[Members only]City Walk@Ginza

In Bangkok, the development of giant commercial facilities continues, as modern times blend with Buddhism to create the nightscape. The light from architecture, high-class restaurants, and shopping centers of these civilized, modern times are built right along side the fluorescent lights of roadside stands and vendors. Wat Arun, The Temple of the Dawn, illuminated; above all, gold is the symbol of culture and power in Thailand. Wat Arun from the opposite shore of the Chao Phraya River. The sunset also helps to convey the feeling of a country for the gods. Florescent lights shine on the street vendor`s restaurant signs, but incandescent lamps are used in the showcases.

2024.05.30 Noriko Higashi A review of the May 10 City Night Survey was held. 20 people gathered at LPA on Friday night to discuss the lighting in the newest spot, Azabudai Hills.We did the review of the May 10 Azabudai Hills & Toranomon Hills Station Tower City Night Survey. The leaders of the groups summarized their opinions and made presentations using photos of the heroes and villain of each group. The report from each group seemed to have more heroes than the past town walks.I would like to report some common points and notable contents from each group’s presentation ■Media ceiling behind the eaves of Toranomon Hills Station Tower　Most of the teams had never seen a media ceiling before and highly evaluated it as an interesting new landmark. Some commented that the ceiling’s moving projections led visitors’ viewpoints upward, making the space appear larger. The digital lighting is very symbolic and suitable for the entrance of a new city which makes it deserve to be a hero. ■Azabudai Hills Landscape LightingA slightly darker lighting scheme that makes people naturally want to visit the brightly lit storefronts in the back of the building. The approach to the commercial area is less bright, making the store facade more conspicuous. The uplighting of trees, which usually tends to be a villain, was also well-lit, although there were some too dazzling spots depending on the type of tree. Opinions about the lighting at the…

To be active as a professional after coming back from maternity leave Interviewer:　Mami Kono the origin that Graduation production of the university that became the starting point for the world of light Imagine 5-years ahead and set a goal Kono：Today I`d like to talk about making a life plan. And today is your birthday, so Happy Birthday!! Mende：Yes, 66 today. Repeated digits, seems like a good number, but it’s kind of an in-between year. I don`t know if I am classified as old or young?! Kono：I turn 32 this year. Mende：Wow, 32…When you were 29, just turning 30, did you feel the “I can`t believe I`m turning 30!” blues? Kono：Yes!! I wasn`t married yet, but I had a really fulfilling job and private life. But I felt lost about where I was headed in life. Mende： I always set goals or have an image marked off in 10-year segments. Kono：When did you start setting goals? Mende：When was that? I quit my office job at 40. Maybe after that, I really started to envision things around 42 or 43 and then what I would be doing at 52 or 53 and so on. Kono：I returned from LPA Singapore this year and now I am going to have a baby. Up until now, all my time and energy went to whatever I wanted to do. But now I have a husband and soon a baby, I can`t live the single life anymore!…

Date of Issue: December 15, 2022・Activity 1/ Kaoru Mende/ Lighting Design Workshop 2022 (2022.09.17-19) Kaoru Mende/ Lighting Design Workshop 2022 3-day Student Workshop2022.09.17-19 Noriko Higashi We held a three-day introductory workshop on lighting design, where professional designers from LPA shared their expertise. A total of 23 university students participated, making it a highly intensive program. Although some students were initially reserved, through city walks, group discussions, and social gatherings, they gradually built friendships, learned to respect each other’s opinions, perspectives, and styles of expression, and created a positive atmosphere that led to a fruitful experience. While Lighting Detectives’ activities have been restricted due to COVID-19, we are even more concerned about the limited opportunities for children and students to experience things that can only be done at their age. In particular, lighting design requires going to actual sites to observe and experience lighting firsthand, which is an essential first step. We carefully considered how to conduct a workshop that could communicate the importance of lighting design and the value of firsthand experiences, even during the pandemic, and were finally able to hold it over the September holiday weekend. (Noriko Higashi) ■Purpose of the WorkshopI once taught lighting design-related courses for about ten years at several universities, including the Department of Design at Tokyo University of the Arts, the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo, and the Department of Spatial Design at Musashino Art University. Each school had a…

We had our third “Lounge Talk with Mr. Mende and Friends” live streamed on YouTube.The theme was “Light on the waterfront. We delivered an enjoyable one-hour talk with Mr. Hidenobu Jinnai, a guest who was perfect for the theme. The third installment of “Lounge Talk withMr.Mende and Friends” was held after a year’s absence. We invited architectural historian, Mr. Hidenobu Jinnai as a guest and delivered a one-hour talk live. Mr. Jinnai has been researching waterside urban planning for many years, having studied in Venezia after graduating from university. Whenever the theme of the Lighting Detectives’ events has been waterfront lighting, we have always invited Mr. Jinnai and asked for his opinions. In this episode, He reviewed the Lighting Detectives’ practical lecture series, the Sumida River houseboat tour in 1996, and an interview in 1998 in which he asked the audience to predict the nightscape of Tokyo in 2050, as well as the proposal for Tokyo waterside lighting created by the LPA for the “2050” exhibition held in 2016. He reviewed the “Tokyo Nightscape Proposal” that LPA created for that exhibition, and discussed his vision for the future of waterside lighting and which areas have great potential. In the preliminary meeting, we had talked about ending the live stream in about 45 minutes, but the conversation kept going, and Mr. Mende and Mr. Jinnai seemed to be able to talk forever, but since it was a one-hour program, we ended…