Personal versus objective
Jakarta 22nd January 2013
As I am waiting in the lounge to take my flight back to Singapore I am reflecting on the main event passed about which I blogged last night. I mentioned that I came away with a feeling that we were about 80% on our way to having it right, but in this morning’s debrief meeting the owner’s feedback was quite the opposite. He felt disappointed that the room was not 99% close to his expectation. His comments on the design (mostly spatial planning issues) were not contradicted by the team but the difference being that we saw that as a normal part of work in progress. Who gets a mock up room 99% right on first inspection??? The whole purpose of a mock up room is to establish whether the design (looking good on renderings and 2D drawings) actually works in reality. So why the disunity between the teams feeling and the owners feeling? As it turns out it is quite simple and a matter of how you look at things. What glasses are you looking through?
We, as an experienced team having done many mock up rooms, came away with a good feeling, the ambience on entrance felt good, the colour scheme and lighting felt balanced. But we did identify some of the space planning and workman ship issues. Duly noted, but nothing alarming or that we feel cannot be rectified for the next viewing. The owner however came in looking from a totally different perspective. First of all he had not been much involved in the whole design process, the step by step design improvements and detailing that we went through to get where we are today. His last “memory” of the room were the 3D renderings shown during concept presentations. But most of all this project is very close to his heart. It is his baby and he has taken a personal interest in all the detailing. In a more objective approach, you will see an owner looking at whether the design and overall feel is responding to the commercial benefits that are to be achieved from a commercial hotel property, but in this case it was the personal approach not the objective benefits that dominated his mind and feedback.
We will get there as the hotel is slated for success…I can feel it!
Light Watch 4-12: Going to a mock up room is not always a matter of some stairs in a civilised environment. Here is a view to the site and the shrieking mechanical lift that is ferrying us up to the 15th floor (no railing!) where the mock up room is located. Being a lighting designer can be a matter of life and death defying actions at time! 🙂
Contemplating things still to do in the mock up room…
Getting it right
Jakarta 21st January 2013
Made it safe to Jakarta …no flooding in view, but a lot of traffic and detour driving to reach the site. Today, finally after 4 years on the job with lots of delays, we reached the stage of reviewing the first attempt for the mock up room. This is a big day in a hotel (lighting) project as it is the day that all the design work comes to realisation, the day where you know whether you got it right or not. It’s of course not only about lighting it is about how all disciplines come together and gel to create that wow factor for the room that all guest will be staying in in the future. I have experienced projects where the mock up room was redone up to 8 times (!) before everyone was happy. Today we had the chairman himself pop in for inspection and bar some relatively minor issues (easy to correct), we all got the feeling we hit about 80% right …not bad for the first try!
What are the things that we looked at from lighting point of view? First of all we look at the specifications, have they been followed in terms of product quality and performance? That answer was yes more or less, the only point being that we had the wrong colour temperature (3000K instead of 2700K) for the linear lights. Apparently due to lack of stock so they installed the 3000K as temporary substitute all part of a good balance of brightness and mood. Then we look at the detailing, how they interpreted the installation details. There were a few minor issues in regards to light fitting location and detail finishes, that will need to be corrected and properly finished, but overall it was close the expectation. Finally, often the less well executed or overlooked (by the less experienced?), are the lighting controls. Location of the switches and most of all do they switch (logically and practically) what they are supposed to control??? Most of the time (as the case being here) NOT! There will be quite some rewiring and reconfiguration to do but nothing too dramatic. So overall quite happy with this first review!
Light Watch 4-11: Concepts for guestrooms are all about style and substance. Ever heard of last centuries’ French Art Nouveau artist/designer Emille Galle? Probably not… me neither till a few days ago. I am currently reading the biography of rocker Rod Stewart (not because I am a great fan, but because I am an ex “rocker” from that time) and I found out that he was a fanatic collector of Emille’s lamps and vases. So I checked him out… very distinctive indeed, we don’t see that too much these days!
Breaking a Lance
Singapore 18th January 2013
Today will probably go down in history as the day that Lance Armstrong took ownership of his life and came clean on his doping and drug taking. Like many in the world I switch on the TV to hear his “confession” on Oprah’s no questions, no hold bar interview. Breaking a “Lance” for the truth! I guess at this stage he has everything to gain in being totally honest. Surely his legal advisers have prepped him about the how and what to say…
I have been a cycling fan from the old days when Dutchmen Jan Jansen and later Joop Zoetemelk won the Tour de France and have always followed the Tour at times witnessing stages passing through when I was in the neighbourhood. In my student’s days in Delft one year the Tour even went right past my window, when the start was in Holland.
While we may not have doping or actually take drugs in our profession (but who knows how many need a little booster at times to physically keep going?) the “doping” may take different forms when it comes to lighting design, generally in the form of money as that is the life blood of our profession. In order to be successful in our profession and run with the best you need to earn good fees so we can afford good staff and can provide first class services. Established and experienced lighting designers can command good fees, but you need clients willing to pay for it and when you are in need of work there can be a point in which you may sacrifice your fees to get a much needed job. It is well known, and in some countries common practice in the industry, to then resort to complementing the lack of fees by asking successful suppliers for some “help”.
Like Armstrong states that it would have been impossible for him to win his seven Tour de France titles without doping, it seems virtually impossible in some countries to financially and responsibly undertake a lighting design project without some “help”. Navigating this world is a skill by itself! Staying truthful and professional here as well is the key to life! I think Lance Armstrong’s story should be a lesson for all…
Light Watch 4-10: I am scheduled to go to Jakarta on Monday but with the flooding going on I may not make it! I will assess the situation on Sunday and decide with my client if it is still worth making the trip! These pictures are from just around my project area!
Lighting at the dentist
Singapore 17th January 2013
Since this blog is about my life as a lighting designer I should also blog about the ordinary things of life that we go through…like going to the dentist! I happen to have mine just across the road so I can virtually pop in at any time. A few days ago I cracked my tooth while eating seedless grapes, would you believe! Obviously it must have been cracked before from something else, but a good part of my good old tooth gave way, my filling still intact! Anyhow I had been trying to find a bit of time to go have this fixed which turned out to be today (after having made sure I had a good lunch first 🙂 ).
I will spare you the further details, but what did strike me while I was laying down and being treated (great time to reflect on things while they go about fixing your tooth), is that in the dental world everything seems to have gone LED and digital too! While watching Tom & Jerry on a digital LED TV, the dentist was pointing an overhead LED light onto my mouth, while having an individual headset with binocular type lenses and a LED light as well. Then to set the composite they use an LED based UV light. The only “normal” lights (for how long still?) were the overhead fluorescent T5 room lights. Documenting the process with a professional digital Nikon camera along the way, I was shown a photo slide show on a LED screen afterwards showing me what she had done…from the damaged tooth to the nicely fixed up result. The downside is that half my face will still be numb for another few hours….
I am back behind my laptop typing away. I will leave others to answer the phone; I don’t need my mouth to finish some reporting 🙂
Light Watch 4-9: LED technology in the dentistry world.
Not from behind my desk!
Singapore 16th January 2013
Life of a lighting designer is not one that is executed from behind a desk…oh no! While we may spent quite some time behind our computers to communicate, research, document or create, getting out and about to physically and visually inspect and assess lighting is a key element in our profession. People who never get out, never meet clients, never play with light fittings, never actually go to site to understand the players and elements that are part of the lighting design chain, will never understand what it is and what it takes to create a good lighting design. I always encourage everyone to get light fitting samples, go out and do visual mock ups, check out other peoples design realisations. We learn from what we see and experience in real life. And our lighting designs are meant for real life, for real people, not for some you tube video or photo shoot.
We have currently a few visual mock ups in the planning over the next couple of weeks, one of which we carried out tonight on site. We had done a preliminary selection at the office from light samples brought in by the supplier, that pre-inspection of the lighting performance in the office allowed us to make a more definitive selection of the type of light we wanted to test on site. The more experience you have, the easier and shorter the process will be. Experience does help enormously in homing in on the right selection and solution. With my years of experience I can easily eliminate at least 80% of the options and zoom in straight away on the few options that will do the job. But for people with much less experience, let alone field experience, this process can be long and tedious not in the least place for the suppliers who sort of follow your “hunches”.
Tonight we did some light up tests for some artwork, façade finishes and water elements. Within a few tests and try-outs I knew what it had to be…but 30 years back when I started out as a lighting designer this process would have taken much, much longer. Not only the testing on site, but also the whole process of figuring out what light fittings to use. And that’s why you pay much higher fees for experienced lighting designers…:)
Light Watch 4-8: Some pics from the tests…
Concepteur Eclairage sand Frontieres
Singapore 15th January 2013
More and more I realise that most of the time we design for the higher end of the scale. Understandably as it is generally people with money who can afford the cost of hiring a professional lighting designer. But with all this talk about sustainability and the extent of poverty around the world the question arises on how we can make our skills benefit the more unfortunate parts and people of this world.
An initiative I recently read about, loosely based on the concept of Medecins sand Frontiers (the independent humanitarian medical aid organisation), where lighting designers bond together to help the more needy of the world who do not have the ability to afford proper lighting design. Called Concepteurs Eclairage sans Frontieres (Lighting Designers without Borders), it intends to provide pro bono lighting design services on a voluntary basis without personal remuneration… professionals giving up their time and skills to help countries and people in need (war, natural disasters, poverty). Light is obviously a source of comfort and the aim is to help manipulate day or artificial light to benefit those in need. Though the organisation has been around for a few years it seems to have become a more active and meaningful organisation in recent times. The website is still in French but is being reconstructed in English (http://www.concepteurslumieresansfrontieres.org/). It is clearly an organisation in development that needs the gathering of steam and momentum, but the mission is laudable and should be supported.
The thought today is to go back to our roots of simplicity and creativity. Designing to root simplicity is one of the back bones of sustainability. As a lighting designer we should aim towards that. Yes we are professional designers and we make a living from our profession but we need to realise in what kind of world we live and apply sense and sensibility when we design. Helping out the unfortunate and considering the fragile fabric of our planet should be part and parcel of our design process…
Light Watch 4-7: I was forwarded today a link to works from a Swedish artist , Ilona Resta. Her designs consider simple natural elements in combination with light. Peaceful and simple…
And the cowboys keep coming…
Singapore 14th January 2013
This year will be like the last one…a continuous fight against the LED cowboys. I was confronted to it yet again twice today. Once just by public observation and once through my professional dealings. I had lunch today I one of the well-known coffee hang outs (Dome) and noted that over the new year they had converted their original warm halogen lighting to LED (retrofit by the looks of it). My point is that if it would have been done professionally I should not have noted the difference. However I did immediately upon entering the premises. What had changed due to lack of understanding by the LED Cowboys?
Light colour: suddenly the whole place was bathed in cool white light, which changed the place from a warm and cosy place to an eerie and uncomfortable place. Glare: due to the lamp selection and the way the lamps were retrofitted, the lights in the ceiling had become glary and really in your face! I assume that a potentially higher light output also contributed to it. Light distribution: it was very obvious that a narrower beam had been used as the overall the interiors have become far more spottier with clear dark areas which render the place visually uncomfortable. Overall the conversion to LED looked like a typical example of property management having taking its cue from an LED cowboy. The sad thing is that the general public is being subjected to it without much understanding what’s going on. Gradually this creates a deflated kind of acceptance as if we have to live with this as part of the sustainable LED revolution! Which is a shame as it absolutely does not have to be that way!
In another related situation I was made aware by one of my clients that they had engaged a so called LED auditing company that was advising them on how to benefit from conversion to LED. While they seem to have offices in several countries I had never heard of them. Further internet research learned that (surprise) they were into sales of LED lighting. Now how can you do a proper lighting audit if you are in the business of selling LED’s. To me that is a conflict of interest…and another cowboy…
Light Watch 4-6: Understanding the nature of lighting and lighting design is crucial. Unfortunately there are many examples of lighting where you wonder if there was an experienced lighting designer involved. I recently visited a newly renovated hotel in Singapore and while overall the (interior) design concept is nice, I noticed many instances of failed lighting design opportunities (aiming/shadow – location/reflections).
Money, money…
Kuala Lumpur 11th January 2013
Another early morning flight…grrr. Got up a 5 am to catch the 7am flight to KL today, lucky I don’t stay to far from the airport. When I came outside my taxi was already waiting…Singapore efficiency…
Today was practically all about money, design wise and contract wise. We went to see the client to sort out two major issues, one important to us, one important to them. Quit pro quo…while the main aim of the meeting was to value engineer the lighting design that had come way over their budget, we took the opportunity to clear the communication channels in regards to our payments. We are not in the business of over-charging our clients, quite the contrary, but when work is clearly done, payment should follow promptly. As the project is in its early stages I have filed the clients failure to properly pay us as growing pains and after today I believe payments will be processed properly and on time. One face to face meeting generally can resolve what many hundreds of emails may not 🙂
As to the budget for lighting hardly any client is able to properly budget the lighting in advance or have a good understanding what the financial implications are for their project dreams. And while we generally come up with the budget estimates early in the concept, it never fails to surprise the client….why is it that all of them think they can get a Ferrari for a Toyota price? We took the time to go through our options and to continue the metaphor we are now in process if creating a high end Toyota sports model…the “looks” of a Ferrari of sorts, but with a more Toyota like price. As long as we are all clear on what the consequences and implications are. Not from 0 to 100 km/h in 2-3 seconds, but maybe 5-6 seconds, no life time warranty but maybe 3-5 years… 🙂
It is a painstaking process, but a necessary one. To use another metaphor, we are not the my-way-or-the-highway designers; we care about the client’s money. But at the same time we have professional standards to uphold and that was what today was all about! Have a great weekend!
Light Watch 4-5: Talking about cars as metaphor…here are some LED car head lights (Audi, VW,Mercedes, etc)…Here also the technology moves very fast. BMW is now pioneering the next future…laser head lights!…is that the future of architectural lighting as well???
LED in 2013, still a hot topic
Singapore 10th January 2013
LED is still a hot topic in 2013 that’s for sure. I was forwarded an article written by Annette Kelso published in LED Magazine of December 2012 which I have used to write this blog. In this article she describes the challenges of two worlds that are trying to unite to one LED world. We have the more than a century old lighting industry world with its conventional approach to lighting on one side and on the other we have the fast evolving semiconductor industry world from where the LED technology has emerged. The two however have totally different speeds of evolution!
In the conventional lighting world the traditional speed of innovation, research and development for a new lighting product has always been typically 2 years or so, from concept to commercial production. But in the semiconductor world developments are fast paced with very short product cycles, with new models emerging every few months! It is therefore not surprising that the lighting manufacturers have a hard time to keep up the pace in incorporating the continuously developing LED technology into their lighting fixtures. This explains to me also why many of the LED products in the market do not seem to be totally out-developed, many still having little hitches and stiches! Against this context it starts to make sense. The lighting manufacturers struggle to keep up with the technology LED innovations!
As a result we also face a big technology push, rather than a market driven demand! While that works to a certain extent in the retail market, it certainly does not in the professional project market! It is also appears that the behaviour that determines our lighting world, our common lighting standards, lighting design approaches and decisions are still very much driven by the same (emotional) principles as before. Today light fittings with LED technology are still very much the same as it was (still is) for conventional lighting technology. Emotional considerations such as colour temperature, colour rendering capacity, lumen packages and the like are still key decision elements in a design or purchase decision. High energy efficiency and long life are not necessarily the key for success, let alone when considering the costs!
LED is undeniably part of the future of lighting, however how the two worlds will manage to cohabit and integrate together will be the next phase of generation LED…
Light Watch 4-3: Some graphs courtesy of Philips that were used in the article to illustrate the LED revolution…
New beginnings
Bangkok 9th January 2013
Hardly back at work and in Bangkok today for a kick-off meeting for one of our new hotel resort projects…at this pace, my Xmas/ New Year’s break will soon look like a far and distant memory! Meeting the project team and getting in on the “ground floor” with projects is always an exciting thing. I always love the excitement of a new project start. Our hopes and expectations are high and with heaps of motivation and optimism we start with these projects. As the team is new you never know how things will turn out over time. It wouldn’t be the first time that we slowly sink in a desperate pool of frustration where you wonder where it all went wrong. Many of you may have had similar experiences.
I am confident this project will not go that way…but I have been proven wrong in the past. We are all excited; the team looks bright and sharp with an apparent good project management and a supporting and understanding client. Time will tell, but right now we are embarking on this project with great motivation. My presentation today focussed in introducing our lighting design approach and making sure that quality criteria that can make and break the project were clearly outlined highlighting the potential pitfalls, such as workmanship, budgets, specifications and operational needs. Establishing aspects such as communication, coordination, deliverables and time schedules being an integral part of it.
By using mood images I initiated some reactions and feedback about the conceptual design approach from the team. It is important to understand the design intent from the various lead consultants as well as inserting our own creative thoughts about how lighting could be developed to bring out the best of this project. Our aim is of course to develop a signature lighting design that will leave its mark as unique and typical for this property. But on our own we can never achieve this, hence involvement and coordination at the earliest possible stage with the team is crucial… The foundation is laid, a new project is borne…
Light Watch 4-3: Some of the mood images I used to express our approach for the landscape lighting
The long awaited book compilation of Martin's first year of blogging is available. Order now.
Feedspot Top 100 Lighting Blogs