The year that was…
Singapore 2nd December 2011
In my last blog of this year, a look back on the year that was before I take by year end break from blogging…
The year started with everything fresh and new…new company, new office, no staff (just me :)) and an uncertain future, but with great expectations and excitement. There is always that excitement when you turn a page and embark on a new adventure, which is very much what the KLD experience is all about. New goals, new targets, not aiming to be bigger, but better. Quality, creativity and sustainability would characterise the key ingredients of KLD. But nothing happens without people, the core to any business, so with my dedicated and loyal staff who gradually made the move in joining me in KLD over the first few months of the year, KLD now has a great and motivated team I am very proud of.
And looking back I think we have made some great steps forward in achieving our goals. Our first sign off under KLD was the landmark Inter-Continental Hotel in Singapore and we rounded of the renovation of stage 1 proudly with our first truly 100% LED project in the process. We learned a lot about the use of LEDs specifically in regards to dimming which now serves us well in other projects that we are undertaking. We also completed two Hyatt Hotels in India which I had agreed to finish from my previous company, and the contrast in quality and technology was stark; old conventional technology versus new innovative technology. We have further happily embarked on many new exciting projects in very diverse applications which will keep us busy in the year(s) to come. You can look forward to me reporting on these in the new year. Our drive towards sustainable quality design also brought us into contact with sustainability experts and we are proud to say that we are now in the process of developing a working alliance together.
This year I also traveled a lot and visited Euroluce Light Fair in Milano and attended the 3rd edition of the Professional Lighting Design Convention, held in Madrid, a great event which saw more than 1200 lighting design enthusiasts meet and share the latest in our profession through presented papers, lighting forums or just through social networking. I was a guest speaker in Australia and just recently at Acetech in Mumbai, an event that is growing in stature year by year. New speaking arrangements in Asia and the Middle East for the next year have already been confirmed.
Last but not least this year has very much been about me and my book:” Light Talk, a tear in the life of light” the compilation of my very first year of blogging…I can safely say that it has taken the whole year to finalise the book to a level I am really proud of. The artwork proofs have been completed and it will roll of the printer in the next couple of days! I only printed a limited run so order your copy now if you are keen. I am sure you will love it!
Have a great Xmas and a fantastic New Year! Thanks for your continued support for my blog. I had the opportunity to meet many
of you over the course of this year and know that many of you read my blog daily! Thanks, it is really nice to know!
See you all for Season 3 in 2012!
In Light Watch today, for those of you in the warmer climates and the Southern Hemisphere preparing for summer, some cool pictures to get in the “summer” holiday mood. Some innovative guys in Australia inaugurated night surfing on Bondi Beach in Sydney this week. Luminescent clothes and surfboards…lighting and fun.
Light Watch 215: Night Surfing at Bondi Beach
Cooperation
Singapore 1st December 2011
December already! It is hard to believe we have already started the last month of the year. A few more weeks and I will have completed my first full year operating with KLD and I can say that I am really happy I made the move. My team has been outstanding and the future looks exciting in many ways. My book is at the printer (finally!), we have some nice projects on the board and even more exciting works in the pipeline. The economy in the world has been worrying to say the least and that has translated into slow progress and delay in some of our projects, but new developments and cooperations have opened up new perspectives for the near future.
Specifically cooperations with strategic partners seem to be a way to build some security for the future. But entering into a cooperation in regards to lighting design services can be tricky. You work with people you know first and foremost and further than that your aim will be to associate yourself with people who have earned their stripes in the business and are recognised by their peers as being good at what they do. Over the years I have build a strong network of friends and business relationships and now I feel the time is right to convert this in some strategic partnerships that will eventually result in a win-win situation for all. If that cannot be achieved the cooperation is doomed from the onset. Besides that the key ingredient for any relationship is trust and respect and some of the people I am now surrounded with have this trust and respect for each other. We have formed some joined partnerships for projects this year and this is now starting to bare its fruits and will result in an exciting new year ahead.
Tomorrow will be my last blog of the year as I will be talking a well-deserved break till the New Year, as I did after season 1. But not to despair…I will be back with Season 3 in the new year!
In Light Watch today a look into the not so far away future of OLED’s. They already exist, are already available, but commercially they make not much sense yet. But they will be certainly part of our (sustainable and lighting) future as we can integrate the flat and flexible surfaces in many ways. Most of all they can be made transparent and act as a window during the day and as a (continued) light source at night.
Light Watch 214: OLED’s
The touch of light
Singapore 30th November 2011
Today was much in the spirit of our hardware, the lighting products. Lighting supplier visits, technical lighting demo’s and a visual mock up at night to test our lighting concept with real light sources. Lighting design is a s good as the quality of its final implementation, so knowing what to select, understanding how lights will work in its intended surrounding is key. Reading catalogue information requires more than just “reading” skills, you need to understand what you read and have the ability to translate that in your mind into what it is likely to produce in reality. Let’s have a look at some issues.
Dimensions and weight for a start, we read them in 2 dimensions but once you see the real thing it suddenly has 3 dimensions and a mass! The 1200W floodlight we tested tonight was the size of half a human body and needed at least 2 people to put in in place! Imagine 60 of those as we are planning! that will require some thoughts on installation! Then heat and electrical safety; we have to make sure it is out of reach of the general public as the bloody thing was bloody hot even after operating it less than an hour. During a lighting supplier visit earlier in the day we got a demonstration about thermal control of LED lighting, not the thermostat type that just switches of the light when overheating, but intelligent heat control that dims the LED when it senses that the temperature is reaching critical levels. These are features you need to understand (and see) as just reading the catalogue jargon does not necessarily bring the message home. Quality issues as outdoor weather protection, material quality are obvious, but again when you feel and touch you get a real good fix on whether the catalogue specifications provide the right information. You know…the travel guide syndrome…showing you the beautiful pictures and conveniently leaving out the “rest”.
But what really matters to us is the lighting performance. It takes a lot of experience to be able to assess photometric data from a catalogue and it is not for nothing that we always advocate visual testing. Tonight was another proof of the pudding. I had already brought down the quantity of floodlights needed for one of our projects from 80 (as recommended by the supplier) to 60 (based on my own experience and assessment). After testing the lights in as similar conditions as possible (distance/ throw/ beam/ materials) I am confident that we can knock down the quantity even further simply by playing with locations, aiming patterns and beam types.
In Light Watch some sneak pictures from our testing tonight (sorry cant reveal anything more about the project) 🙂
Light Watch 213: Lighting testing
Lighting design to compliance
Singapore 29th November 2011
Today we spent quite some time making sure our lighting design submission was in compliance with the lighting standards specified by the client. We generally do not design for lux meters, but there are certain applications were compliance to lighting
level standards is a must. These are mostly functional applications such as in this case road lighting.
But the thing with calculations is that the output is as good as the operators input…”garbage in is garbage out” as they say. So you need to be skilled and knowledgeable when it comes to computer calculations and the manipulation of design factors to make sure that what is created in the calculations is an fairly accurate representation of what it will be in reality. In my early days of computer calculations for lighting we did not have AGI, Dialux or other easy to operate lighting calculation programs with near instant results. In Philips we had a big main frame computer that occupied a complete air-conditioned room and which input data had to be provided by means of hundreds of punch cards. Before the computer could actually calculate you would spent 1-2 hours punching in your cards! Then the main frame would take another few hours or so to do the calculations! We often had the computer run overnight to do the calculations!! Imagine the times when that still had to be done manually!
Now manufacturers provide us with the so called IES photometric data files which we input to the calculation program in a single action. Putting in the other design parameters such as location coordinates, height, spacing and so on is fairly straight forward. The tricky part comes when you need to achieve certain minimum levels in combination with uniformity requirements, maintenance factors, glare control etc. That is where the experienced lighting designer separates him/herself from the pack. We know instinctively what needs to be done to achieve the results and do not need to get there so much through trial and error. This is specifically the case when we ask the manufacturers to help out as their goal is selling, not necessarily achieving the best performance with the minimum amount of light fittings! The option could be 20 poles at a height of 12m with a higher performance lantern head or the same result with 30 poles at 8m with a slightly lower performance lantern head…
In Light Watch a peak at some lighting calculations ..
Light Watch 212: Calculations
LOHAS
Singapore 28th November 2011
LOHAS? What am I up to now? 🙂 LOHAS stands for Lifestyle Of Health And Sustainability…Apparently this is one of these new trends and believe it or not somehow Singapore is a front runner in this. Over the weekend Ale and I “escaped” the city to go to
the Kranji Countryside an area in the far North of Singapore (sounds far away but really in Singapore nothing is further then 45 to 60 minutes’ drive, depending traffic conditions). The area also houses one of Asia’s nature heritage sites, the Sungei Buloh Wetlands, a sanctuary for (migrating) birds on their way between Northern Asia and the Southern Hemisphere.
But this weekend our goal was to visit the organic and sustainable farming that goes on in the Kranji area, as we have committed ourselves to living a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle, not only in what we eat but also in our work as designers. Get a taste (we had our lunch there) of what is going on, the see, feel and touch routine. Not much about lighting but my point today is that in
order to perform and be passionate about what you wish to accomplish (in lighting) you need to build an environment that is conducive and will stimulate and motivate you along the way. Hence getting in touch with nature and see what other people do to create a healthy and sustainable lifestyle is an important part as I am driven to steer KLD into a fully environmentally responsible and sustainable lighting design company.
In Light Watch some (daylight) pictures from our trip to Kranji. While it was of course all about organic and sustainable farming, I also immensely enjoyed the play of daylight (and shadow contrasts) with nature. A little rain shower did not damper our spirits and added another dimensions to the scenery with suddenly dark clouds and reflections from water puddles added in. I always maintain that we get a lot of inspiration for our lighting designs from Mother Nature…judge for yourself! For good measure I did spot solar powered lanterns…
Light Watch 211: Kranji (Bollywood Veggies)
Xmas light ups
Singapore 25th November 2011
With Xmas nearly upon us, just a few more weeks to go, most cities around the world have lit up their main shopping belts with Xmas lights. Singapore lit up a week ago I believe and it will last until the first week of the New Year. Mainly driven by commerce, it seems these light ups start earlier and earlier! I went to a function last night in the Orchard Road area not realising it had already started! It comes hand in hand with sales and promotions leading to stress and carpark fights for many who go out on the weekend or shopping nights (suddenly the shops stay open longer and later…) to get their Xmas prezzies. It is a bit over my head…yes I do like to go shopping for Xmas, sort of part of the whole Xmas routine and ambiance isn’t it, but not in a frenzy like some do…relax people, it is supposed to be fun!
While I have never landed a serious job to design Xmas lighting, I have been approached for proposals over the years both in Australia and Singapore. Never got selected… Somehow the budgets are always tight, our fees too high (?) and maybe I am too “architectural”? They say they want, but the reality is general they don’t want to spent. The sort of Xmas light ups I would be interested in are the ones that are designed to last. With that I mean a design that is developed to be reused several years, but has the ability and flexibility to look different every year while (re)using the same basic structure. I know many cities are looking into this option but to my knowledge very little (if any) have actually spent the extra money needed to develop a creative multi-year Xmas decoration that can used over and over again. In my humble mind this could save a lot of money over time, but the fact of life is that very little cities, town councils, get (or apply for) sufficient budgets. Unfortunately, together with local politics surely, this generally results in the same old unimaginative Xmas light up…
In Light Watch some recent pictures from Xmas light ups I found on the web from different parts of the world. Do share some of yours. Would love to see how your city’s Xmas light up looks like!
Singapore
London
Paris
Madrid 
Somewhere
Light Watch 210: Xmas around the world
Health
Singapore 24th November 2011
One of the key things in life is our health. All our intelligence is worth little if you do not have the physical health to back it up. Today I had my medical check-up, something that I started to do on a yearly basis since a couple of years now. Not that I feel that there is anything wrong with me, other than being overweight with a bad physical fitness, but I feel more comforted knowing a specialist has checked me up to give me a clean bill of health. I will have the full results in a couple of days, but generally all looks fine.
My main (and principal!) resolution is really to get myself in a fit physical shape. Like any other discipline whether sports, trade or business person, to perform we need to be physically fit. Form follows function they say, well let me add that mental fitness follows physical fitness and health…My life as a lighting designer has me travel to different continents with different cultures and time zones, has me work at odd hours with exposure to instant climate change, thousands of people (did anyone see the movie Contagion?…) and not to forget food! .Anyhow it requires a strong physic (and stomach). Socialising with clients, eating meals in airport lounges and planes, all part of the deal in my case. So watching out for your health is a must, certainly as you get older 🙂
In Light Watch some pictures of one of the projects that I designed with my team at Lighting Images just before I started KLD. It is a so called medi spa, a concept (I believed I blogged about it in season 1) where spa is mixed with medical facilities (with proper specialists) and where you can combine a hotel stay with any spa or medical treatment you require. I was not involved in the final installation nor have I seen the project finished but I found the hotel advertising through their website (www.xixuanspahotels.com) with pictures showing how it looks in a finished state. But it feels like something is missing…ah I know…my finishing touch 🙂
Light Watch 209: Xixuan Spa Hotel, Xixi wetlands, Hangzhou, China
Cheap is expensive
Singapore 23rd November 2011
As I spoke about quality versus quantity only yesterday, I am again confronted with potential clients today wanting to achieve a nice design by feeding peanuts…you know the expression… Of course it is not our money, we are not in apposition knowing what their financial situation is, not what their budget allocations are. The only thing we can do is to educate our clients about value for money and the many benefits that good lighting can provide, motivation-wise, performance-wise, health-wise even money-wise.
Of course everybody has an eye on the economy. While Asia with the big engine economies like China and India still moving forward steadily, Europe and the US all seem under pressure. It is not surprising that we have seen a stark increase of European and Us based manufacturers and suppliers active in the lighting industry sending their “troops” out to develop business in this part of the world. We do have an open door policy creating quite a steady flow of suppliers and manufacturers popping into our office, but we do have a distinct impression that our visitors are coming from further away lately. This includes designers and other consultants seeking associations to work over here. We will monitor this trend over the coming months.
Note that therefore the market becomes tighter, more competitive and as a result fees are under pressure and even services are being cut to basics all in pursuit to minimise capital expenses! Which brings me back to my introduction. Unfortunately for many clients in the lighting industry: “Goedkoop is duurkoop” which translated from Dutch into English means as much as “Buying cheap is expensive”. In other words you buy cheap now but in the long run it will turn out so much more expensive (think lamp failures, frequent lamp replacements, poor lighting performance, higher energy bills, etc). Oh so true in lighting!
In Light Watch some interesting pics created by infra red photography. We don’t use much infra red (or ultraviolet) light in our designs as these are at the limit of our visual spectrum. However in photography they can be very interesting. Sometimes we need to look beyond the usual…
Light Watch 208: Infra Red photo’s from the www.weburbanist.com website
Lightning fast
Singapore 22nd November 2011
Singapore has the distinction of being one of the lightning capitals of the world according to today’s newspaper! No less than an average 186 days of lightning strikes Singapore every year. Quite a high frequency! There have indeed been many thunder storms
lately, but I did not realise it was that much! Some of the sights are quite impressive, I must say.
Workwise we need to act “lightning fast” as well at times! In this part of the world a rather common way of working! Unfortunately this is more the result of ignorance and awareness by clients who think in short term dollars first. But what is wisdom, what is right or wrong? How often do we not get a request to get things done yesterday…all the time, right? It’s the nature of the beast in our business around here. Faster, faster, faster! Doesn’t anybody care about quality? Is it always about quantity? One of the main reasons I rebranded myself under KLD is to allow myself and my team more time to create quality rather than quantity. Service the client to satisfaction, rather than running after the facts without a win-win situation for anyone. Manage expectations. So a large part of my time is spent educating my clients about the added value of quality by properly planning the process of design and
implementation.
Today we met with a potential client who wanted a concept by the end of the week! And we are not even appointed yet! But even so, should we hurry to get a (basically speculative) design concept in without having an appointment in our bags? We are being told that the project go-ahead will depend on the local government accepting the design concept. Of course lighting is only a small part of the whole master plan approach as we are talking about redeveloping a heritage site and breathe some new life in a site that has slowly lost its lustre over the years and quite frankly can do with a sparkling new overhaul as it looks and feels old and run down. I did put in my few little cents worth and will prceed only on a master plan level without losing too much time and effort into it.
I can be (lightning) fast if necessary but to make sense I have to make sure I know exactly what the target is!
In Light Watch some striking pictures from the Singapore skies when we have those thunder and lightning days!
Light Watch 207: Lightning over Singapore
White noise
Singapore 21st November 2011
Back in Singapore after a (too) short stay in “blue skies” land…many things on our plate and with end of the year nearly knocking on our doors, we are entering the usual end of the year rush were people want to settle as many things as possible before embarking on their Xmas holidays. I am not sure why people only wake up when they suddenly realise that their holidays are coming up…Guess some form of guilt so they rush to finish and accomplish something to make sure that they “deserve” their leave. Some even have the guts to leave you with a list of work and demands the day they go on leave, expecting you to keep working, while they enjoy a “guilt-free” holiday. Anyhow we, as much as we can are informing our clients in advance of the holiday closure of the company so there are no false expectations! As I have said on several occasions, this (lighting design) business is very much about managing expectations.
Today we started the morning straight up with a lengthy conference call with one of our clients in China…a lot of (Chinese) talk, seemingly not too efficient, but in the end we got our issues sorted out. A conference call already works better than an email exchange, while a one on one meeting again beats the conference call. Following a design coordination meeting in our office we have now scheduled such one on one meeting with the interior designer later in the week as they are based here in Singapore. Most of the day we finalised design issues and for one tried to eliminate interference from so called “white noise”, people who believe they should have an opinion about lighting design and keep pushing their ideas and concepts rather than just leave it to the “experts”. Interior designers, architects and suppliers are typical examples of people who can create this “white noise”. This is the time to stand your grounds on lighting design issues, certainly if you are confident that you have done your homework. It does not mean ignoring and not listening to those producing the “noise”, on the contrary. But filtering the relevant from the irrelevant requires some diplomacy, tact and perseverance… just another day at work 🙂
In Light Watch a little play with light. I did enjoy the weekend under the beautiful skies in Perth, played a round of golf and got soundly beaten by my son. Somehow my shots never want to land on the fairway and I keep looking for my balls in the rough…but I took these nice “shots” along the way.
By the way if you do have some nice light and shadow pics, please do share them!
Light Watch 206: Playing golf, light and shadows
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