Lighting Hero & Villain of the month is now up!

Date of Issued：July 03, 2017 ・Activity 1／Night Walk:Kamata （2017/08/25） ・Activity 2／Regular Round Table Discussion （2017/09/06） ・Activity 3／BELGRADE OF LIGHT 2017 （2017/09/04-09/10） Newsletter Vol.83　Download PDF Night Walk:Kamata Search for borders of Kamata’s lighting where is four train lines’ intersection and experiencing transformation transient 2017/08/25　Tomoya Furukawa+Simeng Huang+Shiho Narimoto+Eiki Takeuchi Kamata Night Walk MAP Kamata has variety feces. Does the border of lighting exist in Kamata? We devided JR Kamata line area into four parts and researched them. Bourbon road that has the Showa feeling Teaching tips of night walk for 5 people participating first time Entrance of the Sunrise Road, arcade goes through for 400 meters ■Group 1: JR Kamata Station-West exit, Tokyu line Group 1 went from Granduo West Building→400 meters arcade, “Sunrise Kamata” →”Sun Road”, place where canopy was first provided in 1965→”Bourbon Road” which has many attracting restaurants. Members were surprised of how dark it was around the entrance of the station when they came out from the West Bldg. There were no light dust on neither on the road nor vertical surface, and it was about 10 lux. Down lights under the eaves were not lighting up. Many people felt lighting should improve for safety and reassurance. On the Tokyu Plaza Façade in front of the station, there was an advertisement with LED emitting strong light, and a banner advertisement. However, there were some opinions saying lighting quantity of a banner advertisement was way less than the other…

Interviewer:　Misa Fujii A Love letter from Kaoru Mende: Dear Misa, I think you are a person with a lot of vitality and an amazing lighting designer.   When I say “Feel free to think freely,”  you always seem to come up with a killer idea, unlike anyone else.   I think that if we wait and see, you are headed towards becoming an incredible woman of unbound spirit. Fujii :　 I`d like to start today by recalling the love letter you wrote me. Mende : 　Oh, yes… I wrote this on the flight coming back to Tokyo from Shanghai.  I think I had finished a couple glasses of champagne. Fujii :　So, you were feeling good and scribbled out this love letter. Mende :　 I just wanted to  acknowledge and praise the innocent  power of imagination dwelling inside of you.   This purity and devotion is an irreplaceable qualification for not just a lighting designer, but any designer in general. Fujii :　Well, how about you?  Are you pure and innocent? Mende :　That is a good question!  I don`t think I am innocent, but maybe pure.   I have been told I play favorites to all sides of the field. Fujii :　Really?! Mende :　Oh, yes and maybe they are right.  In business situations, I try not to be too opinionated so we can all get along.  In other words, there are times when you have to suppress your opinions and listen to what the others have to say. …

New things are happening along Singapore’s famous Orchard Road. A new season of lighting is being born. The Bidford Junction, near Takashimaya and Paragon, also the busiest along Orchard Road, became a scramble crossing once every 30 minutes. During this time, 「Garden City, Working on Water, Aurora, Starry Night Sky」, a series of images will be projected onto the roadway, creating a light pattern on the pavement while pedestrians crisscross paths. The idea and design came from the Singapore government and LPA was in charge of the project to transform a strategic transit spot into a theatrical stage. The pedestrians caught in the rainbow of light are the actors who excitedly perform on stage as they cross the intersection. This might be the first lighting display of its kind in the world. Right now we are also in the middle of working with the government on the Singapore City Centre Lighting Exhibit on display. The exhibit displays a proposal for a lighting master plan for the city and also outlines basic guidelines of urban lighting. According to this proposal, the junction lighting is a realization of the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) first attempt to redevelop Orchard Road. There are more details about this on the STB website. However the main purpose of this one event was to not just have a well lit intersection, but redesign the existing light plus α. While increasing the percentage of reflection on the road…

Written by Ulrike BrandiLighting DesignerHamburg In March 2020 I sent out our annual spring card and wrote: Dear friends, As the beginning of spring and our spring card coincide with the spread of the Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2, I cannot send our card without comment.Fortunately, it is spring.A crisis is also an opportunity for something new, something better. This is my hope and I pay attention to every little sign. Could we create an economic system that is not so mercilessly based on inequality and growth? One that is not so sensitive to taking time off, being healthy, experiencing anxiety, protecting and caring for the needy, and reflection? Instead of returning to our “regular” way-of-life, I wish us all a more compassionate, loving, respectful, and unified attitude towards humanity and nature. In August 2021 I see: The world is on fire, as we can see from the satellite images of recent weeks. Floods and storms claim human lives, blackens the earth, driving people all over the world into long term existential distress. The global extinction of species continues unabated, and COVID-19 is also a consequence of increasing ignorance. In the face of these wide-ranging changes that challenge us, we emphatically desire to make an impact in order to live in a truly sustainable way. Lighting design is a small but influential profession. Our contribution can be impactful. Light pollution: Let’s minimize and avoid light pollution in all our projects by providing our…

Tianjin is situated 150km east of Beijing and easily reached in a 30-minute high-speed train ride. Historically, foreign influence including the UK and Germany has shaped the western-style architecture and streetscape that this city is famed. Tianjin also poses the largest harbor in Northern China, a gateway for this economical and technical development zone. Upon exiting the main station, a panoramic view of the city awaits. The western architecture, remnants from the foreign settlements era, is illuminated in low-color temperature light and stands in contrast to the newly constructed skyscrapers. A historical western architectural structure is now used as a banking facility. At night, orange-colored fluorescent and high-pressure sodium lamps softly illuminate the facade. Downtown is also bustling with construction. During the day the area is swarming with shoppers and construction site workers. At night, mega size digital media, neon signage, and colorful lanterns are everywhere, with even more foreseeable in the future as the construction boom continues.