Interviewer:　Momoko Muraoka Theme：The role of a designer Muraoka: Today I would like to talk about the role of a designer.  Of course, there is our regular work consulting on design projects, but also as lighting designers, we have helped launch a professional organization and are now engaged in recovery projects for the Great East Japan Earthquake.  All of these extracurricular activities have started me thinking, and as a designer, I want to be more subjective to the value of production in the world.  Mr. Mende, what do you think the role of a designer is? Mende: hmmm…That’s a  good question.  What do you think? Muraoka: Well, this is a little idealistic, but to scoop up things that aren’t yet seen or noticed and mold them into a form that is helpful and makes everyone`s live just a little bit happier. Mende: Yes, a designer might be a craftsman who makes people’s dreams and little bits of happiness a reality.  A designer is an artisan and a thinker and simply put, a hostess or entertainer for society. Muraoka: There are many different types of designers and a lighting designer might be particular in that there is really no solid form of our work. Mende: But what about musicians or chefs there is no real solid form here, either.  A massage or theatrics also makes people happy through healing or a performance.  Is this design?  Is good food a design? Muraoka: Oh,…

Interviewer:　Genki Watanabe Theme: Architectural Lighting and Stage Lighting Watanabe:　Today, I`d like to talk about “Architecture Lighting and Stage Lighting.”   At the university, I majored in stage lighting. Mende:　What sparked your interest in stage lighting? Watanabe:　Since I was little, I love to watch movies and theatre.  After graduating high school I had the vague idea that I wanted to go abroad, so I decided to go on a language exchange in China.   After about a year, I had the opportunity to go to a college theatre production.  Chinese stage lighting is very flamboyant!  This is the first time I really thought about stage lighting.  Later I decided to study at this university. Mende:　Why did you move towards architectural lighting while you were studying stage lighting. Watanabe:　While studying stage lighting, I realized and felt like there were limits or constraints in this field.  I felt like I needed to work with lighting design that is closer to our daily lives and society in general and started to focus on architectural lighting. Mende:　Don`t you think there are any constraints or restrictions in architectural lighting.?!  What is the difference between stage lighting and architectural lighting? Watanabe:　I think there are several differences. Even during the design phase of stage lighting, it is a very hands-on approach to design.  A Lot of time is spent at the theater and directly working on the stage. Mende:   I see.  With architectural lighting, after about 80% of the work…

Theme:　Disaster Area Lighting Interviewer:　Yukiko Saito Saito　I was born in Rikuzentakada City, Iwate Prefecture, an area devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. I would like to talk today about “Disaster Area Lighting.” Mende　Have you visited the area after the earthquake? Saito　Yes, three times. Mende　It is just one year ago this month. They are starting to slow clear away the debris and reclaim the area. Saito　Yes. In December most of the debris was hauled away and two stop lights in the downtown area were erected. Seven months after the disaster in November there were still no street lights of any kind. This story made the new since it was so dark and a little scary at night. Is there anything we can do as lighting professionals? Mende　The city was devastated by a natural disaster that wiped out all power poles and even underground electrical wiring and ducts. It’s a tough situation to even get electricity to the area. However, solar panel mounted street lights don`t need any electrical wiring. It might be wise for the government to buy and issue solar power lighting to these areas. Even in times of a power outage, lighting with capacity to generated electricity from a natural source is a good backup plan. Saito　When we drove through the debris cover area, we only had the car headlights for navigation with a few house lights in the distance. I`m just an amateur, but I can`t help but…

Interviewer:　Chen Liwen Theme：The Bright future of Japan and China Mende　So what is the theme today? Chen　The bright future of Japan and China. Mende　That’s a whopper! Chen, you are Chinese, so can you answer a few of my questions too? Chen　This is different! Am I now the interviewee? Mende　How come you chose this topic? Chen　 I am Chinese, but often told that I seem very Japanese. So I think I can more objectively state some of the differences between Chinese and Japanese, but I am extremely self-conscious about it. If you can empathize a little with my point of view, it might be useful in some LPA business situations. Mende　 That`s good. Let’s start with a question I am really interested in; how do you think the Japanese and Chinese should get along together? Chen　 Compared to Japan, China is by far more populated, so I think self-assertion is stronger. If you don`t speak up, you go unheard and are just one of the crowd. So I think the drive to stand out is very strong. I don`t think there is any problem with coming on strong and holding your ground. On the other hand, one could do away with the formality of Japanese business and just relate in a more friendly way. Openly attacking the situation yourself is not a bad idea. Off the subject, over half of Japanese are type A and over half of Chinese are type B,…

Interviewer:　Mayumi Banno Theme：The Herbivorous Younger Generation Banno　For a change, I`d like to talk about the younger generation today and their nickname as “herbivores” or “introverts.” Since I have been with LPA, I have had the opportunity to travel abroad often on business trips. Especially in China, you can really feel the energy, vitality, and an air of excitement, almost the opposite of Japanese society. The current status of Japan scares me as businesses are getting harder to expand and the need to look at foreign markets is building. However, this younger generation of herbivores and introverts is also growing. The future of Japan is a little worrisome. Mr. Mende, you are anything but an herbivore. Were you already thinking outside of Japan in your 20`s? Mende　Well, for starters, I really love my work and it doesn`t really matter if it is in Japan or another country. However, the approach to projects in Japan is different and of course, the language is different. This can get messy and cause a lot of headaches, but if you slowly increase your vocabulary, it can really be a thrilling opportunity. I have always had a rich sense of curiosity, so this challenge just inspires me to move forward. In other words, it depends on whether one is willing to repeat over and over again these “small adventures” that make up our life. Nowadays, the young generation is hooked on the internet. Everything comes off…

Interviewer:　Noriko Higashi Issued on November 30, 2011 Noriko　：Before I started working at LPA, I taught English to children at elementary schools and at my home. I have always really liked working with children. Mr. Mende, how did you come about starting the children`s workshop? There was actually some very surprised staff at LPA!! Mr.Mende　：Children nowadays are exposed to an excessive intake of light and I want them to have the opportunity to experience just a small flicker of light and darkness while they are still young and innocent. I have hope for the next generation that their perception of light and shadow can be reset. But this higher principle aside, working with children is such a joy!! I think it is in my soul that I really like children….and small animals! I am basically a big kid and I want to recover the ability to behave and act freely. I am always saying “learn from natural light.” This is because natural light does not lie. Play and communicating with children is the same. They can make you aware of so many things. With unanticipated reactions, children are admirably hardy. Noriko　：There is one thing that I am curious about. Even a small, one-year old, baby has the strong motivation to make the workshop crafts by themselves, but adults are always lending a hand so they won`t fail. For example the candle might melt the plastic bottle or the shape is odd;…

Theme:　Media Walls and facade Lighting Interviewer:　Kyoko Takubo Issued on October 31, 2011 Kyoko:Mr. Mende, today I have a problem and, if you don`t mind, I would like to ask for your advice. On a recent project, the client has requested a media wall style façade. To me, it seems that the client is not just asking for simple signage, but something I never expected from this particular project. Instead of a media wall, I want to design façade lighting that is more artistic and stylish. What do you think? Can a media wall be artistically beautiful? Mende:Maybe, but the sole purpose of lighting design is not just designing beautiful nightscapes. If the client wants a design that draws in people, just beauty alone will not attract people. I don`t think we can call the project a success if nobody comes. Kyoko: So I should design a place people will want to come to? Mende: Commercial lighting design is not just about beauty. Rather because of the lighting design, the buying, selling and excitement of the area is what is demanded. It’s a delicate balance. Sometimes people are drawn to rather ugly places, however just because that is the case doesn`t mean that you should be able to design whatever you want. In commercial design sometimes the slightly wacky has just enough charm to draw in a crowd. However, as lighting designers, we can add fun and awe and make the…

Over a 13 year period I have written 76 Mende Notes. I tried, very diligently, to write one every month, but some things just don`t go as planned. So, now I donate this supposed “Note” writing time to a monthly hour and a half lunchtime chat with a LPA staff member. This new column, “Coffee Break with Mende and Me”, is an opportunity to talk frankly with my staff about lighting, design, architecture, or other worldly problems. Whatever they are interested in is the topic of the interview. So enjoy these monthly chats as I will too, over a cup of coffee with my staff.

Ever seen a sign that says “No Double-Dipping”? These days you don’t see them as much, but you used to find them in the立ち食い (tachigui – standing eat) kushiage (deep-fried skewer) shops in the old downtown areas of Osaka. You’d be chugging down cheap booze like “Poppy” or “Bakudan” while watching piping hot skewers get fried right in front of you. Then, you’d dunk the whole skewer into a shallow, enamel bowl of watery Worcestershire sauce and devour it in one go. I hear this is the original Osaka-style kushiage culture. The “no double-dipping” rule means you absolutely cannot dip a skewer back into the sauce once it’s touched your mouth. Of course, there’s a huge variety of kushiage ingredients. I’m a big fan of this kind of place, so whenever I went to Osaka on business in the old days, I’d often soak in this atmosphere by myself. These kushiage joints always have a pile of shredded cabbage for all you can eat, but it’s funny – there are hardly any soft leaves, mostly just the hard core and the bits around it. And it’s surprisingly good! You take a big bite of a sauce-covered skewer and immediately follow it with a crunchy mouthful of cabbage. That textural contrast is just so satisfying. But seriously, where do all the soft cabbage leaves disappear to? I’ve been going to Osaka quite a bit for the past five or six years….

What God do I put my hands together for and pray to? Of course I’ve been to many shrines and temples, but also frequent many Christian churches and Muslim mosques while in foreign countries. I watch the worshipers there and pray as they pray. This is my religious etiquette. In any land and with any people there are not just fun times, but also trying times and sad times. Some might think my religious practice is shady, but in my own level of rational and logic I believe that it just seems right to worship both God and Buddha. Of course I am an atheist and have no definite religious affiliation. However, in the last few years, I have gone to worship at a local shrine, Meiji Shrine, near our office in Shibuya Ward. These are not just spontaneous visits, but official visits by appointment. First, we were involved with the lighting design of Meiji Shrine and accepted their kind offer. Nervously, two other staff and I were all of a sudden thrust into the middle of an official ceremony, but this year was different. LPA applied for an official visit and my suit and tie clad staff and I spent a reflective moment in the shrine. We could hear the throng of a drum, letting the gods know we were coming as we headed towards the inner shrine. While in procession, a low beam of sunlight from behind fell…

Ever since the new library was finished I have wanted to go and see it, so 15 members of the Lighting Detectives gathered around dusk for the Tama Art U. campus version of a city walking tour. It is well known that the architect is Toyo Ito and furniture designed by Kazuko Fujie, but for the past 10 years Professor Satoshi Tabuchi has been coordinating the architectural and developmental planning of Tama Art U. Campus. In spite of his busy schedule Prof. Tabuchi was able to give the Lighting Detectives a private campus tour. The library was built on a hill and the first floor slopes with this natural incline. It was a little bit peculiar and although, I have experienced a non-horizontal park built by Arakawa + Gin before, a sloping floor aroused a slight strangeness. I was taken back to the feeling of running around in the sandlot as a child or walking uphill on a faraway. However, while the floor is sloping, all of the tabletops are level. As you sit and concentrate on your work or books you just forget about the sloping floor underfoot. Since we are the Lighting Detectives, out came the luminance meters to calculate floor, table top, vertical, ect. lux levels. I forgot the exact numbers, but tabletop luminance levels were right around 400 lux. This is a good number for super ambient up lighting to the ceiling. Floor lamps with oversized…

Once every two years「Light & Building」, the world’s largest lighting trade fair, opens in Frankfurt and I always make a point of attending. This year was no different, as my fourth time to attend, along with five colligates from LPA; we took up residence in Frankfurt for three days. The Frankfurt trade fair started just eight years ago, but its predecessor was the Hanover trade fair. I used to attend that fair as well and it just seemed like a fun time. All trade fair event halls are the same crowd of people poking around the booths until they are bushed, but the Frankfurt trade fair has a different feel. Like Europe in the springtime when fresh white asparagus should begin showing up on the menu, I just can’t not go! I said we were at the exhibition for three days, but really its only two and you can’t do much in two days. I leave the combing of the huge event hall to the younger staff and I seem to network more than I look at the fixtures. I am thrilled to see old friends from the lighting profession again. Just prowling around the exhibition hall and I’m bound to be tapped on the shoulder or suddenly hugged or hear my name called from afar, endless boisterous encounters. There are also those encounters that I don’t try to initiate or avoid altogether, but sometimes there is no other choice….

It seems that there are quite a few people who are ruffled by the frequency, or rather infrequency, of the Lighting Detective Note. Since the start of the Lighting Detectives many of those that work close to me have pleaded and tried to persuade me with a kind “Please write a new note” every once in awhile. But behind all of those smiles and I-really-look-forward-to-your-column`s I can sense a little bit of a threat. So, again I apologize for the delay. I’m not a big fan of the blog, so my columns tend to be few and far between with more eccentric themes. However I`d like to try a little more relaxed style, maybe something blog-like, to honestly discuss light, social review, and maybe some personal confessions within a tone of permissible degree. With that said, as I write this, I am sitting on the Shinkasen on my way home from a day trip to Osaka, business of course. I have my PC open before me and in the upper right hand corner of the screen a certain folder has caught my eye, ｢Unfinished Tanteidan Notes.｣ Inside that folder another folder titled「051210 AA Workshop」had four pictures already selected just waiting for the go ahead. December 2005, two years ago I meant to write this column and the pictures and inspiration have just been waiting in the flanks. How rude of me! Kazuo Iwamura, an architect and professor at Tokyo City…

The first time I met Ingo Maurer was 20, maybe 25 years ago, I`m not quite certain, but I do remember that it was he who contacted me for a meeting. At that time I had ran a very successful essay, “ Poetic Sentiment and High Tech” in the magazine ｢SD｣. Ingo had read that short essay and said, “I want to meet the Mende who wrote this.” That powerful essay was in fact a critique about a certain Ingo Maurer, whom I had never met, and his work as a lighting designer. Ingo came to my office with a support group of two Japanese friends to voice his appreciation for my critique and presented me with a newly designed floor lamp. In large measure, we seemed to respect my essay and actually liked it, but with a little bit of bitterness. From that day on, this cheerful and easy-going, but lofty old man seemed very friendly and familiar and is someone I have taken a liking to. Occasionally we still have the chance to meet, usually at his exhibitions in Tokyo, Frankfurt, or Milano. Now he has a studio full of young enthusiastic followers who continue to thrill us with their own creations of light as we send yells of encouragement from the sidelines. The title “ Poetic Sentiment and High Tech” praises the production of Ingo`s free willing playfulness constantly being matched with the most advanced technology, in…

Already it has been seven years since I started to teach in the Department of Scenography, Display, and Fashion Design at Musashino Art University. Of course, I am not only teaching my students about lighting design, but the third-year students who choose my seminar class observe society and work on projects through a filter of “light”. This could be a politically biased education, but lighting is absolutely necessary in every aspect of our lives. Particularly in this department, I can’t image scenography, display, or fashion design without light and if my politically biased lighting education helps to nurture a unique human resource then fantastic! This year, with my third-year students in tow, we visited Iwamuro Hot Spring in Niigata Prefecture a number of times to work on a lighting project to boost economic development in the area. You can think of this as a modern group project by Musashino Art U. for the economical development of this hot spring town. From street planning, graphic design, and souvenirs to street furniture and the soundscape, we have incorporated a wide range of variables as we push this project along. Our team prose was “A Lighting Plan for Environmental Design” employed with proposals for extensive lighting designs. On two of our three previous trips, we surveyed the area and did lighting experiments. For the future of Iwamuro Hot Springs it is uncertain what kind of lighting they will propose, but my students were…

“Zaha”such a commanding name. You may have heard of this famous name belonging to one famous lady. My own name “Kaoru” has a more feminine ring to it and may be more fitting for a lady of such great accomplishment. Ms. Zaha Hadid is an architect in the UK, but hales from Baghdad, Iraq. I first had the opportunity to met with Zaha some 20＋ years ago while she was working in Tokyo. We were planning the lighting for a boutique of her design in the Azabu district of Tokyo. Unfortunately, the plans fell through and the architecture was never realized. I asked her one time when she was born and by coincidence she and I are born in the same year, 1950, and somehow it made me feel closer to her. But I am such a small man, compared to her larger physic and presence. After the defunct Tokyo project I had the opportunity to work with Zaha again to design lighting fixtures and to help with the lighting for a Singapore City Planning project. And I have always felt that I have a closeness or connection with her and her projects. This same Zaha has designed the most beautiful lighting fixture! The fixture uses the popular LED units, but effectively hides the bright twinkle and sparkle they are so famous for to create this charming, twisting pendant. The pedant hangs by an arm extending from the ceiling, but…

As an architectural lighting designer, I have always thought this profession was not about the form or shape of lighting fixtures, but have argued that lighting design is about the relationship between lighting and people. Japanese lighting design is still relatively new and I am torn between hope and despair for the profession as most conversations revolve around whether a fixture looks cool or not. I always thought there are more important aspects to discuss. But as of late, I`ve come to realize and maybe most people would tend to agree with me, that lighting design isn’t just about the amount of light or shape of a fixture. But at the same time, we, as lighting designers, have to realize that we are not in the business of distributing downlights and spotlights everywhere. And so a few years back, I thought I might design a Mende-style chandelier. Of course I did not want to just reproduce a copy of a glittery European chandelier or redesign a florescent light pendant for Japanese residential use, but through the dynamic use of material, produce a delicate, but one-of-a-kind architectural chandelier, or so I thought. Unfortunately, in this world things don’t always go as you would have planned and Swarowsky, a well-established crystal chandelier manufacture, unveiled a new chandelier, very close to the design I had envisioned. It happened at the Euroluce in Milan this last spring. Have a look at the top-secret photos…

This time each year I rely heavily on the Rain Gods not to forsake me. June 22nd, including summer and winter, I count this as the 7th time we have held the Candle Night Event and today’s weather forecast was rain. If it is just a sprinkle the show will go on, but this year the prediction was a downpour. After five years of great weather for the event, it looked like our time was up. Come to think of it, the Lighting Detectives seem to get rained on or out of a lot of previous events, with most of the blame coming my way and my incompatibility with the Rain Gods. It was time to fight for this event and keep our perfect score at Lighting Detectives 7: Rain Gods 0! After much chanting and praying to the Rain Gods, at 7 o`clock, just before the event was to start, miraculously nobody needed an umbrella! The pictures to the right are of the Jingu-mae Elementary School children and their parents as they gather near Meiji Shrine, the community service group, Green Bird, and the Tama Art University students who attended preparatory workshops. Everyone having a good time and without umbrellas! For more details of this years event there is a nice write-up on our website, but I want to specially recognize the Harajuku Community Planning Board and Omotesando Hills for their cooperation this year. With their help it seemed…

This topic may not directly concern the Lighting Detectives, but here’s what is on my mind. As a lighting design office and having to compete within this growing profession, I’d like to tell you about our recent staff workshop. As the creator of this workshop and after seeing the “serious faces” of my hardworking staff, I had to try out my new toy, a digital camera, to capture the moment. LPA`s two offices, Tokyo and Singapore have grown to a staff of 30 with the average age in the late twenties. During this daylong workshop, we used previous LPA projects and noteworthy mounting detail as a platform to discuss LPA`s responsibilities, perspectives, and rights when dealing with architects, designers, and builders. However the situation in recent years has been good for business, but not for the education of our younger staff. We, veterans, have been too busy to properly rely the tricks of the trade and communicate with our younger staff so I have decided to schedule these biannual staff workshops. I don’t plan to make the workshops a huge production, like at a big firm, but, in a relaxing atmosphere, create a meaningful opportunity to discuss relevant and important topics, things on the mind of the younger staff. But, take a look at these photos. The staff are very serious and poised! For my part of the presentation, I created a flow chart outlining the design process from start…

I have to apologize for my absence, I just realized that I haven’t written a single note yet this year! I don’t know if I’m just lazy or too busy and time just flies, but three months of this year are already gone! My assistant is always saying, “Anything is fine just write something.” So I have consulted my digital camera for a topic and had a mini trip down memory lane of last year. What a fun year it was. In November of last year some of my students and I attended a workshop near the equator and these are a few snapshots of that trip. The first picture is of students from my studio class at Musashino Art University attending the workshop during Transnational Taneidan Forum 2006 in Singapore. Those are not beggars squatting on the floor, but students at the workshop. Not enough desk workspace, but a lot of floor space to spread out pictures and sketches. The night before we split up into five groups, mixed with local Singaporeans, and setout on the town for a Lighting Detective survey. The results were taped and glued to panels and set up in the exhibition hall for visitors to view. We didn’t have a lot of time so the workshop was also a lesson in decision-making skills and self-assurance. The next picture is after the survey work was finished for the night, we held a small gathering at…