Salon 2008
11 July
Residential Lighting: Past, Present, and Future
"Rediscovering Residential Lighting from the Past to Modern Day."
New Maru Building Ecozzeria, Marunouchi
by: saiko tanuma
The Lighting Detectives hosted the first of three salons focusing on residential lighting Friday, July 11th at the New Maru Building Ecozzeria. The hall was packed with over 100 guest who listened intently to the speakers who presented; “Residential Lighting: Past, Present, Future ? Rediscovering Residential Lighting from the Past to Modern Day.”
During the fiscal year of 2008 ? 2009 the Lighting Detectives will be hosting a series of 3 salons, all focusing on the influences of residential lighting. In discussing the culture of lighting, residential lighting seems like the best and most important starting point, as we delve into and analyze the why`s, what`s, and how`s. Our first salon outlined the history of residential lighting, with an emphasis on the ideal form of lighting from past to present in Japan. Kaoru Mende, and members of the Lighting Detectives, also heard contributions from guest speaker, Kazuya Ura, architect and interior designer.
First on the program, a report from a survey of the Yoshihara residence in Kyoto by Lighting Detective members, who relayed their findings about Japanese light and the lighting environment of an old, Japanese-style house. What kind of effects do the daily changes in natural light contribute to the lighting environment? What can be done in the light of a single lantern? These are just some of the thought provoking questions raised and discussed during their presentation.
Mr. Ura presented examples of his own experiences with residential projects stating, “lighting and great views are found below, not overhead.” I couldn’t help but think of how Japan has been overgrown with big, overhead ceiling lights. Chief Kaoru Mende and Mr. Ura continued, to further discuss the background and gap between old Japan, that lived day to day with only tiny amounts of light, and post-war Japan, that has become so blindingly bright.
The second salon of this series will be held on Friday, October 17th titled, “Turning Out the Lights on the Residential Incandescent Bulb?!” The final salon of the series, Friday, January 16th, 2009, will continue along the same theme, “Perspectives on Residential Lighting from Present Day and into the Future.” What are the trends in residential lighting? Is the incandescent bulb really outdated? Should it really be banned? Is there a bright future for residential lighting? These are just some of the questions the Lighting Detectives are investigating. Hope to see you at the next salon.
17 October
Residential Lighting: Past, Present, and Future
“Is the Incandescent Lamp being Phased Out?”
New Maru Building Ecozzeria, Marunouchi
by: hiroyuki miyake
During the year 2008-2009 the Lighting Detectives are hosting a three-part Salon Series focused on “Residential Lighting: Past, Present, and Future.” Part 2 of the series titled: “Is the Incandescent Lamp being Phased Out?” picked apart this current event from many different angles, including the environment, technology, psychological, physiological, design, and cultural implications.
■Discontinuation of the Incandescent Lamp!
On May 14th, 2008 Toshiba used a two-page spread advertisement in a major newspaper to announce the discontinuation of incandescent lamp production. I think this is the first time that a light bulb has had this much press attention! Several years ago the government and different organizations started a campaign to replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps and now their production is in jeopardy. This is a revolutionary change for the lighting industry.
■Should the incandescent lamp be phased out?
Electronic stores, mass media, and Internet users are voicing their discontent with the incandescent lamp with statements on how switching light bulbs is so ecological. However, the Lighting Detectives are not ready to throw away the incandescent lamp that easily. So we decided to investigate the reality of the incandescent lamp and then use actual homes in an incandescent lamp experiment to help validate our concerns and conclusions for salon part 2 of 3 in our residential lighting salon series.
■Special Guest from the Lighting Manufacturing Industry
Guest speaker, Panasonic Electric Works Central Lighting Engineer, Mr. Wataru Iwai joined our team with a presentation on the development of a sensation-of-room-brightness index “Feu.” We specifically chose Mr. Iwai for his engineering background to discuss this issue from a different point of view and maybe help us make some new discoveries. Mr. Iwai`s presentation tools included a huge mysterious box (which I will explain later.) for an almost standing-room only gallery.
■ Lighting Detective Investigation & Claim
We first asked the audience “Which households used incandescent lamps as their main source of light?” Of which about one-third of hands were raised, much greater than the average Japanese household. After comparing and contrasting the pros of both incandescent lamps and compact fluorescent lamps we asked tougher questions. How much of the energy from an incandescent lamp actually goes to waste? We compared this to brightly lit vending machines and convenience stores. The result was the use of incandescent lamps used slightly more energy. But, compared to the number of compact fluorescent lamps used in the average household, this equals a slightly higher output of energy then the use of incandescent lamps.
The bulk of our investigation took part in visiting individual homes for an incandescent lamp experiment. We peaked at how light was actually used in living room and dining room settings, and then made temporary changes with incandescent lamps as the main source of light. At full capacity energy consumption is high, but if dimmed to a comfortable setting, energy consumption is dramatically decreased. Participants in the experiments liked the atmosphere the new lighting created and after a little while were not bothered by the slightly dimmer lighting scenes. There are times for bright lights, but in the average residential setting, a more relaxed lighting design also leads to tranquility and energy conservation.
■Mr. Iwai is actually a fan of the incandescent lamp?!
As an engineer, special guest Mr. Iwai had a rich supply of data and an excellent layman’s explanation of go with it. As it turns out, Mr. Iwai is also against the discontinuation of incandescent lamps. After explaining many engineering and physiological reasons, he used his huge mysterious box to show the audience actual samples of light. In the box there were three different light sources, LED, incandescent lamp, and compact fluorescent lamp, shining on the same sample of plastic fruit. When all three were shown together, the differences were obvious, but separately there wasn’t anything too nauseating. Through this simple experiment, we could visibly see how the color rendering properties of compact fluorescent lamps and LED`s are getting closer and closer to the incandescent lamp. When tested on the strength of the incandescent lamp, dim-ability, the LED dimmed fine without changing color, but it wasn’t a comfortable darkness, more to the likeness of a creepy cemetery. When an incandescent lamp is dimmed the reddishness of the light increases, for a relaxing and warm darkness. Therefore, lamps cannot be appraised on energy-efficiency (lm/W) alone, but we need to take measures to contain the overall brightness of our society to appropriate levels through lighting scene changes for more comfortable living environments. We specifically wanted to emphasize that to do this there is not a lamp on the market that can beat the incandescent lamp. We hope that through our presentations, based on facts and experience, we successfully persuaded the audience.
■Reflections on Words
Finally, we again presented opinions and assessments on the future of lighting from different industry leaders that the Lighting Detectives had collected several years ago for the Tokyo Nighgtscape 2050 Exhibit. This opened the door for a larger discussion on the topic, not only about the assessment of brightness, but expectations concerning specific urban scenery. The audience was eager to ask Mr. Iwai questions, as this issue is of most concern in today’s society.
■What do we want from light?
I don’t think it is just brightness that we seek, but relaxing light and light to make this world a more beautiful place, that is was we seek. However, this very quiet and subtle reflection of light makes its existence so fragile and we strongly believe that the incandescent lamp is here to enrich our lives and souls. Through this salon we are certain that an alternative, responsible use of incandescent lamps, still exists and can lead to energy conservation and rich everyday lighting environments.
City Walk 2008
23 April 2008
Tama Art University Library and Hachioji Campus
by: misa fujii / hiroyuki miyake
On this cool, spring evening we took our city walk to the Hachioji Campus of the Tama Art University to investigate the new library, completed in the spring of 2007. Professor Satoshi Tabuchi, who has been coordinating the architecture and general campus planning for the Hachioji Campus, was kind enough to give the lighting detectives a personal tour of the library and campus.
■Library during the Daytime
Reading is the focus and concentration of a fixed line of vision over a long period of time and sharp shadowing can disturb this concentration. During the daytime, daylight creates soft shadows and a slightly changing atmosphere through out the library. Natural light penetrates thin, white curtains helps to soften the lighting along the seating near the windows. The silhouette of the Zelkova trees and curtain pattern fall onto the desktop with spots of sunbeams that stream through the tree leaves to create a relaxing reading atmosphere. The indirect fluorescent lighting overhead reflects off the concert ceiling to recreate the impression of a cloudy day. Each space seems very personal, like one would want to curl up by oneself with a book on a rainy day. These two types of light meet in a perfectly, soft gradation of light and shadow to create a very comfortable reading a studying environment.
■Tray of Light
The sloping 1st floor and spiraling staircase to the 2nd floor is a design just begging visitors to move around and explore. It is a unique experience with discoveries to be found all over the library.
However, the indirect lighting was not designed to facilitate this movement. On the stairs the 1st floor indirect lighting is clearly in view and an obvious source of glare. For the lighting detectives with is a paradox. We are interested in not only appearances, but also the method and this was a great opportunity to view the lighting method involved. But for visitors this design is a source of unpleasant brightness and interrupts the view as they wonder through the building. As a lighting designer I realized that from our everyday experiences, we have to learn to create lighting environments that consider all the elements, down to the finest detail.
■Library at Night
During the day the library absorbed plenty of natural light and seemed to blend into the environment, but as the sun went down, the fluorescent lights brightly lit the interior, pulling the building out of the black campus.
If I were the designer on this project, I would turn off all the indirect ceiling lights, with only the warm glow from the desk and bookshelf tasks lights. Students would have plenty of light for working at their desks, but the rest of the interior would reflect the blackness of the night outside. This is how I think we should greet the night, by blending in with it and getting lost in a good book.
■Light Library, Dark Library
After visiting this library, I realized that there are two types of libraries: active libraries and storage libraries. The new Tama U. Library is the former, a very active library. Wherever one would stop to read a look or do some work, there is always the right amount of light. All sorts of different information is orderly and very understandable. The books are arranged for easy access with a homogenous amount of light throughout the overlapping spaces. On the other hand, a storage library has the unpleasant image of a room with small, cobwebbed windows and rows of dust shelves. One might think they where hunting for books in a cave where something lies sleeping, buried beneath mounds of books. This is an image that needs to be put to rest, but a diverse, heterogeneous lighting environment is not such a bad thing.
■Campus Landscape
The Hachioji campus of the Tama Art University sits quietly on the edge of Tama New Town. Most of the campus buildings are comparatively low, only a few stories high, but spread out and interspersed with green lawns. From the main gate the path took us to the heart of the campus, past the library, auditorium, and media center with department buildings along the perimeter. The campus is fairly dark at night with only a few students visible, but light from the plaza, glass enclosed workshops, small student galleries, and other buildings still in use, create small patches of light and the hint of students hard to work. But there is still something lonesome in the plaza and around the campus. The lamps on the pole lights are glaring, but not very bright, and the bollards are few and far between. A university campus might wear this cloak of darkness well, but
someone should do something about connecting each
space better.
26 September 2008
Tokyo Sky Bus Tour
by: mayumi yasuda / goh ohkawa / rachel nakayama
An air of excitement and anticipation as members boarded the bus for the 2-hour night tour of Tokyo.
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The Lighting Detectives are always up to something unusual and for this city walk we rented a double-decker, open-air bus to cruise the streets of Tokyo. A specially planned route took us from Marunouchi→around the Imperial Palace→past the Diet Building→through the middle of Ginza→across the Rainbow Bridge→around Odaiba→back through Toyosu→across Kachidoki Bridge→up Haruumi Avenue→back to Marunouchi. It was a neck-kinking, eye-popping, wind-in-your-hair tour!
Members all had stiff necks after 2-hours of continuous looking up, but nobody seemed to mind. Chatter even died down as the bus started along the route, as members seemed to take this opportunity very seriously. |
■Sore Neck after a Magical Tour of Ginza
On this bus tour I accomplished something that I am too embarrassed to do any other day; Crank my head back and look up as we drove through the streets!
As anybody knows, Tokyo is overgrown with buildings. Looking up at them while walking through the streets is a no-no, as most people might think you are a hillbilly fresh off the countryside express. However, the sky bus tour gave me and everyone else on the tour a good excuse to have a sore neck. This is a thrill found only in the city! While driving down the main streets of Ginza and through its forest of buildings my mouth was open in wonderment. Seated on the top of the double-decker bus, no heads were blocking the view and both sides of the streets and all of its colorful lights were in full vantage point, with glimpse of the Tokyo night sky in between buildings. In my mind, our small bus tour dominated the scene, as all else seemed to melt into nothingness.
mayumi yasuda
■The Appeal of Ginza Lights!?
This was my first time to participate in a Lighting Detective activity and what a spectacular introduction into the culture of lighting! This bus tour provided a very unique view of the city.
The bus started near Tokyo Station and continued around the Imperial Palace and through Kasumigaseki. Because of all the trees and foliage and lack of businesses and other buildings, the area around the Imperial Palace is dark and quiet, but with a serene atmosphere. In comparison, Kasamigaseki is full of government buildings with many windows brightly lit with white light as the many agencies and ministries work late into the night. The bus cruised past Hibiya Park and down the middle of Ginza covering its main eight blocks. This was the brightest place on the tour, as well as the most memorable. All of the world famous brand boutiques have fabulously designed facades and lighting to match. Most advertisements and billboards in the area have shifted away from the use of upward facing floods lights to luminous signage. Each separate boutique has its own unique design, artisan beauty, and charm, but, in total, is it all in balance? Is this the appeal and enticement of Ginza? I was left with many questions in my mind.
goh ohkawa
Office tower lighting and residential condominium lighting dominated the scene on the drive back from Odaiba to Marunouchi. While white fluorescent lighting was the predominate color some condominiums glowed a soft orange.
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■The Long View of Tokyo
It`s a rare thing to drive through the main streets of Tokyo, but even rarer to be seated on a double-decker bus night tour of Tokyo! Not only is your view transformed from a pedestrian on the sidewalk to the top of a bus, but also driving down the middle of Ginza and across the Rainbow Bridge are one-chance opportunities. The intimate tour of Ginza`s main drag and its famous boutiques was exceptional in itself, but my personal favorite was the long view of Tokyo from the Rainbow Bridge and Odaiba. Up close Tokyo is a very bright and lively place, but as the skyline shimmered in the Tokyo Bay, you tend to forget all of the bustle and overly bright signage of the megalopolis and focus on the bigger picture. While white light and luminous signage dominate this view, it is easier to digest against the black waters of the bay than when it is just a few feet away. It is actually somewhat relaxing to view the city for afar and Odaiba is a fantastic place to do just that.
rachel nakayama
