Hoi An was once a flourishing intermediate city of trade. Now, the city is trying to protect the traditional streetscape to appeal as a tourist destination. The nostalgic lantern festival, which was held every full moon, is being reintegrat…

The largest city in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, has developed into the center of economic activity for the country. The city is in the mists of a huge transformation with new building wherever you turn. We will have to wait and see how the street…

Putrajaya has been developed as the new center for government since its functional move from the former capital Kuala Lumpur. The city planning is very representative of the nation’s authority and symbolic in nature with a very elaborate li…

Georgetown is a town with a very colonial atmosphere. The entire city still has many surviving historical landmarks from its period of British rule and a collective colonial feel to its cityscape. However, it is very different then the beau…

Kuala Lumpur is one of the major cities of Southeast Asia. Recent economic grow has transformed the city, with numerous skyscrapers now dotting the skyline. The outdoor market is a conglomeration of people who seem to naturally congregate h…

Taking a drive along the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway is a great experience in the sequence of Tokyo light. In one drive you can catch glimpses of Tokyo Tower in between buildings, awe at the endless Ginza neon signage, and hide in the dar…

Saint Petersburg is a city of deep imperial and artistic culture. As the city was once the capital of the Russian Empire, many impressive palaces and cathedrals convey this great history. Although, there are not many newly constructed build…

During the day short sleeves are fine, but even the Russian summer nights are cool with a little bit of white breathe after the sun goes down. Many main roads run through the middle of Moscow with classic Stalin style architecture lining th…

The streets of Moscow are mostly buried in shadows except for a few groups of lucent buildings, maybe an expression of authority. During the intense commercial time bawdy lights are lost, along with street activity, and stillness returns to…

Roppongi has many faces including, an entertainment district with a foreign twist, new offices for daily business, and is developing as a center for the Tokyo art scene. The Lighting Detectives sped around on their bikes in April to discove…

Five main canals fan out from the central station to form the city of Amsterdam. In contrast to the nostalgic streetscape along the canals, newly redeveloped areas include modern Dutch architecture with a touch of humor. Because these build…

A city for the young and young at heart, Shibuya. The area is composed of a mess of streets all with a different atmosphere, including a few main streets connected by narrower alleyways. Each street has developed its own personality and rol…

Because of previous colonial rule and occupation by Spain, USA, and Japan, many different cultures are accepted in the Philippines. As with architecture or cuisine, the uniquely arranged culture is also visible in the lighting environment. …

Wien is a city of artistic culture built upon the glory of the Habsburg Family Rein. Floodlights illuminate the heavy, stone architecture along the old streets, but just across the way is newer architecture with systems of LED`s that illumi…

Ljubljana, the self-contained capital of Slovenia has a charming old cityscape made up of buildings topped with red tiled roofs. At dusk, people flock to the Ljubljana River to rest after a busy day and watch the lights come on over the cit…

Graz is the second largest city in Austria. The Mor River runs through the center, with old cityscape and warm-colored street lighting giving the city a cozy feel. On the other hand, Kunst Haus and other newer architecture have added an ele…

The Marunouchi district in the center of Tokyo has been transformed in recent years from a business and financial center to the latest redevelopment to intertwine commercial and office space. Our survey started in Marunouchi, as we closed i…

Spring of 2007 in the city-state of Hong Kong; a million dollar nightscape along the waterfront, rows of neon signs create the streetscape, and everywhere you look construction sites for new skyscrapers. The transformation of the city is la…

Bangkok, a city in a swirl of on-going change. In our previous survey of Tokyo’s Kanda River, we discover that the backs of buildings face the river creating and area of dark contrast in the middle of the city. But here along the Chaopraya …

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 a…