City Night Survey : Urumqi, China

Date of Issue：31 January, 2020 ・Activity 1/ The 65 Night walk: Ikebukuro (2019.11.15） ・Activity 2 / The 62 Round table discussion (2019.11.29） ・Activity 3 / RE-IMAGINING GOLDEN MILE（2019.11.01） Newsletter Vol.102  Download PDF Investigating the nightscape of Ikebukuro–a city that escaped the clutches of disappearance 2019.11.15　Tomoya Furukawa+Shinichi Sakaguchi+Wen Yan Zhang+Noriko Higashi Toshima-ku is aiming to be a city known worldwide as a center for art and culture. At their plan’s center lies within the redevelopment of Ikebukuro. We focused our investigation on the light of the parks within their redevelopment and compared it with Shibuya and Shinjuku. A 360 degree photo of Sunshine Street bursting with white light Group 1: JR Ikebukuro→Nakaikebukuro Park→Sunshine60→West Ikebukuro Central Park Nakaikebukuro Park and HAREZA creating a good mood. The red staircase stands out The white façade on PARCO leaves a good impression Group 1’s main objectives for their investigation was the newly opened HAREZA and the renewed Nakaikebukuro Park. We started out nicely with the well-coordinated white façade of the PARCO and Maker’s logo, and the well-rounded Bic Camera’s façade, but soon we were disappointed by the excessive amounts of light that spilled from the stores. The pink Christmas decorations on the streetlights on Sunshine Street also got bad reviews from us. Some places showed an intention to create an exquisite or posh mood but it’s a mixed batch. Our main objective this time: Nakaikebukuro Park was lit very evenly at a perfect brightness, allowing it…

Date of Issue: June 18, 2025・Activity 1/ City Night Survey: Chandigarh, India（2025.01.15-01.19）・Activity 2/ City Night Survey: Hida Furukawa, Furukawa Festival （2025.04.19）・Activity 3/ Night Walk Vol.76: Tachikawa（2025.04.25）・Activity 4/ Round Table Discussion Vol.73: Review on Tachikawa（2025.05.27） City Night Survey: Chandigarh, India2025.01.15-01.19 Masafumi Yamamoto + Yuichi Anzai About 65 years ago, a vast area at the foothills of the Himalayas was divided into districts for government functions, commerce, education, and residences, with separated roads, creating a landscape completely different from other Indian cities. This survey takes a multifaceted approach to examine Chandigarh’s urban lighting and nightscape, while observing the natural light expressions inspired by Le Corbusier’s architecture. ■Light RaysFirst, I quote the words of Le Corbusier:“Chandigarh is planned on a human scale. It connects to the infinite universe and nature. It is a place for all human activities where citizens can live a rich and harmonious life. Here, the radiance of nature and the heart is within our reach.”A vast paved ground is moistened by a dense white mist. About 180 meters ahead from where I stand, the High Court building faintly appears. Its enormous facade faces east and west. The sky behind peeks from beneath the portico, and the rays of light passing through it gently caress the huge concrete pillars painted red, yellow, and green, casting the morning sun on the ground. In this city, I encountered several lyrical daylight scenes. I believe this is because the philosophy of Atelier Le Corbusier in Paris, who…

Written by Charles StoneLighting DesignerNew York・Seattle・Tucson My favorite memories as a Lighting Detective are those hours spent around a table or in a circle of chairs with the other Core Detectives talking about light. We come from 12 countries and varying professional backgrounds. I am always thrilled by their wide ranging poetic and scientific observations about light, as artists, practitioners, educators….and lighting designers. The one unique and crucial ability of a career Lighting Design professional is our observation skill: we are and must be, Expert Observers. This means we must understand the science and application of light, and that we must be able to express, often in words alone, as Detective Gustavo would say, “..how the light feels.” During these past 18 months, in the FMS studios, our hands-on evaluation of light fittings, whether in mock ups or in the daily parade of manufacturers’ products … has gone dark. Normally, we are fiddling with lights, discussing how the beam looks on a wall, and disassembling samples (sometimes breaking them “by accident”.)  The remarkable dynamic range of the human eye requires us to pay attention to high lux level experiences too. Alas, we have also been missing daylight mock ups and site visits to evaluate daylighting. These absent observation activities create a problem that must to be solved. If you wish to be (or remain) an Expert Observer, it’s not enough to look at lighting effects in the world: you must…

What God do I put my hands together for and pray to? Of course I’ve been to many shrines and temples, but also frequent many Christian churches and Muslim mosques while in foreign countries. I watch the worshipers there and pray as they pray. This is my religious etiquette. In any land and with any people there are not just fun times, but also trying times and sad times. Some might think my religious practice is shady, but in my own level of rational and logic I believe that it just seems right to worship both God and Buddha. Of course I am an atheist and have no definite religious affiliation. However, in the last few years, I have gone to worship at a local shrine, Meiji Shrine, near our office in Shibuya Ward. These are not just spontaneous visits, but official visits by appointment. First, we were involved with the lighting design of Meiji Shrine and accepted their kind offer. Nervously, two other staff and I were all of a sudden thrust into the middle of an official ceremony, but this year was different. LPA applied for an official visit and my suit and tie clad staff and I spent a reflective moment in the shrine. We could hear the throng of a drum, letting the gods know we were coming as we headed towards the inner shrine. While in procession, a low beam of sunlight from behind fell…

Night Walk @Singapore Botanic Gardens Landscape and Parks 2018/10/11 Mayumi Banno＋Sunyoung Hwang ri Goh Two walks in the month of October with professionals from the landscape and lighting industry. One in the real nature and the other in the concrete jungle! Group picture at the wrap-up session! This end of year had us finishing off with 2 walks in the exciting month of October! We had a walk at Singapore Botanic Gardens where it was the first time that we solely focussed on inviting professionals to participate. Shortly after that, we conducted another Heroes and Villains walk at Marina Bay in conjunction with PLDC Singapore 2018. Measuring lux levels at the visitor’s entrance Heroes and Villains review! On the way to the Bandstand for the Guerilla light-up activity ■Singapore Botanic Gardens Walk On Thursday 11th October, Lighting Detectives Singapore chapter organised a walk to the only UNESCO World Heritage Site on the sunny island, Singapore Botanic Gardens. Only recently awarded the title in 2015, the garden consists of three lakes, the signature National Orchid Garden and a Rainforest amongst many other attractions. It is also the third garden in the world to be listed as a World Heritage Site. 　 Landscape and Parks was our theme for the third walk and we wanted to examine what was so different in the lighting environment of the nation’s pride and joy and how the government balances the concern they have for the…