead of a marathon 2 weeks of travelling before my annual leave in August. This week will be busy with finalising some of the concept presentations which are due next week. We secured some new projects recently that keep us nice and busy.
Like many of you I assume, I am “linked up” with many chat groups and E-magazines that relate to our work environment. Architectural, interiors, hospitality, general innovations and technology, LED lighting, manufacturers, and so on; it is a continuous daily stream of “news”. I can but look back in wonder how we managed to keep ourselves up to date in those early days, magazines, books and fairs mostly…but now with internet everything seems to have moved in overdrive with such speed , that at times I feel totally inadequate actually keeping up.
The latest trend subject is “the internet of things”, describing (and I quote Wikipedia): “a network of physical objects (or things) embedded with electronics , software, sensors and connectivity to enable objects to exchange data with the manufacturer, operator and/or other connected devices.” It claims that by 2020 about 50 billion objects will be interlinked via this internet of things infrastructure. In itself fascinating, but also scary as in my opinion it gradually fades out the human aspect of living. It has my obvious interest as todays (LED) lighting technology is one of those “objects” that are becoming part of this smart infra-structure. Today I read about The Edge building in Amsterdam, an office building that includes a smart building management system based on its lighting infrastructure. Lighting integrated GPS systems and apps communicate with people’s mobile phones, communicating with other smart systems in the office (printers, etc)…the internet of things…hmmm…
Tuesday 14th July, Singapore – “Socket survey”
Sometimes you hear an expression or a catch phrase that turns your head. This is what happened to me when I heard about the “socket survey”, sounded catchy. Turns out to be an annual survey (it’s in its 7th year already!) conducted on-line by Osram-Sylvania in the US…”The state of the socket 2015”…a survey about consumer behaviour in regards to lighting. It found in February this year that more Americans than ever are discovering LED lighting with smart lighting strongly on the rise. Interesting fact for instance (in my opinion) is that 22% is stockpiling incandescent bulbs! Even more interesting are the perceived benefits of LED lighting with 91% finding that LED bulbs produce enough light and 88% appreciates the colour quality! There is an interesting link to smart lighting with 83% seeing smart lighting as an introduction to other smart technologies such as climate control and home security systems. It would be interesting to compare similar surveys from other countries if these exist which would provide a cross cultural appreciation of the penetration and use of LED technology. This is also a consumer survey and I would venture to say that a similar survey carried out amongst professionals would have a rather different outcome! Interesting nonetheless!
Wednesday 15th July, Singapore – Who’s got talent?
One of our feature projects at the moment is the lighting design for an theatre studio cum auditorium where potentially local versions of shows as American idol, America’s Got Talent or X-Factor can be held in front of a large audience. The challenge is to design the lighting infra-structure to such extent that it has the ability to accommodate the lighting needs for each of the shows while maintaining the pleasantness of a nice theatre. While we are familiar with the architectural house lighting part of the design we are on unchartered grounds for the stage and performance part of the lighting which has also been entrusted to us. I have reinforced my team with some experts in the field and specifically enjoy this part of the lighting design as it brings a new dimension to our skills as lighting designers. It is not that I am not familiar with stage lighting design, in fact I have done (design and operated) a few actual theatre plays and been up close and personal with lighting designers for rock bands (Red Hot Chili Peppers), its just that we are not doing this kind of projects as our bread and butter so it’s a nice and welcome opportunity to sharpen our skills in this area. Today I met with my team to decide on the direction for the design approach as our client does not really know how to integrate TV Studio requirements within the envelope of a theatre auditorium setting…we will present next week our proposed strategic approach and concept.
Thursday 16th July, Singapore – Expending our horizons
I have been quite focussed on our own backyard, in this case Asia Pacific as our hunting ground for projects. I do not focus nor put any specific prject acquisition effort towards projects outside “my region” which is roughly within a 5 hour radius flight around Singapore and as such includes India in the West, China in the North, the Philippines in the East and Australia in the South. It all makes practical business sense in terms of serviceability to my clients such as reach and time zone (plus or minus 2-3 hours at the most). I can visit sites within less then 2-3 days if needed. It becomes a “different cookie” (to use a Dutch catch phrase from Louis Van Gaal, trainer at Manchester United), when project sites and clients are at double the distance away! I have just signed off on a project at the edge of Europe (Istanbul) and have some serious projects possibly coming our way beyond Australia (New Zealand and the Pacific Islands). This requires a total rethink of our approach as travel is long (>10hours) and time away from the office is at least one week! Our fee strategy is built around it so when appointed we know the client is willing to (literally) spent the extra mile creating more comfortable and respected working environment for our team. We had some previous projects in Middle East and Eastern Europe so I am looking forward to reconnect with Istanbul soon and start on this lovely project.
Friday 17th July, Singapore – Public Holiday
Today is a public holiday, Hari Raya (Aid Il Filtri), celebrating the end of Ramadan with muslims world wide celebrating by breaking their month long fast….
The week that was…
The week that was 6-10th July
Perth weekend 11-12th July 2015
Monday 6th July, Perth – 6am, a shock to the system!
As a roaming jet setter I need to plan my time around family and work and my return to Perth yesterday was for a very good reason, the birthday of my youngest daughter! Happy Birthday Kyra! I am proud of her as she has completed university and found herself a job pretty soon after graduation, not an easy feat in the current economic climate. On top of that a job that will allow her to grow and develop herself in disciplines (arts and media) that she really likes. Well done!
I got a shock to the system having to get out of bed in the wee hours of the morning this Monday to suit the working habits of Western Australian contractors! They knock off at 3-4pm hence doing lighting tests in the evening would be considered “overtime” so we were kindly requested to show up at 6am to do our lighting tests…being a night person, a real shock to the system. But fair enough it is still dark at 6am as in the winter it only gets light around 7am! But after a heavy week of traveling getting up at 5am was not my preferred option! We duly arrived in time however and completed our tests within the hour allowing us to make a final decision on the lights to be used. On the bright side I had a nice early breakfast in town and was behind my desk with still the whole day ahead of me…
Tuesday 7th July, Perth – Sun and wind
I woke up to a cold morning with temperatures close to zero; a welcome but chilly change to the boring 30 degrees year round in Singapore. It just does remind me how much I love seasons and everything that comes with it, sun, wind, rain and everything in between. Speaking of which, technological developments keep on improving in regard to the generation of solar and wind energy with new concepts being designed for the capture of wind and storage of solar energy reaching new heights. Studies (done by the Kingston University in London) towards incorporating wind turbines under a bridge in the Canary Islands show that the generated energy could provide power to nearly 500 homes! The potential here is to safe typically 140 tonnes of CO2 per year or the depuration effect the equivalent of more than 7000 trees. Architects and engineers are studying ways to incorporate wind turbines into architecture with the least possible urban impact. In the solar energy world things are moving as well. Researchers from the university of Texas have found ways, for the first time, to store electrons generated from the photo electro chemical cells that gathers the sun’s energy, for long periods of time. The actual hybrid chemical/ technical reaction process is above my “paygrade” to understand and explain (J) but from what I understand it seems to be a break through allowing for continuous storage around the clock without loss of energy. This is an important breakthrough as up till now converted solar energy has to be used within a fairly short time to avoid the energy dissipating quickly…I reckon there is still a lot coming our way in these fields…keep an eye out for it!
Wednesday 8th July, Perth – Back to the future…
Working on old heritage buildings as we do in some of our projects brings along some interesting experiences and one of the most obvious ones is the fact that many of them either do not have any official CAD drawings to work on or have old archived hand drawn drawings that are useless in today’s electronic environment unless converted into usable electronic files. I have my big presentation tomorrow and I am laying the last hand at my presentation to show how our lighting concept will transform the church interiors. The only tool we have here to visualise the transformation to our clients are photos of the actual interiors, which we then photo-shop to show the lighting effects that we intent to achieve. To do this realistically you really need to understand how lighting works and how it will interact with the existing materials etc. In the early days we would have sketched this on paper, but today, with modern computer software, we are able to realistically reproduce the future. The pictures below just show the end result of one of the churches only, where we are introducing even some “heavenly” colours to appease the new youth generation who congregates in the church for their own events! As a post note; the client was rapped with our presentation and will now move to seek further feedback from the congregation for a mandate to go ahead with the proposed lighting design concepts.
Thursday 9th July, Perth – Sunset dimming
One of the big trendy developments in lighting is tuneable lighting, or the ability to tune the light to different colours but most specifically the natural light colours associated with sunrise to sunset roughly between 2200K and 6500K. This requires a number of core LED chips of different colour temperatures, generally amber and cool white, together with a smart dimming control system that mixes and balances the light outputs of the engines to the desired effects. It is imperative for lighting designers to keep a constant vigil in regards to what is being developed in the market if only to keep abreast of the latest developments and for that we have an open door policy and are pro-actively chasing manufacturers to demonstrate their latest innovations. So also today where we met with one of the local suppliers to get the latest on his “sunset dimming” system. The engine in this case is a mixture of one amber in the centre surrounded by a mix of 2 and 4 LED’s of different colour and intensities creating a perfect blend of colour from deep warm amber to bright white in its full output. A smart lens assures an invisible blend of the light output making it practically impossible to distinguish which or how many of the LED chips are actually creating the lighting effect. Key to all this is the smooth dimming which provides a traditional experience of dimmable incandescent lighting…I found it impressive…
Friday 10th July, Perth – In the public eye I finished the week catching up with the heritage architect for our churches projects to run the lighting concepts by him as well and discuss any heritage issues that may impact on the execution of our lighting design. I was thrilled to find him very excited as well and basically giving us the go-ahead to proceed with design development. As we were discussing possible implementation we found that some of the improvements required for bringing the churches up to current safety standards would actually be helpful in the integration of the lighting, which shows that communication and consultation between specialists somehow always ends up to be very fruitful. I always enjoy brainstorming and squaring up with experts in their field of work as somehow it always produces creative outcomes as was proven again today!
As we head into the weekend the city is abuzz with the winter light show that has been commissioned as a spectacle for the dark winter nights, a 3D video projection on some of the old heritage buildings that were recently completed and transformed into a social art and entertainment hub, Brookfield Place. The two week show commissioned by Brookfield along St Georges Terrace for the winter months brings some colourful lights validating some of Perth’s heritage buildings into the public eye. With temperatures at night hovering towards zero degree, the lights are a welcome brightness…
Have a great weekend!
The week that was 29th June – 3rd July
Singapore weekend 4-5th July 2015
Monday 29th June Singapore – Visa worries
Enjoying a few days in the office before I jet of to India later this week. The first order of priority today is to get relieve myself of some visa worries. To keep travelling freely and with minimum hassle I have several long term visa’s that allow me to enter countries on any given time at short notice. This is crucial for me as I often don’t have the time to just give my passport away for the processing of visa’s, sometimes simply because I am not that long around. Right now my China visa is due for renewal as well as my Long term Singapore employment pass. Renewing your visa’s is really an exercise in planning… when will I be long enough in town to do that and making sure I have the necessary business invitation letters from my clients to submit with my application. I have a few choices, but in this case due to my tight schedule I decided to ask two of my clients for the invitation letter, not sure who of the two would react fastest as my window of opportunity for the application is next week. It is only last week just before I went to China that I discovered that my visa was about to expire (I made the trip with 2 days to spare!). As I need to travel to China again soon I better get this organised asap. Same with my employment pass…it was only on return from my trip last week that I realised it was expired…the e-gates went all blinking red as if I was an intruder! Anyhow that is all settled now…efficient online application for renewal was successfully completed…phewww
Tuesday 30th June Singapore – Renders
It is incredible how our life has changed with the arrival of computers in our life. In the older days we used to sketch and do mood boards to convey to our clients what sort of lighting concepts we have in mind. Today it is all digital, we create real life renders which at times look so good that they can fool you for being an actual photograph. Herein also lies a danger as people (read: your client) will hold you to task when the real lighting design is completed. Too often I come across renderings that look cool but on closer inspection have many lighting effects that are not realisable. Of course because that is what I am trained to look at. Good renderers are hard to find and while we have some good renderers in our team, we have need to constantly keep this up to date and make sure their renders are up to scratch. Today I reviewed some renderings from a new addition to our team and provided my feedback to his efforts. It is only with the designer’s feedback that the renderer builds up his understanding of lighting and its integration and interaction in space. It was a good first effort…he is learning well! This is our first attempt towards creating a new lighting design concept for some heritage churches for which we are redesigning the lighting. Below one of them the old and the proposed new…dramatic change, right?
Wednesday 1st July Singapore/Goa – Jet What Ways?
It’s a long story…But after endless arguments and wasteful emails I find myself on a Jet Airways flight to Mumbai then transit to Goa. Those who know me, know that I have been a loyal Singapore Airlines customer for more than 25 years and generally do not budge to other airlines unless I have no other options to get there. All my previous flights for this project have been business class on SQ to Mumbai (overnight flights) but this time the client (or should I say the overzealous project manager) decided that since SQ was not specifically mentioned in the contract I should fly the cheapest of cheap business class. I said no and then he said that they would approve a maximum of $3K for my trip which is the comparative price on business class with Jet. I said ok I will pay the difference. By that time however SQ was fully booked, so I conceded to fly with Jet. Main reason being that in this case I could ask the client to book and pay, avoiding a lengthy reimbursement process (last reimbursable trip took more than 5 months to clear!) There is a reason why Jet is so much cheaper! The business class seats are hardly better than SQ economy and the service was way below par, with what seemed to be trainee stewardesses, stumbling over the smallest of tasks. They took my lunch order but delivered something totally different…on questioning I was told my choice was not available…some typo error in the menu and hence they had decided that I would appreciate their pasta! What? Could they not let me know and check with me? I am on a low carb diet so pasta is not my first choice…after some deliberations I managed to extract a salad…coffee was not a nicely prepared expresso, but just a dump from a big pre-fab pot of coffee…On top of that the pilot was rough, with brusque manoeuvres both in the air and on the ground, sudden changes and low and behold, he was the first out of the airplane after we landed! Jet What Ways??? On arrival to site at least we were treated with great project with the project now really visible from far away…
Thursday 2nd July Goa – Site review
With the full international team of consultants in attendance for the first time in several months, we braved sun and occasional monsoon rains to walk the site and review the progress made together with the contractors. This project, a hotel resort being built on the slopes of inland hills north of Panjim has a highest point at about 150m above sea level and offers magnificent views to the surrounding landscape and the Indian Ocean in the distance. It is a very complex site with steep gradients, twists and corners everywhere and while we have imagined the actual site initially with 3D Sketch-up models the reality is always different and the sense of space and proportions becomes far more understandable. This in turns allows us to fine tune our lighting design as specifically in these complex architectural places, the devil is in the details. The more complex the more necessary regular site visit on progress of work is needed. We are blessed with a contractor team that seems responsible and committed to deliver good work, not blindly following consultant’s drawings but ringing the bell when issues arise on site. I was happy to absorb some sunburns in return for a full update on my site knowledge (all that with complimentary free cardio exercises… J). Attached some site impressions…all in a days work…
Friday 3rd July – Goa – Retail therapy
We finished our last site meetings in the morning and left in the afternoon back for Mumbai for a transit stop on our way back to Singapore. The long 6-hour stop was to be used to visit a new potential client in Mumbai who is in the process to expand and re-interpret his fashion retail space for a new feel good shopping experience. Lighting is to be the key element in the space that is to showcase collections from leading Indian fashion designers. To me it was also a welcome break from otherwise spending 6 boring hours waiting in the transit lounge. The trip to the old part of Mumbai offered us a peak into Mumbai’s daily life…in this case rush hour back home J…We reached location well in time and spent some time exploring the site with the owner and manager who gracefully made their time available after hours to accommodate our time schedule…thanks for that! The building has a 240 year history with high ceilings and in the extension magnificent beams which will need to be integrated in the overall retail experience. A cool little project with the potential to turn into a landmark fashion retail space…looking forward to it. Have a great weekend!
The week that was
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