Interviewer:  Yonglin Ke Mende：Are we talking about childhood play today? Ke：Yes.  I have a sister, two years younger than me, and we used to play together all the time when we were younger. Mende：Did you play house? Ke：Yes.  We also played house growing up in China. Mende：Girls usually play with dolls and such, but being a boy that is very rare. Ke：Yes.  My father was a very busy man, so I only had my sister at home to play with. Mende：Didn’t you play outside? Ke：Before I started school we used to go to the park or amusement parks fairly often, but once I started elementary school I would invite my friends over and we would play video games. Mende： Yes, I thought this might come up in our talk today.  That is your generation. Ke：How did you spend your childhood? Mende：I sometimes played by myself, but usually I played with several friends.  This might sound a little dramatic, but play for children is like work and business for adults.  So even during play communication between your friends is very important.  How many friends did you play video games with? Ke：Maybe 2 or 3 friends and we would play Mario Kart, Contra, or other strategy games.  Mende：Many people play against the computer now, right.  When I was a kid, of course we didn’t have computers and television was still broadcast over “street televisions” in store windows.   There was a TV in a…

Interviewer: Yumeka Miyamae Miyamae：In the past year telework has really taken off, which has really changed how we live and work.  Today I`d like to talk about living and working in this new era with Covid 19. Mende：Yes, I`d like to hear your thoughts, also. Miyamae：Generally, people select an area to live that is within an easy hour commute to the office.   Where people live is basically decided by where one works, since the norm is to go to the office to do your work.  In other words, work time = office time.  Work and private life are clearly divided by place, time, and role.  That is up until one year ago.  One thing I have felt during teleworking this past year is the line between work and private is obscured.   I am having trouble switching between the two. Mende：For people like you with a family and small children at home, I think it is much harder to switch on and off.  A long time ago when my wife used to teach at the university,  she had to commute two hours one way, for a total of four hours of commute time a day.  Such a waste of time.   I suggested she rent an apartment near the campus and crash there on days she was too tired to go home, but she refused and said she needed to come home so she could “switch off.”  I didn’t understand then, but…

Interviewer: Reiko Kasai       (Mr. Mende’s Toilet Paper Theory at the beginning.) Mr, Mende has experienced an empty toilet paper holder twice since he established the LPA office and was extremely annoyed. ‘Who didn’t replenish new toilet paper after it was empty? You should stop being a designer right now.” In other words, the Mende’s theory is that design is about caring for those around you. If you are not able to do so, you are not qualified to become a designer. This is the first time we have publicly introduced the toilet paper theory. With the founder of LPA, Mr. Mende, and the three current directors, Mari Kubota, Kentaro Tanaka, and Reiko Kasai, we would like to look back on the 30 years of LPA and discuss what kind of company we are. Today, Kasai will be the facilitator. Conversation starts: Kasai: Oops, I do not see any 2400φ(diameter) round tables in the new office (in Tokyo) that we have just moved into at the beginning of last year. Kubota: LPA is now too big to fit around a singular round table. Kasai: When you started LPA 30 years ago, did you think that it would expand to become a company of this scale? What was the state of the world at that time and what was the environment surrounding lighting design? Mende: I started my career in lighting design 43 years ago, and at that time there…

Interviewer: Junko Nagatomo Nagatomo：Today’s topic is the art of decluttering or living a minimalist lifestyle.  Decluttering is a thought process of yoga.  I didn’t know this, but in Japanese the three characters that make up the word Danshari, or decluttering, each have a  meaning. 断―(dan) the refusal of things coming into your home or life 捨―(sha)  the discarding of unwanted things 離―(ri) to abandon the obsession of possessing things So, decluttering is not just about throwing things away, but also about organizing your surroundings and reducing fixations on having possessions, which in turn reduces mental stress.  I became interested in decluttering about three years ago when I was in the process of moving. I had so many things packed into a small closet like a tetras puzzle.  When I finally took everything out, way in the back were many things I had forgotten about or already had a duplicate.   So when I moved, I threw away so many things that weren`t being used and now I really try to avoid possessing and keeping unnecessary things.  Mende：However, I think many Japanese feel that fewer possessions doesn’t really relay a lived-in, at-home feel.  In western culture it isn’t uncommon to continue using a pair of your grandfather`s shoes, bag, or other items for tens of years.  But Japanese seem to use things for a shorter cycle or just single usage.  Experts also say that Japanese consumers are not satisfied unless there is…

Interviewer: Xueying Piao Piao：Today I`d like to talk about patterns of a healthy lifestyle. Mende：Healthy life.  That is a heavy topic.  Why did you choose this topic? Piao：Health can be divided into two parts: mental and physical.  Now that I am a working member of society I feel a little insecure about my mental health and ability to control my emotions. Mende：Really?!  You are feeling insecure?  How old are you? Piao：I am 26. Mende：When I was 26 I was married.  I was still a graduate student and I had so many things I wanted to do.  I don’t think I was feeling anxious about anything. Maybe you feel anxious because you left your home country and are working abroad?  Were you anxious as a student? Piao：I was just fine as a student.  This all started after I started working. Mende：So, you were wondering about healthy lifestyle habits and felt you needed to make some changes in your own life? Piao：Yes. So, I want to know what other members of the workforce think about healthy lifestyles.  Mende：Like you said there are two parts to a healthy life; problems of the heart and mind and problems of the physical body.  The heart, mind and body are not separate entities, but work in conjunction with each other.   Therefore if you are like me and have a strong physical body, you can also maintain mental stamina.  If you are wondering which comes first, mental or…

Interviewer: Satomi Yamaguchi Mende：So, today’s topic of conversation is “What is your favorite season of the year?” So… What is your favorite season of the year? Yamaguchi：Spring.  Especially early spring.  Plants are shooting up, budding cherry blossoms, trees covered in pastel pink flowers.  It makes me feel so excited.  Mende：You could almost say late winter.  Where did you grow up?  Did you wait out long, dark winters for springtime? Yamaguchi：I am from Tokyo.  Since I take care of many plants, I have really become more conscious of the seasons.  What is your favorite season of the year? Mende：When I was growing up it was probably summer.   During the last few years of elementary school I took up playing music, after that I really began to enjoy the fall.  The turning of colors and preparations for the long and lonely winter ahead is very moving.  I think I’m a romanticist.  The fish tail rows of light, fluffy clouds are very different from the aggressive thunder clouds of the summer season.  These clouds reveal the first glimpses of autumn.  Although, I really don’t dislike any season of the year, which is my real answer, but I do love the cultural atmosphere of the fall season.  I think it is the real season of love.  Yamaguchi：I think the saying goes that people fall in love and the spring and break up in the autumn.   Mende：When I was younger I never liked the confused…

Interviewer: Niken Wulandari Mende: Niken, do you like traveling? Niken: Yes, I do. I brought photos that I took from my trips, and we will talk about street lighting. I started to pay more attention to this since I did my thesis. During the time, I surveyed and compared the view during daytime and nighttime. That is when I noticed there are many designs of street elements that are visible during the daytime and not very noticeable during night-time. Mende: At the beginning, in Asia, everyone understood that lighting design is for the shape of the pole element. They care less about the lighting effect and the environment at nighttime, just focus on the beautiful shape of the street poles. Niken: I found that a lot of streets in European cities are using catenary lights, so they don’t have a lot of elements on the streets. When we walk, we don’t notice where the lights are coming from, we can enjoy the street view because it’s not obstructed by the poles. That’s why I like the concept of using catenary light. Mende: It is quite difficult for us in Japan or other Asian countries to implement this method to the buildings, it is not allowed in Japan. In Europe, they also mount wall-scones to the building. We have been suggesting so many times to use catenary light or wall-mounted street lighting in Tokyo and other cities in Japan, but it…

Interviewer: Jio Yeung Jio： I always wanted to become a video game designer, unfortunately I had to give up my dream.  I am just a beginner when it comes to design so I am looking forward to learning a lot from our talk today.  First, I would like to ask; What does design mean to you? Mende：  If you look up the word design in the dictionary it is written: to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan.  But I think it is intent or purpose.  Little fixes or twists in everyday life.  There is also design without any shape.  Taste,  touch, hearing, sight, and smell, design can activate the five senses.  Cooking is also design.   Various materials all whipped together can really make people happy.  Jio：Ok.  Well, what do you think is good design? Mende ：Something that is an upgrade in daily life and universally stimulating.  Kind of  like the door to happiness.  Jio : Yes, I think so too.  Stimulating and makes people feel happy, these are important points.  However, design does seem to be a personal preference? Mende ：Of course, there are likes and dislikes.  For example, taking a very Japanese design and introducing it to China or India, it might not go over very well.   However, there are reasons good design is liked by many people.  Maybe, culturally, health-wise, or for environmentally-friendly reasons.  Even a single pen, the shape or how it is held are all…

Interviewer: Erina Hosono Hosono： This might be out of the blue, but the reason I wanted to become a lighting designer is because lighting helped get my chronic problems with sleeping under control. Whether it is narcolepsy or insomnia, I want to help people with sleep problems. So, today, I thought we could talk about lighting that might be of use in tackling sleeping issues. Mende： What kind of sleeping disorder do you have? Hosono： I was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia. While I was studying or eating or even walking down the street, I would be spasmodically overcome with abnormal sleepiness. For 15 years, I lived with these problematic symptoms. I even went to study in the US so I could get certain therapeutic medicine. Mende： Do you still have problems? Hosono： Now, I am able to live just like a regular person. Mende： Do you have a system so that it becomes really bright in the morning in your room? Hosono： PhI use the Wake-up Light by Philips. It mimics the time and operations of the sun, becoming very bright to wake me up. I also have three other decorative lights; all equipped with the Philips hue smart lamp. This smart lamp also works as an alarm and becomes bright. One of the decorative lights is a large free-standing floor lamp and the shade is situated right above my pillow so I can feel the light rays directly on…

Interviewer: Namiko Watanabe Watanabe：In terms of human interaction, I would like to talk about the generation gap between you and me, today. You and I have a lot in common and sometimes I even feel that our sense of value is similar. Mende：I think some people intuitively feel the gap in age while others don’t seem to recognize it or can move beyond any age difference. I don’t feel a huge gap between you and I even though there must be more than a 40 year difference. Watanabe：I like to meet various types of people no matter what their age. I prefer to interact with a wide range of people. What about you? Mende：In general, I don’t think it is a good idea to arbitrarily interact with people. I think it might be a little offensive to let your guard down as one gets older, but there are different levels of interaction depending on the person. In my generation we would protect ourselves while bashing our opponents. You see it in politics; lovers in private, but it is important they hold their own in public. We randomly meet various people for various reasons, and I can really sense something in those instantaneous moments of contact. Watanabe：I gain alot of knowledge when talking with various people. It always surprises me to know that all sorts of people exist. For someone like you, who has gained many life experiences, what do you…

Theme: Understanding Millennials Interviewer: Clement Lee Mende： This is a very interesting topic for me, because communicating with younger generations is a little headache to me. I have been teaching Lighting Design for 10 years in universities, where I also come across so many different thinking styles and working approaches. Clement： The reason I ask this question is to learn how your generation feels about the younger people. I would like to share our views so that we could realign ourselves to create more awareness and understanding between different age groups. Mende： Your generation is the most interesting generation so far. I feel that Millennials prefer to be left alone and secretive. My generation, on the other hand, loves to share and communicate verbally even if we don’t understand each other. Clement： Millennials do prefer quiet time sometimes as we believe certain information can be sourced online, but we value knowing how other people think about topics. Luckily for me, I was born in the beginning of the 90s before technology bloomed to enhance life and most people were still getting used to this new luxury. Mende： I feel sometimes that Millennials tend to communicate better via digital devices rather than verbal unlike us. Do you think sometimes an old guy like me gets noisy? Clement： No! I do find your generation very interesting. Having caught in between post-tech and pre-tech, I am always wondering what it is like to…

Theme:Self-Promotion as a Designer Interviewer: Yuichi Anzai Anzai：Today I`d like to talk about something that is troubling me as a designer with not a lot of experience. I`d like to talk about self-promotion, something that I am lacking in. When I was an exchange student in NYC we had many opportunities to present our ideas in class or while job hunting, but each time I failed miserably at presenting an appealing picture of myself. There were language barriers, but I think it was more a fundamental lack of composer and confidence and an inability to communicate about myself or dictate to the audience. I think, as a designer, the ability to promote oneself is necessary to persuade clients about new projects and to strengthen trust while working together. Mr. Mende, when you were new to the profession or just starting to build up LPA did you have any specific troubles or points of strength? Mende：I`m not one for a showy sales pitch, but I wanted to do good work on good projects. At my previous job I was able to meet and work with several architects, so I had a good base to work with when I started LPA. Just being oneself is ideal for self-promotion. As a designer, getting good feedback and reviews from the public is not because one has a showy sales pitch, but it reflects good results which speak for themselves. Good results, does not only…

From Your Bed to Your Desk Brien Ng Mende: Today we’re sharing our daily routine. Brien, how long does it take from your bed to your desk? Brien: It takes almost 90 minutes. Mende: That’s quite long. What is the first thing you see in a day? Brien: The sunlight coming through the gap of the curtains. Mende: How long does it take to your office? Brien: Pretty long. The bus stops about 20 times. As there is one lane per direction in this road, it’s easily caught up in a traffic jam. After 30 minutes, it enters a road to Hong Kong Island. Then I switch to MTR at Sheung Wan. Mende: The bus alone takes one hour already. Brien: Along the route, I see villages with different development status. The highest building is four-stories, even our law permits up t０ three-stories. They break a law to build one more floor over a rooftop to gain additional 700-square-feet. Mende: Is everything the same every day? Brien: View from the 6:50 am bus and the 7:45 am bus are distinct. In the earlier hour, I would see the sun rising from behind mountains. The atmosphere is a mixture of gold and greyish blue. Mende: You like morning time? Brien: Yes. Mende: That’s rare. Brien: Maybe because I am not a party person. Mende: Same here. Brien: What I still see around my neighborhood are old-fashioned bus stops with iron tubes…

Theme: Into the Water Interviewer:Yusuke Hattori Hattori：Your first diving experience was five years ago near Malaysia`s Tioman Island, is that right. Was it really your first time? Mende：Yes really. I wanted to go diving and so I went. I got my diving licence with a really strict Japanese instructor. I was 64 years old at the time and now I go diving every year. I am still a beginner, but I have done about 30 dives. How many dives have you done? Hattori： I have about 100 dives and an advanced diving license. The first time I went diving, I was so moved by the lighting experience underwater, I wanted to capture it in photographs. So I just went out and bought an underwater camera. Underwater photography is so interesting. Mende：Are there any differences between photographing underwater or on land? Hattori：Underwater you are floating, so shooting the camera is very difficult. Also you can`t use a tripod so it is hard to use auto focus when your body is floating and moving. I can really understand the distinction between a regular photographer and underwater photographer. Their diving skills need to be very advanced. Mende：Divers are all interested in different targets underwater. Some divers are interested in only sea slugs or really big fish or such. Hattori： I like underwater terrain. The dynamic landforms get me really excited! The fish are pretty, some look good to eat, but that is the…

Environmentally Friendliness Interviewer: Sherri Goh Mende: So are we talking about environmentally friendly lighting design or environmental friendliness in lighting design…? Sherri: I’m not sure if I explained the topic clearly to you as there is a wide spectrum to be discussed. As we both have experience in Product Design and whether we consider that in what we do for lighting design. I wanted to ask what do you think/when did you start thinking of environmentally friendly lighting design. Mende: I have a Master’s degree in Environmental Design. After 4 years of studying Industrial Design, I changed my mind, as it was about designing very short shelf-life products, which is like garbage. Sherri: Lighting design has been meaningful, and you do consider the environment in terms of how we place the light. But I do think it could go further by considering how each product is produced from specific manufacturers and consider the manufacturing process. I’m not sure if LED fixtures are really more environmentally friendly than its predecessors, so that is the approach I had for this topic of discussion. Mende: Lighting design needs many sophisticated lighting fixtures as tools. But physically, we don’t need any product or lighting tools when making indirect light, or we can finally provide for natural daylighting. This is the goal of architectural lighting design. Sherri: Do you think we should consider who we work with and their production methods of fixtures in the…

Education between student and staff Interviewer:Zooey Li Mende：Hello Zooey, Education between student and staff is today’s topic, It’s quite interesting. Zooey：Yes, Mr. Mende, I thought you were a very good lighting design professor in a famous university and also are a very successful company leader. So I thought you should have powerful and rich stories of education for both of them. At the same time, I hope we will have a better understanding of each other through this topic. Mende：Sure, I am very happy to talk with you. For me, sharing and communication are very important. I do not think this talk is my personal interview. I am also very interested in what you guys are thinking. Zooey：Yes, indeed. Firstly, I would like to talk a little about why I chose this topic. Actually, my idea came exactly from this meeting room around three months ago. We had an internal design meeting with Itakura san. Also, we had a Video Conference with Tokyo colleagues in this room. On that day, I remembered Itakura san and Kentaro san were very kind and patient teaching us how to install the lighting fixture, and explaining the reasons and details. At that moment, I really felt the atmosphere was more like a school rather than a company. It was really nice and peaceful work environment as my viewpoint. Mende：HAHA, Really? Interesting! How did they teach you? Did they ask your ideas? The reason I…

Childhood memories which influences you as a lighting designer Interviewer:　Quratuaini Bte Jamil Aini：Hi, Mr Mende. I would like to discuss about childhood activities or memories which influences you as a lighting designer. Mende：Sure but you should share me your childhood experiences first. Aini： My childhood memories mostly consist of the few years I spend with my mom. Mende：Do you remember any lighting elements when you walk with your mom? Aini： I was too young to notice lighting. I see only prominent things to me at that age. Mende： How old were you then? Aini： I was 4 years old. Mende： So it seems it could be around 20 years ago. Do darkness of night invoke a feeling of fright? How about the brightness at home? Ainie： I was never afraid of the dark. Lights in my old home were very basic to give general brightness and fixtures are mostly conventional. Although, I remember general spaces the most. There was this road intersection downtown that has a bus stop in front. A colonial white building standing in the background. I think that was the beginning for my love towards architecture and history. Mende： How about night festivals? Aini： Not many. Although I do remember a night I share with my family. I used to live in woodlands in a compound HDB flat which has a central courtyard as a communal sharing space. One lantern festival night, the big moon shone brightly….

Theme:Playback! Interviewer:　Bryan Yan This “coffee break” column is a bit different from all the previous ones. The change of style in this column is also corresponding to our interview topic – “Playback”! Since I have read the PAST issues, I decide to make some changes. Actually, the original topic is “Look back!”. After a discussion with Mr. Mende, “Playback” is more interesting. Playback – It’s straightforward. We are going to talk about the PAST. Everyone has their PAST. Some people are very afraid to look back and remember some bad memories. Bryan：Hello Mende-san! I’m long waiting to have a coffee break section with you today. People like you with a lot of achievements and experiences should have many things in the PAST that you would like to remember and look back. Taking this opportunity, I would like to listen to you because I love stories. Would you tell me which project you like the most in LPA’s thousand projects? Mende：Well, since I always try to enjoy and concentrate now and think about little bit near future, I am not good at remembering. However, if you ask me to choose, I would like to say it should be “Tokyo International Forum”. The reason is that it’s the first big scale project after LPA office was established. On the third day of establishment, we received a call from New York to invite LPA to be the lighting designer for this project. From…

Lighting designer’ VS ‘Lighting planner’ Interviewer:　Karen Huang Karen: Mende san, today I would like to talk about the definition in between ‘Lighting designer’ and ‘Lighting planner’ since I thought about how we could define the direction or the ‘concept’ for the title of ‘lighting designer’. Just in my own opinion, the feeling of naming ‘designer’ and ‘planner’ are slightly different. Feels like ‘designer’ should pursue more creative and innovative ideas on design work, even though that is kind of challenging works. The other side, ‘planner’ feels like to support more accuracies of demand and standard regulation. If you could easily interpret that ‘designer’ may be more close to the art field and ‘planner’ shall be close to the engineering field. Of course, that is purely based on my own thinking. Our company name is ‘Lighting Planners Associates’. May I ask the reason why Mende san has chosen the ‘planner’ instead of ‘designer’? Mende: Well, do you feel the word ‘planner’ is strange? Haha~I still remembered it very clearly when I was considering the company name. At that moment, I asked Mr. Paul Marantz about the name ‘Lighting Planners Associates’ and got some feedback. He said ‘why you don’t call your company name to be ‘MENDE LIGHT’’? Actually, it was a very surprising feedback for me. I didn’t want to reflect my name on the company identity. But actually in the USA, it was not so common to use ‘designer’, but…

Work Style Revolution Interviewer:　Tomohiro Mukaihira Mukaihira：Today I`d like to talk with you about design and work balance, not as a lighting designer, but as Mr. Mende, the entrepreneur. Recently, the workforce is decreasing with several social issues such as, childcare, nursing care, and overworking to resolve amid calls for work style reform in Japan. Mende：Do you think you and others your age are being overworked? How many work hours is ideal? Mukaihira：It seems that many Japanese are being overworked to the point of exhaustion. I think the ideal is 9 to 6 and being able to punch out on time. Mende： I see. As expected, an 8-hour day. However, what is “punching out on time”? A farmer will get up early in the morning to tend his fields and work into the night fixing and managing tools and equipment. I don`t think they have a punch out time. Mukaihira： I think there are two types of working style; one is just working for money and two working for self-fulfillment. The former, probably wants a shorter schedule and the later might be willing to work longer hours. What kind of working style did you have in your 20`s and 30`s? Mende：I`m pretty much a nerd and love working! So I don`t think my style is a good reference. I really love my work!! Before I became a designer I had several jobs, like delivery. At home I wash dishes, vacuum, and…