China 3
Shanghai, 31st August 2012
Once you can weed through all the contractual, administrative and design technical matters there is still a lot of satisfaction to be got from doing projects in China. The fact is that China wants to show the world that they are a world economy and leaders in their own right. And while they have “copied” many successful formulae from the west, they have also been daring and innovating in many architectural ways. It is not for nothing that China is often called the play-ground for architects. Hence doing business (lighting design) in China certainly has it perks. Add to that sometimes the sheer size of the projects and you can imagine that lighting design can be extremely challenging but very rewarding at the same time.
Today I had a project coordination meeting and it is always interesting to see how strong hierarchy (authority) influences the decision making. Because of my presence the big boss also came to the meeting as did the bosses from the other consultants present. I normally do not attend these coordination meetings nor do the other bosses I believe. With all bosses present suddenly lingering design issues were settled within minutes. In this case we ironed out and agreed on all lighting design issues. The last few weeks and several coordination meetings prior, had not managed to sort out the differences as clashes between the various consultants views prevailed. Each of them trying to stand their ground and defend their concept. I always find it intriguing to see how down the “command” line the confrontation gets fiercer!
I think that once you understand the “mechanics” of doing business in China and know how to navigate the language (and cultural) barriers, it can be quite gratifying, but you need to blend in to a certain degree and play their game. Go head on doing it your way or the highway generally won’t get you far. When in Rome….
Light Watch 3-132: Shanghai has one of the largest networks of elevated highways in the world, if not the largest. Sometime before the world expo someone had the idea to use the structures to beautify the urban landscape at night. Equipped with kilometres of blue LED lights the elevated highways are now a landmark sight at night…
China 2
Shanghai, 30th August 2012
So business in China is still good. Even though most financial analysts suspect that the latest economic growth figures (reported to be more than 7%) are inflated, fact is that you just have to look around in the city to see that building activities are going on everywhere. But is the business environment worth all the efforts? While “business” maybe good, one of the key considerations in any decision to do business in China would be whether the investment is worth it. Doing projects in China will require efforts both physical and financial. Hence before you embark on any project you will have to assess whether the investment will pay off, not only financially but also from professional satisfaction point of view. Appreciation of quality and services are quite different here, with (making) money being the principal driving force for everything. The quality and appreciation levels may not be the same as one would be used to and the question is whether you are willing to sacrifice your (quality) principles for the sake of making money.
It is one of my biggest issues of doing lighting design in China. With all due respect, the “Chinese copy” mentality is omni-present in all stages of the projects and it is left up to you to decide whether to go with it or not. It is a tough decision at times, simply because you love to see your projects through to the end but if the client is unwilling to accept basic quality levels there is a point that you have to make a stand if not purely out of professional integrity. It would not be the first time I have been side-lined in the final stages of a project because of that stand. But then I read about collapsing buildings and bridges (just a few days ago a brand new bridge in Northern China collapsed) and I know without a shadow of a doubt that shortcuts, inferior products and poor workmanship were the cause. Hence as a professional I know that I make the right decision by making a stand when it comes to minimum acceptable quality levels…there are no shortcuts in this respect.
Light Watch 3-131: Shanghai has the latest top brand shops. Many new developments look good from a distance, but not necessarily upon closer inspection!
China
Shanghai, 29th August 2012
My regular blog followers will have noticed I don’t spent that much time in China anymore…today I am back in Shanghai and while it is nice to be back in a city I used to come every month not long ago, I now have my reservations about operating in China. For many years I had a company in China but when I stepped out of Lighting Images to start KLD I gave up my physical presence in China. With economy in Europe in tatters many look at China (and India) as saviour countries for business. As a lighting designer I have been active in China since 1995, so I guess I have some authority to formulate an opinion about doing business in China.
First of all let me say there are still heaps of projects in China, nothing has changed there. The economy is still steaming ahead despite a slow down likely as a result from the eurozone worries. Compared to the 90’s the country has certainly opened up and allowed specialists like us to share our expertise in lighting up projects. But the country is also coming of age with many young and native lighting designers now operating in China. Competing on price is a lost battle certainly if you are operating from overseas in this market. So does it pay to have an active office in China? The answer is yes but depending on the modus operandi. If you decided to base yourself solely in China I think it is a tough (very competitive) call. However if you operate an office for the purpose of having a presence in China with your main centre of expertise overseas, it should pay off. Clients are still willing to pay a premium for perceived overseas expertise. The local foothold is then perceived as an added value as this assumes you have your ear to the ground and are aware of the local way of working and doing things.
I have an operational presence in Shanghai for our current projects in China. The question now is do I keep it as a representative presence in China with all project administration and design work still outside of the country or do I move to create an self-contained operation that can operate independently from the overseas head office? More tomorrow.
Light Watch 3-130: Shanghai (Pudong) 1995 versus Shanghai 2012…
It’s raining!
Cherating, 27th-28th August 2012
Weather has always been a good excuse to explain the delay in works. Contractors under pressure to complete works on time know every trick of the book when it comes to finding reasons to justify delays in completion. I am on site in Cherating, Malaysia, today and tomorrow (as we have bad internet connection I may only be able to upload the blog tomorrow when back in Singapore) and was quite disappointed to see the slow progress of the lighting installation. Though the site has progressed a lot since I was here a couple of weeks ago I had hoped more lighting would have been installed. I did manage to get some wired up to test in the evening, but oh boy, did I have to push for it.
I have heard them all, the excuses, as it is never their fault, they are not to blame of course. Truth must be said, sometimes the reasons are valid, but considering that the business can be cut-throat, it is not difficult to imagine that all stops are pulled out whenever possible to minimise time and expenses and maximise returns. Of course bad weather is measurable, but sometimes you have the feeling it is being “used” a bit too much. Anything to do with lack of information (why is it they always seem to have way old drawings on site rather than the latest?) or insufficient supplies will be used against you. You would be amazed how much can be “lost” on site or on the way to site! The best one I heard was that the delivery truck was involved in a heavy traffic accident in Spain (the products were to be shipped from a factory there) and all products damaged or destroyed. The client asked for proof (photo’s of the accident) but it was never received… The contractor did ask for a 6 week extension, to have the products reproduced and shipped…
Today we also had the issue of customs delay. The goods were somewhere in transit but no-one knows where? Some “tax” has to be paid first to have the goods released! While the main courier services are good from country to country, when it comes to remote supplies like here in Cherating, the local distributing delivery service only seem to work half days and only once in a while…very frustrating. Anyhow we will get there rain or shine.
PS As it appears the blog website was down, but we are back up and running 🙂
Light Watch 3-129: Light, rain, thunder and lightning
Peace of mind
Perth, 23nd August 2012
It appears many owners, operators and developers have no real understanding on how to achieve sustainability when it comes to lighting. Most of them rely on the information they receive (free!) from suppliers and manufacturers. But as the information is generally “coloured” and biased it gives them little ground to fund proper decisions on. I experienced it first-hand again this week with one of my hotel clients who was really relieved they had engaged us to do a complete lighting assessment and provide them with a thorough report on which their board of management could make informed decisions on needed investments to bring the hotel within the desired sustainability levels.
Till we came on board the only thing they had going was a couple of tests with LED replacement down lights. They were looking at one for one replacement only, a tricky business if you do not assess all necessary lighting criteria that determine quality and performance. I had my first meeting today and I could just tell the relief of the director of engineering that he finally had found an objective and knowledgeable partner to help him develop a sustainable lighting strategy. The difference being obvious…we are not there to sell products but rather to define what would constitute a proper replacement strategy within todays sustainability guidelines. Durability, value for money and return on investment. The report that we will produce will provide the management a professional evaluation of the current lighting and energy situation together with an action and costing plan so an informed decision can be made.
My point for today is that we as professional and independent lighting designers are in the best position to provide our clients with a sustainable lighting strategy for the future rather then the sales people and manufacturer representatives who can never be in an objective position to advise a client honestly. It’s called peace of mind…
Light Watch 3-128: Today is also the day that Lance Armstrong has decided not to further fight the charges of doping. He is prepared to lose all his 7 Tour de France titles and by the time I write this the first steps are already on the way to do so. It creates a real empty feeling. Was it all fake? Did we cheer on someone who was actually cheating? Peace of mind is a real strong and important feeling. We have the ability as lighting designers to provide that against potential “cheats” who try to sell their (LED) products at any costs! Here is a lighthearted and illuminated look at lighting and cycling…have a great weekend.
Design style
Perth, 23nd August 2012
What is design style, what is the right lighting design style if there is such thing? I had an interesting meeting today as we are in the process of developing a lighting concept for a theatre building. Only it is not a new building but a century old heritage building. The temptation to use LED and possibly colour is one thing, but my dialogue was mostly about integrating two different styles; one the traditional architectural lighting approach of high-lighting the building façade features (the building has many ornamental features and decorations), the other being the introduction of theatrical lighting effects like projection, silhouetting, etc. After all it is a theatre so rather than messing with the architecture by using color changing LED effects (boring, lack of imagination!!) I decided to introduce the concept of marrying the two styles.
Lighting for architecture is quite different from the theatre lighting approach. Several years back I helped out with community theatre by taking care of the play’s stage lighting and not surprisingly the lighting was kind of a disaster. While I had done a fantastic job in lighting the set (trust the architectural lighting designer) the lighting of the actors was crap if I may say. I had created the “drama” in the set rather than on the stage with the actors. Lesson learned! In theatrical stage lighting the focus and effects are quite different from architectural lighting and introducing some of this in the overall façade lighting concept has got us all very excited…unfortunately I can’t say too much at this stage.
The final challenge will be to work it out within the heritage preservation guidelines and make sure we comply with the latest city energy conservation directives and above all within budget. Quite a task ahead but after today’s design meeting we are all excited about the possibilities melting the two different lighting design styles together!
Light Watch 3-127: Here is a collection of different styles of façade lighting…Multi color LED lighting, Perth council House; Traditional lighting Old Royal Naval College London, Vershina Building Surgut Russia and building projection in Beirut, Libanon
Going green
Perth, 22nd August 2012
Promoting sustainable solutions in lighting as we do is nowadays a no-brainer. Not that we didn’t do that in the past, it’s just that in the present time it has been given a name or names, like sustainable, green or environmentally friendly…though you would be surprised how many designer “ego’s” are ruffled by this. Energy saving? There a quite a few that refuse to buckle under the energy saving demands and hard-headedly defy requirements rather than sacrificing what they perceived being their “5-star” lighting design creations! I believe that being able to create great lighting designs within the restrictions is far more challenging and as a result much more satisfying. But one can agree to disagree.
More importantly, how far do we go to lead our own life my example? We like to prescribe others what to do, but do we apply it to ourselves? Doctors are known to be the worst followers, or should I say takers, of their own “medicine”! Besides practicing what you preach in terms of lighting there is also the aspect of being green in general; in your equipment (computers!), your appliances and the usage of it. Do we monitor our electricity consumption? Do we switch off the lights we don’t need them or when we are away? Did we buy the most efficient and green products? And do we look at the origin of these products, where they come from, how and where they have been manufactured?
While I would like to, I have to admit that I am better at advising others than to apply it to myself and my environment! I guess there is that “there-is-always-another-day-that-you-can-do-that” sort of thing. While our clients are strict with deadlines, we generally have a tendency to do it “tomorrow”. It takes discipline to recommend our clients the right thing to do, it takes even more discipline to apply being green to yourself and your immediate environment!
Light Watch 3-126: Electricity bills are really what it is all about, recurrent monthly costs that keep coming. The Sydney Morning Herald carried this illustration from John Shakespeare. In a related article PC manufacturer Micropro launched a computer made of recyclable cardboard and wooden screens. Considering that we are fast reaching a stage where computers and other IT and communication equipment are the biggest energy consumers in our world an interesting proposition…
Quality time
Perth, 21st August 2012
We had a long weekend as Muslims (in Singapore and around the world) celebrated the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, also called Eid-ul-Fitr. It is one of the interesting sides of the multi-cultural Singapore society as you get to celebrate the many different public holidays linked to the various cultures and religions. The thing is though that they never seem to fall on fixed dates and are always at a different time each year, making advanced holiday planning a bit more of a challenge. Somehow I always seem to miss out on public holidays being in the “wrong” country at the “wrong” time. Not so this time though…:)
I have meanwhile “transported” myself back to Perth to follow up on some business here. While I generally speak about business issues related to our lighting designers profession, the off-time from business to me is as important as work-time. I have blogged about it before. The balance is critical to keep up in this business and if you want to last the distance. While I used to burn the midnight oil, work in the weekends and travel overnight to minimise “lost” travel time, I have reached a stage now where I value my off-time as much as I enjoy my work-time. But when you are passionate about lighting you never are far away from your work anyhow. Even this weekend when I stayed at a nice resort to escape the busy city and shut myself off from the internet , I could not resist talking to the general manager about the resorts’ lighting and today’s need for sustainable solutions. He was totally “into it” and enjoyed to show us around. I left him my business card :). We also took the opportunity to visit another nearby resort hotel (designed by Foster & Partners)…it’s in our gene’s I guess. We learn from looking around and from what others have successfully (or unsuccessfully) achieved…it was quality time in more ways than one…
Light Watch 3-125: Lighting can be a tremendous way to melt cultures and religions together. It is a neutral language that speaks to everyone’s imagination. Illumni magazine carried a cool story about public lighting art recently staged in Poitier, France, called water Light Graffiti, a project conceptualised by Antonin Fourneau. Photo’s reproduced from Illumni. See for your self. A video is available on: http://vimeo.com/47095462
The pretenders
Singapore, 17th August 2012
Some of you may be familiar with my winch for the weekend…dealing with people who pretend to be more than they are. In our project world we come across them all the time. Most of the time these are ‘junior” designers or managers trust on to the meeting stage to represent their company or department in absence of the real, decision capable bosses. To compensate their lack of knowledge and experience they hide behind bossy behaviour, often beyond reasonable. I have been around in this world a long time…I have seen them come and go. I am treading on thin ice here as I do not wish to upset of offend anyone, just sharing my frustration as we are in the middle of a project with a couple of these “pretend’ project managers.
The hard thing is to see through it and not get upset as the truth is they probably don’t realise it themselves. And you can’t really reason with them either as it exposes them as inexperienced and without real authority. It takes character to lead and admit that you are not experienced, but the funny thing is that those who do take responsibility and ownership of what they are and why they are there, including acceptance of their shortcomings, often get much more sympathy, understanding and support to achieve the project goals…we all understand! It is the pretenders who cause the most harm to a project as they are generally extremely counter-productive, with unreasonable and unnecessary demands.
Because their lack of experience and comprehension of the design and project process, communication can be tedious and time consuming. Unfortunately we generally don’t know this in advance when we propose our services. We quote based on our past experience, as it is hard to anticipate the quality of the project managers, certainly if you have never worked with that client before. Compared to dealing with “pretenders” it is therefore a breath of fresh air when you do deal with professionals who know their stuff… 🙂
Light Watch 3-124: As the coming weekend is a long weekend around here many take a little break to escape the big city and go relax in one of the many resorts to recharge the batteries. Here are some pictures from Alila and Aman Resorts to get you (and me!) in the mood. Have a great weekend!
NDA
Singapore, 16th August 2012
NDA stands for non-disclosure agreement. It is something we at times need to sign for sensitive or confidential projects. As designers we get involved in projects years ahead of its completion and sometimes the design is to be kept under wraps before it is made public. This can be for political reasons, or if it is a “military” or government” sensitive development, purely for safety and security reasons. There are also cases were approvals still need to be obtained and premature publicity to be avoided. In today’s world there are action/ protest groups for nearly anything you can imagine… Occupy, Green Peace…
We recently signed another one such project and are to be careful to whom we decimate our project information to. In fact we need to have anyone that we involve in the project in developing the lighting design to sign one such NDA as well. It wouldn’t be the first time we get drawings without labels or title blocks! No project name, no client, no project location. In fact I was once asked to do a design for a building without layouts, just a structural plan. Yes, it had some sort of configuration, but no description of what each area was. I knew only it was a government building and I knew the country. Figure it out. We resorted to developing principles of lighting, as any specific design would have meant nothing. At least with the principles they had guidelines on how to approach it and I guess that’s what they used to work it all out in detail. We did not get involved in the detailing, implementation or procurement.
It is likely that some designs are kept under wraps as to keep out “copy cats”. You know how sometimes you will find copies of new innovations before they even hit the markets. In design world leading designers and high flying clients do the same. Keep their little “baby” under wraps as long as possible. In one instance I remember a client who fed the media with a totally different (outdated and common) concept while we were working on a spectacular new design. That’s NDA for you…
Light Watch 3-123: Recently I browsed through a site that showcased amazing science project photography. I think it goes without saying that without lighting we could not visualise all these. Anti-liquid coating, insect’s eyes (rods and cones!), hairs in our ear, sun, moon, nebula’s and spectacular lightning interacting with vulcano ash
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