2018/10/13-23 Mikine Yamamoto + Kouki Iwanaga This was our first South American survey in about 15 years. We tracked the light expression of Rio de Janeiro, a port city marked by both entertainment and poverty, which hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 and has become increasingly international. While possessing famous coasts like Copacabana and Ipanema and being counted as one of the world’s three most beautiful harbors, it also has the “favela” slums covering its hillsides. Surrounded by magnificent nature, Santiago, Chile’s largest city, has annual rainfall of only about 360mm, meaning it is sunny for most of the year. We investigated the lighting situation of this city blessed with natural light. The nightscape from Pão de Açúcar: A beautiful contrast created by the rich topography Viewing Copacabana Beach from Pão de Açúcar Favelas built on the mountain slopes ■Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Rio de Janeiro is an international tourist city that hosted the Carnival and the Olympics in 2016. It is said to be a microcosm of the country, where light and darkness coexist: scenic areas with beautiful topography blending nature and culture are situated next to slums. We surveyed the light expressions of this city, which has various faces, including the glamorous light of tourist and resort areas, and the strangely glowing light of the favelas (slums) where poor communities gather, reflecting the lives of the people.The suburbs leading from the…

Worldwide City Lighting Report in Copenhagen / Stockholm December 2-9, 2017　|　Written by: Hu Lin and Simeng Huang Located in high latitudes on the Northern Hemisphere, northern European countries including Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are known to be very unique in terms of the seasonal natural phenomena – the midnight sun during the summer, and the polar night during winter. In this December, we went to some of the cities experiencing the polar night during winter to research lighting environment. Considering extremely long night hours can affect circadian rhythm, are city lighting and residential lighting in those countries designed to eliminate the problem? In this trip we closely looked at the light environment that are unique to Northern Europe, gained through observation of public facilities and residential lighting. Here is the research results. Christiansborg Palace Pole lamps at bicycle parking outside the Danish Parliament Catenary lighting illuminating the roadway ■Copenhagen, Denmark In Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, classic design and contemporary design co-exist, each divides the city into visually distinctive areas. An area across a canal is on a new development with various kinds of new buildings are being constructed. If you walk in this city, you will feel the history of Copenhagen and be convinced how this city takes creative culture so important. ■Classical Lighting Copenhagen is a city where you can feel its history reflected upon the classical architectural design and how they use light. The city is…

13th Transnational Lighting Detectives Forum in Kyoto Kyoto, a city literally has a meaning of ‘capital city,’ used to serve as a capital of Japan for centuries. This gives no surprise that city is full of 1600 over historical temples and sublime gardens attracting a number of overseas tourists. 13th TNT forum was held in this beautiful and historic city with a theme, ‘Heritage’ with 10 lighting experts and students from Kyoto University of Art & Design, Kyoto University School of Architecture Housing and Environmental Design + Ishida Lab, Kyoto City University of Arts Environmental Design Lab and Kyoto Institute of Technology Sakata Lab. The forum discussed for a better and more ‘Kyoto’ like lighting environment. Contents Lighting Detectives Forum had following four contents. ① Talk Event The Forum has two talk events based on the Forum common theme “Heritage”. ・Presen-Night “Kyoto+Heritage of Light” ・Talk Event “Light of Historical City – Mexico City・ Belgrade・ Madrid・Kyoto-” ② Student Workshop Group discussion on Kyoto Nightscape. ③ Light Up Presentation & Critique ・Light up the four areas and give presentation on design concept by students ・Critique for the light up by Lighting Detectives members ④ Party Two parties were held to thank people to support the evnet. ・Welcome Party ・Farewell Party Presen-Night　 June 8 @ The Museum of Kyoto Annex Hall Theme: “Kyoto+Heritage of Light” The Museum of Kyoto Annex Hall Presenters: -Kyoto University of Art & Design -Kyoto University School of Architecture…

～Let’s Go Search for Darkness～2023.09.26　Shinichi Sakaguchi ＋ Tomoya Furukawa＋Ryuji Hatta ＋ Ryuma Shiota＋Noriko Higashi This time, our night walk survey was themed “Exploring the Darkness of the City,” taking us through the green paths of Setagaya in Tokyo and visiting shrines in Kyoto where darkness lingers. Typically, our walks focus on the lights of the city, but this time we decided to take a different approach with the theme “Let’s Search for the Darkness of Tokyo”. While parks, shrines, and cemeteries are places with inherent darkness, we thought there wasn’t much room for discussion. Instead, we focused on Setagaya’s green paths, which are commonly used at night for commuting, school, and jogging. Although these paths are very pleasant during the day and popular for strolls, we wanted to see what the nighttime environment is like, so we divided into three groups to explore. (Noriko Higashi) ■ Group 1: Ikejiri-Ohashi to Sangenjaya The first group walked along the Meguro River Greenway and the Karasuyama River Greenway from Ikejiri-Ohashi to Sangenjaya, which are connected by a single greenway, and we were able to feel the various expressions of the greenways from different places. The atmosphere, brightness, and sense of safety when walking at night seem to vary greatly depending on the surrounding environment. The atmosphere of the tall streetlights and security lights was greatly influenced by the surrounding trees. I got the impression that places with thick trees and narrow greenways were…

“Let’s light up the way to the shrine!” Collaborated with Ito Architectural Sudio.2024.07.13 Noriko Higashi We are invited by Ito Achitecutral Studio and held a children workshop in Omishima Island, Ehime Prefecture. We thought about how we could make the approach at night a beautiful and comfortable space with the children. A children’s workshop of the Ito Juku, which is led by architect Toyo Ito, was held in Omishima, Ehime Prefecture. Mr. Mende and I participated in the workshop as instructors. The theme was “Let’s light up the way to the shrine!” Before the Seto-Ohhashi Bridge was opened, the sole means of transportation to Omishima was by boat. Consequently, the pathway connecting the port to Oyamazumi Shrine on the island used to be very busy. Nowadays, visitors cross the bridge by car and park their cars in the parking lot next to the shrine, so the approach to the shrine is rarely visited and became sparsely populated and quiet. Various efforts are being made to revive the bustle of the approach to the shrine, and this children workshop was one of them. 15 elementary school students from Imabari City joined this workshop and some children came from the neighborhoods, while others rode the bus from outside the island. First, Mr. Mende explained what lighting can do and what kind of light sources are available. He also darkened the room and had the participants look at actual light sources and their…