10th Annual TNT Forum: 2013 / Taipei

September 20th-21st 2013 @ Xue Xue Institute

Transnational Tanteidan Forum 2013 in Taipei
http://www.xuexue.tw/tnt/

Theme: Taipei Nightscape and Lighting Identity
Venue: Xue Xue Institute, Taipei, Taiwan
Program: City Walk, Workshop, Exhibition, Pecha Kucha Night, Symposium
Organized by: Lighting Detective　office@shomei-tanteidan.org
Co-operated with Xue Xue Institute http://www.xuexue.tw/
Tainan Excursion Supported by Coretronic Fundation
Schedule:
September 1st, pre-workshop
September 20th, Forum Day 1
September 21th, Forum Day 2
September 22th, Tainan Excursion

September 1st, pre-workshop: workshop orientation and children`s workshop

1. Pre-workshop Orientation　（5 groups ×9 people)
・Mr. Mende introduced the lighting detectives and how we conduct a city night survey.
・Each group decided which area they would like to talk about.
・Mr. Mende gave assignment to attendees to find their Hero & Villain of each location and make two panels;
Panel 1: Introduce team members and survey area
Panel 2: Evaluate their findings at survey area.
. All members went to XinYi Area (Area 1) to see how we conduct a night survey.

After a short introduction of the Lighting Detectives, Mr. Mende conducted a simple city walk orientation and explained the schedule up until the TNT Forum presentations. 45 participants were divided into 5 teams and each team decided what area of the city to survey. Five unique areas in the city; Xing Yi District, Tong Hua Night Market, DeAn Forest Park & Qing Tian Street, Buo Ai District, Xi Man Ding were finalized.

1, The Xing Xi District is an area of growth and development where the Taipei 101 building stands.
2, The Tong Hue Night Market is a lively area at night.
3, DeAn Forest Park & Quing Tian Street is a combined park and residential area.
4, Buo Ai District is an area of public services and government activity.
5, Xi Men Ding is similar to Harajuku in Tokyo, a favorite shopping area with the younger crowd.

Chief Mende and the student groups then gathered in area 1, the Xing Yi District for a on-hands instruction on the Lighting Detective’s method of a city walk. Most participants were first-timers and eagerly listen to instructions. Lastly, each team was given the challenge to find their own heroes and villains of light in each area and present it on two large panels at the forum.

Homework: Two Weeks Preparation
・Each group went to assigned area and find their Hero and Villain.
・Each group made two panels showing all members photo, research area map, a chart of Hero and Villain with photos.

2.Children’s Workshop
Xue Xue Institute is very eager to education the younger children and requested a children`s lantern-making AKARI workshop. Twenty-five children attended the workshop. Along with lantern-making, we also want the children to experience different types of light and incorporated a “light and dark experience” into the workshop. The experience started with a completely dark room and then the flame of a single lighter. The children experienced how bright a single flame really is. Next, we switched on different lamps, fluorescent lights, LED and others for the children to see with their own eyes the differences and similarities.

September 20th, Forum Day 1: homework review and city night survey

1.Homework Review and Group Discussion
14 TNT members joined the 40 students from Taiwan for the first day of workshops. First, each group presented panels on the Hero and Villain homework assignment given 2 weeks before. The depth of surveying and panel design varied from each group, but TNT members asked many question and readily gave advice. After presentations, each group discussed how to improve their presentation and panels and then went back to each city walk area to look for new clues.

2.City Night Survey
Draped in white or blue plastic rain ponchos, members of the XI Men Ding team headed out into the rain. Xi Men Ding is a compact shopping area very popular with young adults and overflowing with just about anything and everything for a very exciting experience. The team revisited several key nightscape points in the area, taking pictures, measuring lux levels, drawing sketches, and recording other information. Amongst some historical buildings there was bright signage, blinding media walls, street lights, and other lighting elements. The group stopped to discuss what makes a lighting hero? or lighting villain? and how do we change the lighting environment to make it more pleasant? These were speedy discussions, but necessary to formulate material and add direction to the presentation.

September 21th, Forum Day 2: forum presentation and pecha kucha night

1.Forum Presentation
Preparation:
In spite of the storm and a late night of surveying, team members were up bright and early to work on proposals and presentations, which continued into the afternoon. Streams of thought were made clearer, survey results more concrete, and panels designs smoother. Working through lunch, TNT members guided speaking presentation preparations, instructing on how to interest the audience or maybe even make them laugh. In my particular group, the tasks very divided and the team worked efficiently. Their energy was contagious, and as their adviser, my advice was direct and to the point.

Presentation 15:00-17:00:
Even though it was storming outside, 80 attendees gathered in the auditorium for the TNT Forum. Each team had a short 20 minutes to present all information, including introduction of the survived area, hero and villains of light, and proposals. Unfortunately, translating from Chinese to English also took up valuable time need to explain ideas. Although Q&A time was also limited, the workshop and forum aroused considerable interest in the lighting environment of the city and we hope Lighting Detective activities will continue in Taiwan.

Including the pre-workshop, overall, the TNT Forum was a 3-day event, allowing the Taiwan participants to really dig deep into their surveys. Participants included, lighting designers, architects, and interior designers, but also teacher, accountants, and others from completing different professions. This melting pot of participants lead to interesting discussions, approaches, and proposals in preparation for the final presentation. Xue Xue is an institute of design that opened its doors to the TNT Forum and we hope it will continue to address the culture of light, also.

2.Pecha Kucha Night
Pecha Kucha Night started in Tokyo in February 2003, and is now a globally recognized presentation format, with events held in over 700 cities. Based on a certain theme, each presenter has 20 slides and 20 seconds for each slide. The TNT Forum collaborated with the September 2013 PechaKucha Global Night for a special edition to the Forum. The first presenter was Noriko Higashi who explained about the Lighting Detectives and the organizations various activities. The following 9 presenters each presented personal experiences and other stories around the theme of light. Even though a storm was upon the small island, a large crowd of young people gathered for this creative event.

September 22th, Tainan Excursion

After the closing of the TNT Forum in Taipei, TNT members headed south to the City of Tainan to enjoy a lighting event and view the city. In collaboration with the Moonlight Festival, temples in the city were illuminated. Instead of the regular fluorescent light bulbs, many temples were bathed in warm, soft light from incandescent lighting. As in Taipei, bright LED roadway lighting is also readily used in Tainan. Because of resent energy conservation codes, most roadway lighting in Taiwan has been replaced with LED fittings. The problem is not the LED fittings, itself, but lighting that is environmentally conscious and a little bit more people-friendly would be appreciated. This was a hot topic amongst TNT members and led our conversation at dinnertime.