Round Table Discussion

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…

2024.11.21-24 Chuanyi Liu + Jiang Kunzhi Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam where history and modernity blend seamlessly. Thanks to its rich cultural heritage, it has established itself as one of Southeast Asia’s premier tourist destinations. In this city where the Old Quarter, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, and Lotte Tower coexist, we explore Hanoi’s nightscape culture through the lens of light. Vietnam, a populous nation of 100 million people, has Hanoi as its capital serving as the political, cultural, and economic center as well as a key transportation hub. In July 2020, the Vietnamese government issued Decision No. 1129, promoting the development of the night economy and designating Hanoi as the pilot city for this initiative. The city’s rich heritage and unique cultural arts provide favorable conditions for the growth of Hanoi’s night tourism. Hanoi’s urban lighting exhibits distinct characteristics depending on the area and function. In the Old Quarter, narrow alleys and historic buildings create a lively atmosphere with bustling night markets. The nighttime lighting here mainly consists of creatively designed decorative lights at individual shops, which enhance the vibrant energy. Around Hoan Kiem Lake, soft lights reflected on the water’s surface and the illumination of the Turtle Tower standing in the lake harmonize to create a calm and serene nightscape. In the new urban area, modern building facades and bright LED lighting present a contemporary and sophisticated city image. Dynamic light displays further emphasize the lively spirit of the area….

Looking over the Nagoya nightscape from the symbolic Television Broadcasting Tower, Hisaya Boulevard stands out in the center and orange sodium lamps dominate the park below. The new trendy spot in Nagoya, Oasis 21, along Hisaya Boulevard. We climbed up the Television Broadcasting Tower before dusk so we could sit back and watch nature’s light show over the city with Oasis 21 in the foreground. Various mechanisms of light are incorporated into the design of Oasis 21, a former LPA project and winner of IESNA 2003 Award of Merit. One characteristic of Hisaya Boulevard nightscape is that the scenery always includes the Television Broadcasting Tower. Whether from the illuminated water fountain, Central Bridge, Central Park, or Oasis 21 all are framed just like a picture postcard with the Tower in the background.

Global Nightscape survey in Melbourne 2014.11.11-11.15　　Misuzu Nakamura+Haruka Sakoda　 For 4 years running, Melbourne has been chosen as the best place in the world to live. City planning has successfully focused on public space to build one of the world’s leading and charming cities. The cityscape is harmonious balance of old and new buildings. Main avenues lined with trees and lampposts are beautifully maintained, along with smaller alleyways, and even the waterfront along the river flowing through the middle of the city is carefully planned. We surveyed the Melbourne nightscape in search of the secret to its coziness. We can clearly feel the difference of lighting atmosphere between CBD area which is occupied with blacked-out buildings and surrounding local area which is covered by twinkling warm-colored street lights, when we look down from “Eureka Sky Deck”. The lighting plan of the city seems to have intent to differentiate business districts and cozy alleyways, using different color temperature as public lights. The waterfront area was well-maintained with designed pole lights and façade lighting from the surroundings, but some of tree lightings were by glaring spotlights. Many people were enjoying their walk along the river. We found a lot of “catenary downlights” in the city. Instead of pole lighting, catenaries covered large squares, wide intersections and narrow pathway between the building. When the night falls, the downlights looked like a starry sky. As we can see that so many people were gathering at…

June 22, 2007 Sumer Solstice “Turn off the lights and take it slow.” Candle Night, a environmental and energy conservation event that also focuses on habits of the modern lifestyle and finding ones inner sense of time, is the brainchild of a environmental NGO. During the one night event, main building facilities are “lit down” and in different areas of the country candlelight events are held, and keep growing each year. According to the official Candle Night web site, this year over a three-day period from June 22 to June 24, 897 candlelight events were recorded. The Lighting Detectives have been involved with this event since our first candle event along Harajuku Cat Street in 2003. In 2005, we moved our event to Omotesando to attract a larger crowd. Participants originally heard of the event by word of mouth from Chief Kaoru Mende, but have grown to involve students from area art universities, other business professionals and members of the Lighting Detectives. Including volunteers for the day of the event, staff has grown to over 300 persons. The “Candle Night @ Omotesando – Eco Avenue” event includes a schedule of three activities for the night. First the event is off to an energetic start with the candle parade down Omotesando by the children of the Jingu-mae Elementary School located behind Omotesando Hills. As the marching continues, a spectacle of candle installations is lit along the main street, as some storefronts…