Experience
Jakarta, 22nd May 2014
From pollution to traffic jam, the world is certainly not perfect and travelling as I do, brings me from one extreme to another. It took me well over 2 hours to reach my hotel from the airport in Jakarta today! Again hard to imagine how people can live this way. Some people take 2-3 hours daily to reach their work! My meeting location tomorrow may take me 45 min or 2 hours to reach, who knows…traffic is extremely unpredictable. It makes you appreciate the good things in life even more!
I spent most of my time today going through one of our hotel project with the operator where phase 1 on the ground floor has been completely renovated and operational for the last 4-5 months. It is only after using the various spaces for a few months that you get a feel of what is working and what not, what needs a bit tweaking and what just works fine. The visit was already agreed long time ago and despite that their own team had been working on ironing out the little short comings, they needed “the expert” to help them detail the right solutions and corrections.
It is in these moments that you realise how much experience you have because on issues that they had been struggling to resolve themselves you are able to give them the solution in a wink. That is 35 years of experience bottled up in that single moment when the client ask you what you think should be done…when you give them the solution it’s like, yes of course! That is why we wanted you to come J
Light Watch 5-86: Afterwards I had the pleasure in having my dinner in the All-Day-Dining restaurant and experience my own lighting design at work..
Pollution
Shanghai, 21St May 2014
One of the things you can’t escape in China’s big cities is the pollution. It’s quite scary and I must say that despite that I like coming to Shanghai I thank God I am not living there! Supposedly nice weather during my stay, I could feel the sunshine but not actually see it! A slightly lighter patch in the sky indicated where the sun was supposed to be, but the smog created a grey blanket over the city. The temperature was gorgeous in the mid-twenties, but to me the greyness was quite depressing. It is hard to imagine that there are people in these cities that only see concrete and rarely experience clear blue skies!
Ironically China is the biggest producer of solar systems but the pollution renders these systems fairly useless. Many solar systems available in the market come from or are produced in China, some of them with enormous government subsidies. That obviously affects quality and competitiveness. Solar should have a great future but with big cities more and more suffering from pollution, the irony is that it is more the country side profiting then the big cities where the biggest population could contribute to energy saving. One conspiracy theory has it that the electrical companies could be behind the pollution to keep people dependent on electricity…
Light Watch 5-85: More and more clever integration concepts are being developed for solar panels to make them part of architectural design rather than ugly stand alone structures
Meetings
Shanghai, 20th May 2014
Not one meeting is the same I dare say; often even meetings are totally unpredictable. I am not talking about your regular progress meetings often held in clients’ or contractors site office; no I am talking more about the early international design meetings where the project consultants converge from various parts of the world to meet. I have seen the strangest things happening and met in the strangest places. Today I was supposed to meet my client for a briefing on the exterior lighting design and we drove all the way up to Hangzhou to meet him, just to find out he had had an accident and cut his arm the night before and was in the hospital to get it fixed. However knowing I had come all the way from Singapore he made an effort to meet in the afternoon his arm all bandaged and stitched up. I did get to present and got his approval to go ahead. We all know that progressive approvals on design stages are imperative to progress payments 🙂 !
At least he showed respect for the consultants, something I value a lot. I once travelled to Mumbai, India for a consultants meeting which saw consultants fly in all the way from Singapore, the US and London for a two day meeting. As requested we all showed up at the clients head office at 9am to start the meeting only to be told at around 11am that the boss had left for urgent business to Delhi, no explanation, basically rendering the whole meeting meaningless and wasted as the whole purpose was to present to the boss and get the approval for go-ahead. While we did try make the best of it by doing some face to face coordination it really felt like a huge waste of time and money! Needless to say we all felt pissed off as you kind of work towards this kind of meetings!
Besides meeting in the regular clients or contractor site offices, I have had meetings in boss’s homes, airports, airplanes, hotel lobbies, lounges and bedrooms, sheds, temporary offices and of course your list of bars and restaurants, some quite exclusive. Meetings have often continued in spa’s, golf clubs, karaoke bars and the like. It’s amazing what a bite and a drink in a more “relaxed” environment can do to working relationships!
Light Watch 5-84: Continuing last night’s street views, here are some façade close ups from just around the corner from my hotel…
Are LED’s takig over our lives?
Shanghai, 19th May 2014
Arrived in the land of LED for a couple of project meetings over the next few days…with (as I have been made to understand) more than 6000 LED manufacturers in China alone I think we can easily call China the kingdom of LED. You just need to walk through the city here in Shanghai which I did earlier to go for dinner to see for yourself. There is hardly a light that is NOT LED. The thing is that here the mentality is probably a bit different. In China it has always been about money so what you see are not the high end products, somehow people don’t seem to care, its just a new technology and if it does not work we just fix or replace it. While lifespan and energy saving maybe part of the sales talks, LED just seem to be another commodity, despite all the sales talk nobody really seem to have high expectations probably as this has been a way of life in China anyhow.
Copying and cheating, despite the government’s huge drive to stamp out corruption is still very much rampant and over the years people have come to accept that good quality is an exception rather then a rule. However things are changing; just walk along Nanjing Xi Lu and you will see all the international luxury brands and departments store are represented with their branded goods, even though you can buy a copy just a few streets away. There is a clear trend towards wanting to break with the image that Chinese are copiers, not caring for quality. With the new found riches you will be surprised how many youth also frequent the real branded good stores!
But to come back to my train of thought, you cant escape the feeling that the LED’s are slowly but gradually taking over our lives! On my way to Shanghai this morning I have been working on a remodelled version of my talk recently held in Qatar that specifically centres around this thought. We are no longer free to decide what lighting we want…as by now LED seems to be the only available choice!
Light Watch 5-83: As I walked outside there was a slight drizzle creating some polaroid like effects in some pictures…not sure why in May there is still a Christmas like LED decoration in the trees?
Missing the boat…
Singapore, 16th May 2014
I don’t often come into a place where I think someone has really totally missed the boat in regards to lighting. Last night I went for a site assessment of the current lighting with the aim to make a proposal to redo the lighting. The site review was requested by the current owner/operator. As you will see from the pictures below there is hardly any definition of space. It is really hard to get any sense of what the space has to offer, it looked totally dead. It appears the garden is open till 9pm to the public but an event space adjacent to the space that has a direct view to the garden is rented out often for private and corporate functions, as was the case during our site walk. As a result the colour changing spots and blaring sound system was totally overpowering the otherwise supposedly tranquil garden.
Of course I cannot criticise the lighting designer who was involved in the original project, as we never know the circumstances nor the directions or budget under which this design was executed, so as far as I am concerned it is the way it is and there are lot’s of improvements that can be made. Some are really simple, some are a bit more sophisticated. The obvious one is to convert to more energy saving lights (yes probably LED), as a good part of the current lighting is done with halogen lighting, which also produce heat in the process, something not really desirable as many of the lights are in direct reach of the public. The usual issues of poor installation (lights being unseated by landscape maintenance, insufficient brightness to make a dent, etc), were clear for all to see.
A bit less obvious was that the lighting layout and lighting distribution (effects), did not consider the architectural space at all. One of the critical tasks of a good lighting design is that is should validate the space, give a sense of direction and give a sense of proportion. This makes people feel comfortable ad gives them a feeling safety that you would expect when walking around at night. I drafted out a whole list of further issues which for obvious reasons I cannot share with you right now until such time we secure the job, but suffice to say that lighting definitely is the one and only tool that will bring this place to life, even though it may be a “slow boat to China” if I may borrow that famous song line, to get things actually implemented the way we see it…have a great weekend!
Light Watch 5-82: Impressions…
Solar energy today
Singapore, 15th May 2014
One of the subjects that came out of the Qatar event is the increasing usage of solar power and how countries (like Qatar) with lots of sunshine could make more beneficial use of this opportunity. It appears that the conversion and storage capacity of solar energy is improving rapidly with some of the companies providing solar solutions claiming 10 to 15 years life on the solar panels / batteries. Some of these companies were represented on the side lines of the conference with stands demonstrating their latest products.
One of the biggest challenges for all manufacturers in this industry is to “contain” the size of the panels. We have all seen the ugly oversized panels mounted on top of streetlights, bollards or other structures to convert solar energy to much smaller light fixtures. With the technology improving the relative size of the panels in relation to the energy to be delivered is improving as well and specifically in street and landscape area lighting, designs are coming up where the solar panels are integrated in the supporting structure whether pole or bollard. The battery capacity and performance is getting better allowing for relatively smaller units, easier to incorporate as well. From information I received it appears that a fully charged battery can last several days (up to 5, I was told) without sun. Glass technology (required to protect the solar collections cells) is improving allowing for more advanced and structurally stronger solutions as well.
There remains the issue of return on investments for many applications with lifespan too short to recoup the capital investment. But applications in new and remote areas where the costs of providing electricity is relatively high should see many opportunities with the continued quality and performance improvements. The integration allows for some sleek designs in the process.
Light Watch 5-81: Solar energy harvesting…from ugly oversized panels (some including wind turbines) to sleek design integration.
Show me the money…
Doha- Singapore, 14th May 2014
Show me the money…was the famous catch phrase of the movie Jerry McGuire. I think we can safely say that (unfortunately) in today’s world, certainly in this era of LED technology, money is what it is all about. Spending money, collecting money and for all parties involved what remains at the end of the journey as the bottom line. Our business as lighting designers is becoming increasingly more complicated because of the huge opportunities (whether you really want them or not) that the LED technology offers. LED brings in an element of theatrical lighting effects, a huge tool to attract people, suddenly we have this lighting that can be modelled and manipulated to create thing previously never thought of or impossible to realise. Never mind that we are uncontrollably splashing all colours of the rainbow onto our architectural environment, it can all be justified under the sustainability banner and most of all the lure of money. LED technology has in many cases become a tool to also make money; at least that is the explanation for sometimes spending incomprehensible amounts of money on lighting. Nice if you are the designer and supplier, but is it really bottom line justified? Spending 10 million dollar or more to light up a bridge…maybe it is? The bridge or building now illuminated may (!) become an iconic structure that is identified with the country, possibly swaying people to travel to that country or spent time in that city…but these revenues are hard to measure if at all. Sometimes I feel it is an ego trip of the respective owner, developer, mayor or government…look what I have done for our city…but let’s face it, it is still all about money one way or the other…
Light Watch 5-80: The Eurovision Song Contest was controversially won by a bearded man performing as woman, while the song is probably forgettable the man/woman figure is probably not. The songs were performed against a multi-million dollar LED staging background in which at times the lights and effect were in my opinion overwhelming the actual performers. But who cares…it is all about the money in the end, the commercial success of the song, the tourism interests in the winning country who gets to host the next event. The contest is just a means to an end really, beard or no beard 🙂
Lighting Tech Qatar 2014
Doha, 13th May 2014
The last two days I attended Lighting Tech Qatar 2014, a conference dedicated to professional lighting and lighting design on the side lines of the huge Project Qatar Exhibition that is being held in no other then the iconic Qatar National Convention Centre here in Doha. The mega structure with a huge exposition hall is the home for this exhibition that features everything that has to do with the construction and building industry on the back of the upcoming World Cup to be held here in 2022. What a difference this experience has been compared to the flimsy and poorly organised seminar in 2012 (by a different organiser). At least this conference attracted a far better mix of participants from government and local consulting companies to international lighting design experts and manufacturers. While not all speakers where of the so-called “experienced” presenter level, the overall quality of the speakers was good with a good enough content of interest to keep me present at all sessions for the past two days. Also as one of the speakers I find it a matter of respect to listen (and learn) from my colleagues in the business. You never stop learning in life…and I certainly did not here! International speakers amongst many others included Florian Theuer, Mark Sutton Vane, Juan Ferrari and Paul Ehlert…it was nice too meet them.
While my talk yesterday was an adapted version of how the LED Cowboys frustrate the life of lighting designers (it’s amazing how popular this story keeps on being!) there were several other subjects of great interest and not surprisingly the discussion in question and answer session often focussed on today’s LED technology versus “yesterday’s” conventional technology, the associated costs and challenges in realising projects. Also not surprisingly we found ourselves in many common problems such as visualising our solutions to our clients, managing costs versus quality, supervising contractors on installation and how local culture and climate impact on the final quality of the lighting installation. Much time was also spent on codes of practices that are or should be applied, the extent of sustainability that can or could be applied with Qatar being ideally positioned for large scale applications of solar energy with its on average 13 hours a day sunshine (and associated heat…it was 46 degree yesterday!). The debate still remains about costs and return on investment, with many presentations focussing on energy saving and reduction in maintenance with more flexibility and control with little explanation how much the LED lighting will really cost and whether it will ever be recouped as a cost saving over time…
Light Watch 5-79: Lighting Tech Qatar 2014 in pictures…
Executive travel
Doha, 12th May 2014
Yes I missed a day, but with reason…I was down with severe food poisoning and absolutely not in a shape to write anything on Friday. The perils of travel I guess…I must say that (fingers crossed) I have been pretty good with hardly any problems, food-wise despite traveling from one country and culture to another against the background of different climates and temperatures…not even talking about jetlag.
But talking about travel, I treated myself on my flight to Doha, where I am presenting today (more about it tomorrow), on a luxury seat in Boeing’s new Dreamliner, the worlds latest addition in the sky. I had the chance to fly the first ever A380 when it was first launched (was it in 2009?) and now a flight with renowned Qatar Airways was a nice experience. How far have we come in travel in general and in executive travel specifically. While the new Dreamliner seems a bit tighter in space then the Airbus, the technology,comfort and sophistication on board is certainly top of the pops. Touch screen technology for both the tv screen as well as for the controller which now much looks like an Iphone, high definition screens and most of all WiFi on board! For the first time in my life I skyped back home at 40,000ft up in the air while flying over India and could share the inside of the plane with my “skypers”…how cool is that, they were virtually with me on board! Since everyone had headphones on I don’t think anybody was disturbed with my skype calls… 🙂
What of course had my biggest interest was the lighting. Airplane technology is leading edge in all areas including lighting and of course every single light on board is LED. The latest trend in lighting is mood setting, viual orientation and visual adaptation and to a lesser extent on long haul flights reducing jetlag. There is a mood setting on arrival to calm people down before the flight takes off when people settle into their seats, then there is a another setting for departure, a pre-meal setting, a meal setting a after meal relaxed setting etc. All with different colour hues varying from warmish (the yellow-orange tones) to cooler tones (pinkish) and varying brightness. Blue is used as a night light, as general guidance and dark adaptation. For instance when you enter the toilet there is a blue hue complemented with a soft white which brightens up to the desired levels when you lock the door. Except the orientation and exit lights every other single light seem dimmable including your little personal LED reading light. It’s all about great personal comfort…how things have changed since the times of the DC-10!
Light Watch 5-78: I could not resist taking pictures on board…here are some impressions! Why after that we still had to take a bus to the terminal is beyond me…
Scheduling
Singapore, 8th May 2014
Scheduling your time is probably one of the most challenging things in running a practice like ours. For some reason (now that I want to feel semi-retired 🙂 ) I seem to be busier then ever with a very hectic schedule planned over the next 6 weeks which will see me go from Singapore to Qatar then on to China, Indonesia, Australia, the US (Light Fair) and back to China before I may have some breathing space… Now that my schedule and meeting dates have all been confirmed over the last few days, something that is less obvious then you may think thanks to conflicting demands from various clients, I can focus on filling in the dots which means making sure I am prepared for all the meetings and presentations I am up for. Not only that, I also have to make sure that any involvement/input from my part outside my travelling in deliverables to our clients by the agreed deadlines over this period is being factored in my timing.
Thanks to my brilliant new assistant who really takes a load of my shoulders, I can delegate a lot of this planning and organising to her, freeing up time for myself to work on the various tasks I need to complete before or just for these trips. Now that the office has moved to a new location I have decided to maintain a small skeleton office at my apartment in Singapore to allow me to work from there away from the office hustle and focus on the work at hand without the usual office disturbances. So I will keep this blog a bit shorter then usual and get on with some other pressing matters. But as you can see I keep committed to my blog despite all the scheduling challenges…
Light Watch 5-77: As I will be traveling I will be sitting in many different conference and meeting facilities…from corporate offices to your typical site office, some more rudimentary then others 🙂
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