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Childhood memories which influences you as a lighting designer Interviewer:　Quratuaini Bte Jamil Aini：Hi, Mr Mende. I would like to discuss about childhood activities or memories which influences you as a lighting designer. Mende：Sure but you should share me your childhood experiences first. Aini： My childhood memories mostly consist of the few years I spend with my mom. Mende：Do you remember any lighting elements when you walk with your mom? Aini： I was too young to notice lighting. I see only prominent things to me at that age. Mende： How old were you then? Aini： I was 4 years old. Mende： So it seems it could be around 20 years ago. Do darkness of night invoke a feeling of fright? How about the brightness at home? Ainie： I was never afraid of the dark. Lights in my old home were very basic to give general brightness and fixtures are mostly conventional. Although, I remember general spaces the most. There was this road intersection downtown that has a bus stop in front. A colonial white building standing in the background. I think that was the beginning for my love towards architecture and history. Mende： How about night festivals? Aini： Not many. Although I do remember a night I share with my family. I used to live in woodlands in a compound HDB flat which has a central courtyard as a communal sharing space. One lantern festival night, the big moon shone brightly….

Date: Nov. 2-8, 1998Place: Tokyo Design Center, Galleria Hall What kind of changes can we expect to see in the Tokyo nightscape of 2050? Through the discussion of experts from various fields and the prophecies of a 100 prophets, we were able to piece together clues to the nightscape of this bustling city a half a century away. Talk Events ／Round Table Live Talk 2050／World Nightscape Talk We had a round-table discussion for seven consecutive days. Up to eight elite speakers will sit around a 2.4 m diameter round table and discuss under each theme. From the 1st to the 7th session, we discussed the issues of [Earth / Energy, Urban / Architecture, Information / Media, Science / Technology, Art / Design, Body / Sensation, Climate / Geography] and exchange future prediction theory. On the last session, we had a lap-up talk to conclude all talk series . It is not a symposium with a stiff shoulder, but operates in a friendly salon atmosphere.

Date: November 23rd, 2006 Program: City Tour, Workshop, Exhibition, Symposium Venue: URA Center Transnational Tanteidan Forum 2006 in Singapore In 2002, the Transnational Tanteidan Forum started in Tokyo, moved to Europe and the US, and, now in its fifth year, the forum was held in the tropical island-city of Singapore. Once again chapter members gathered for the yearly event to get reacquainted and share lighting experiences. Façade Lighting The theme this year was façade lighting. The façade, said to be the face of architecture, is sensitive to light at night. Illuminations can add to a building’s charm and highlight it’s features, but can also leave a damaging expression. Architecture, the face of a city, creates a nightscape unique to each city and area. How façade lighting affects the nightscape of a city was the topic of this year’s forum. The night started with our top presenter, Singapore member, Ms. Toh Yah Li. Yah Li introduced the different areas of Singapore, focusing on the CBD district and the skyscrapers along the waterfront. The reflection of this group of skyscrapers in the bay is distinctive of the Singapore nightscape, but the light permeating from the windows of high-rise public housing is also a classic view of Singapore. Next on the program were Hamburg lighting designers, Mr. Christof Fielstette and Ms. Ulrike Brandi. The pair presented on the illumination of the city hall and other historical buildings with classic stone facades, but as…

Interviewer:　Hiroyuki Miyake Theme：Development in Technology and the Changing Role of Light in 2050 Miyake　Today I`d like to discuss the “Role of Light” in the future over a broad span of time.  In interviews conducted with 100 people for the Tokyo Nightscape 2050 Exhibit, predictions for the future, such as fixture modifications, developments in luminous materials, shifts in people’s preferences in brightness were all based on existing parameters.   But I don`t think that is the whole story.  I think the role of light is going to change dramatically. A poster of the exhibition “Tokyo NIghtscape 2050” held in November, 1998 at Tokyo Design Center Mende　Light has two basic roles.  One is the ability to help us distinguish shapes, read words, and do work.  Second,  light is used to make people feel good, comfortable, or inspired. Miyake　I think the timing and necessity will suddenly arise for changes in the role of visual tasks because of technological revolutions or lifestyle transformations in the future.   For example, task lighting may not be needed for reading while doing work on a computer monitor. Mende　Yes, I suspect that the value of standard brightness or levels of brightness  will wind down and the methods used to judge the value of these standards will change.  Naturally, this will lead to a reduction in the number of fixtures needed and the improvement of each fixture in terms of quality and function.  I have always said that street lamps will…

What does the picture to the right look like? A bunch of boy and girls locked up in a cage making a racket? Close, but take another look. Some in the group ARE climbing the high fence, but only to get a better view. This is the observation deck of the Taipei 101 Building with the LPA staff surveying the city nightscape. At dusk we climbed the Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building at 508m. Unfortunately an unexpected high fence surrounds the open-air observation deck, a huge intrusion on the view. Some of the staff tried to get a better view by looking over the top, but scattered after being yelled at by the security guard. Some still wouldn’t climb down from the fence… Unfortunately, the Taipei nightscape does not have any distinguishing features, but only strange little dots of light scattered around the base of this building. Most of the LPA staff were a little disappointed, but have categorized Taipei as a comparatively tame Asian nightscape. Taipei is famous for the manufacturing and wholesale of extremely cheap LED units, but the lights around the city are very much subdued. The reason I was surprised is because I have an image of Shanghai’s hyperactive lighting environment stuck in my head when it comes to Asia. Shanghai is one symbol of the recent development in China, but comparatively Taipei has a very individual style that is just starting to form. Every…