Time schedule for Mexico Forum has been released!

I invite you to take a little stroll through Harajuka and down Omotesando. For the holiday season, six-meter tall lanterns line the street and emit a soft Japanese light-like glow. The illumination along this particular street started in the 90`s and was a huge success, but damage to the trees forced the street into darkness. Now, eight years later the street is aglow again. Before the area community chamber of commerce was named ｢Harajuku Champ d`Elysees Group｣, but are now called ｢The Harajuku / Omotesando Community Group｣ and the street has been dubbed “Eco Avenue,” transforming into an environmental-friendly enterprise. About a year and a half ago we started to meet with local businesses for workshops aimed at creating a fresh new kind of lighting event. After so many discussions we decided on not an illumination, but lantern light for the street. Although the street is a very modern strip overflowing with western culture influences, Omotesando is also an important approach for Meiji Shrine. So honoring both worlds we have pre-programmed lighting fit for a festive Christmas spirit, but the colors and atmosphere will be strictly Japanese for the New Years celebration. At first there was a lot of brainstorming and any and all design ideas were presented and discussed. A huge arcade of light, tree-shaped lights and other geometric forms floating in light, low Japanese-style light close to the pavement, or long strips of light hanging in the air…

2024.05.30 Noriko Higashi A review of the May 10 City Night Survey was held. 20 people gathered at LPA on Friday night to discuss the lighting in the newest spot, Azabudai Hills.We did the review of the May 10 Azabudai Hills & Toranomon Hills Station Tower City Night Survey. The leaders of the groups summarized their opinions and made presentations using photos of the heroes and villain of each group. The report from each group seemed to have more heroes than the past town walks.I would like to report some common points and notable contents from each group’s presentation ■Media ceiling behind the eaves of Toranomon Hills Station Tower　Most of the teams had never seen a media ceiling before and highly evaluated it as an interesting new landmark. Some commented that the ceiling’s moving projections led visitors’ viewpoints upward, making the space appear larger. The digital lighting is very symbolic and suitable for the entrance of a new city which makes it deserve to be a hero. ■Azabudai Hills Landscape LightingA slightly darker lighting scheme that makes people naturally want to visit the brightly lit storefronts in the back of the building. The approach to the commercial area is less bright, making the store facade more conspicuous. The uplighting of trees, which usually tends to be a villain, was also well-lit, although there were some too dazzling spots depending on the type of tree. Opinions about the lighting at the…

Interviewer:　Simen Huang Theme：Why Chinese people love colors Simeng　Today I`d like to discuss the reasons why Chinese people prefer bold or vibrant colors. In recent years, LPA has landed many projects in China. I`m sure the clients ask for bold color choices. Mende　 Yes, it seems to be that way. Simeng　 I, myself, along with most Chinese people feel a sense of enthusiasm toward bold or vibrant colors. I don’t think it is just because we like glitz and pazazz or don`t understand the quality of single color luminaries. In my opinion I think this phenomenon is rooted in our cultural background. China night scene using extreme color lighting Forbidden City-Chinese Culture That Loves Color Mende　You mean to say that Chinese clients prefer colorful lighting, not because it is trendy, but a completely different deeper reason? Simeng　That is correct. I think I had this realization around the time when the length of my stay in Japan became the same as my time living in China. I remember feeling that Japanese seem to conform to those around them and have the habit of blending in with the crowd, while Chinese like to assert their individuality. We don’t like to be the same as those around us and have a strong conscious feeling that “I am different from you.” Mende　Yes, we even have a saying in Japanese “The nail that sticks out get hammered down.” We are a culture that lives by conforming…

Because of previous colonial rule and occupation by Spain, USA, and Japan, many different cultures are accepted in the Philippines. As with architecture or cuisine, the uniquely arranged culture is also visible in the lighting environment. But behind the bright lights and in the shadows, we also saw a gap in the standard of living. For many people the church is a stronghold in their lives. The walls of this church were brightly lit with fluorescent lights and for relief from the heat several fans are also mounted on the walls, a nightscape very familiar in Asia. The floodlights bath the facade in featureless, flat light. In the area of town where Spanish architecture is still preserved hang sodium lamps, giving everything, walls, ground, and buildings an orangish glow. The dark green vegetation by the day is lost, but the historical atmosphere of the street seems like a scene out of a period movie. In the poorer areas of the city burned out streetlights are everywhere, but in the wealthier areas high-rise apartments and office buildings stand tall and just like in any other big city, there is a lack of individualism in this nightscape. Compared to the intensity of light in adjacent neighborhoods, the economical gap is prominent.

Vol.57 Night Walk：ＴＸ（Tsukuba Express）Area The last developed major railway in the capital region, Tsukuba Express – The lighting for the development of railway line succeeded? 05/12/2017　Satoshi Tamura + Yusuke Wakata + Sinichi Sakaguchi + Tomoya Furukawa More than 10 years have passed since Tsukuba Express (EX) was opened in 2005. The areas along the railway line, where used to be vacant sites at EX opening time, are being developed. We explored the towns along the railway and new shopping mall to find out how the new towns have been developed from vacant sites, and how the urban lighting has been designed. Kashiwanoha-campus Station : T-site Apartment in Kashiwanoha : Does it affect for the balconies? Kashiwanoha : Temporary lighting with 3000K for the boundary wall of construction site Nagareyama-ōtakanomori SC : It’s new and we liked the overall lighting Nagareyama : The dark road in the old residential area ■Group A : Kashiwanoha-campus Station We walked around Kashiwanoha-campus Station. (Station square→LaLaport→Mitsui Garden Hotel→High-rise apartment area→T site→Station square) This area was designed as “Smart City”, and uniform color temperature using 3000K. It looked comfortable mood, and we expected we could find a lot of Heroes. The followings are “Hero and Villain”, which we found in this city walk. The designs of light pole in the station square and at the bus stop looked nice and we liked them. On the other hand, the lighting of the platform of TX didn’t look…