Small-Group Night Walk Review
2021.12.02 Noriko HIgashi
This salon was held online as a review of the small-group night walk surveys conducted in November, with 22 participants attending. The session ended up running 30 minutes over time, filled with rich and engaging content.
This was the 7th time we hosted a salon online. While the convenience of joining from anywhere is a clear benefit, there’s still something missing in terms of the sense of unity that comes from gathering in person for discussions. That said, the idea of conducting simultaneous night walk surveys in different locations and coming together afterward for an online review—something we never would have considered before COVI —has proven to be a highly effective approach.
This time, the reviewed areas included five locations in Tokyo, as well as Kyoto, Nagoya, and Suzhou in China, totaling eight locations. Unlike our previous format where a single area would be divided into three or four sections for review, this time each report focused on completely different areas. As a result, the volume of information needed to explain not just the lighting but also the local context was vastly greater. We initially planned for a 90-minute salon, but it quickly became clear that wasn’t enough time—we ended up going 30 minutes over.
The content shared during the salon followed the night walk survey reports from the previous page, and once again, each team prepared impressively thorough materials for their presentation. Every time, I’m struck by how rich these reports are, and it feels like a shame to share them only within the salon setting. Moving forward, we hope to begin publishing these materials on the Lighting
Detectives website starting next year.
We are also considering trying out online platforms beyond just Zoom—tools that might allow for more interactive communication among participants. Since it seems that COVID-19 will continue to restrict our activities for a while longer, this may be the perfect time to explore ways to make the wealth of information we’ve accumulated—surveys, photographs, salon reports, and more—publicly accessible in some form.
We’re also looking to collect ideas from our members. If there’s a type of activity you’d like us to pursue, or an area you’d like to see investigated, please don’t hesitate to contact the office with your suggestions.
In addition, we’re always happy to receive photos related to lighting. Submitted images are shared weekly on our social media channels, so be sure to check those out along with the website. Let’s hope that next year we’ll be able to resume in-person night walks and night-watching tours. We look forward to another exciting year of Lighting Detectives activities! (Noriko Higashi)
