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Shadow - An Elemental Component of Lighting
Yea, its impossible to escape the need to address shadows when talking about lighting. Contrasts, the difference between light and dark, are what provide depth and visual interest to the spaces we inhabit. The dark / shadow-y element is often taken for granted. When our focus shifts to the form & character of shadows we can appreciate their incredible beauty and graphic qualities. This post will go beyond examples of any everyday normally lit spaces that display the contrasts well... straight to extremes that are fun, that are pushing the boundaries of projecting shadow & light, and that display superior shadow-play by every measure!
Cool Shadow-play at normal scale, with practical application:
Daylighting Shadow-play on a slightly larger scale:
Additional Goodies to enjoy:
For additional inspirations, check out more examples at my Pinterest. Add a comment with any great shadows you've seen or experienced.
Worthy News Items
Two important and interesting items are in my feeds today, and are post-worthy here.
First up (shown above), a possible first-world solution to a third-world issue... GravityLight 2 is campaigning for funds to create jobs, manufacture, and bring LED light into the lives of many millions of people. GravityLight 2 IndieGoGo vid. From the campaign information... 'As well as designing GravityLight to provide a clean, safe and affordable alternative to kerosene lamps, we also want to create local jobs, skills and livelihoods for those who make and sell GravityLights.' This is a brilliant idea, deserving of our consideration, and our backing.
One the other hand, something inspirational & thought-provoking without an actual product...What Is "Design Fixation," And How Can You Stop It? The Premise - Your first design solution may not be the best. The Advice - Explore options, dig deep, get creative, look for multiple design solutions early. From the folks at LifeHacker: 'As design blog Fast Co. Design explains, money, time, or ego might make someone stick to their first idea, even if something better comes along. While creativity is an iterative process, you can bypass the tunnel vision that comes from focusing on a single idea by generating multiple ideas at the start. It helps even more if you can bring other people into that process to help challenge your ideas or offer alternative input.' This re-enforces a team approach, a collaborative process, and working less in isolation. I have long been an advocate for all that.
Bravo! Both Brilliant! ideas. h/t to both Gizmodo & LifeHacker.
Big & Beautiful! Large scale lighting at its best!
Let's face it, large scale light fixtures can often be stunning. This post will concentrate on some personal favorites, fixtures to find a home for (if I'm lucky enough to get to design spaces where they work well), and the ins & outs of what goes into successful large scale fixture design.
Let's begin with an outdoor piece shown above. FoxCat Design makes the NI Parasol. Three channel lighting system with individual one-touch dimming give plenty of looks to this piece. Plus it can be customized by the fabric color used. The down-light ribs uses color temperature of 1800K LED candle light colour making it easy on the eyes at night time. The up-light ribs uses colour temperature of 2200K warm light color. The parasol can even be lit while closed to provide a 'torch-like' light to the surroundings. This is a red-dot design award winner from 2014 .
Moving inside now. Large domed and drum shape lights have been around for ever. However, getting them right so glare from exposed lamping isn't an issue is a design challenge. Below are a few designers who met that challenge head-on.
Materials also play an important role in successful large-scale lighting. Typical metal and glass can be augmented with or replaced by wood, silk, plastics, felt, etc. in fascinating ways. A few examples below…
Interested in seeing more like these? Hit the link to browse my Pinterest.
Architectural Trendspotting: Negative Space
Some time ago I came upon this story of the House In Fontinha (shown above) and was intrigued by the 'cutout' entrance. The simplicity of negative space creating an entrance is not seen in run-of-the-mill design. That image got tucked away for future reference... Now is that time. Recently my feeds have shown a series of similar spaces based upon the absence of structure. The engineering on display ranges from simple to complex, the results are always eye-catching.
Many are entrances, some include room for a car, a few become enclosed deck space (where lack of structure allows enhanced views).
Modeling for Purpose & Communication
Some architecture professionals, and those of us in related design fields, may lament the demise of architectural model making. In fact, the clients we work with might too (though they might not know what great things they're missing). This collection of images (and the sites/posts they link to) will indicate otherwise. Model making, and its ability to communicate effectively, is alive and well (if perhaps not employed often enough!). All too frequently in the digital age, its often easiest to create an on-screen representation and leave it at that. In 3D, its possible to more effectively communicate the design, as well as review any aspect over and over or from a new angle. Architectural study models are often done quickly. Their purpose to aid in design work on massing, spatial relationships, scale, interaction of volumes, etc. A presentation model is one shown to a client. It is a skillfully crafted & meticulously scaled model of the proposed structure.
Enjoy a look through this group of physical models...
A model can allow us to view through...
... or can show plan and section views together.
A model can communicate movement...
...and sense of scale.
I often prefer models that are lit, for the extra detail they can provide.
Model making can also be a colorful or whimsical obsession...
...and can even be done at full scale!
Jean Marc Gady, French Designer
Fine designs of decorative lighting by Jean Marc Gady.
Inventive, creative, playful... I want to find a home for these in the near future! The grand scale that some designers work in is an inspiring sight to behold! Jean Marc Gady also makes furniture, tableware, and works in scenography, space, & product design.
New Year! New Site!
Welcoming the new and anticipating the thrilling possibilities in upcoming projects.
First, a quick look at some of the fabulous projects of the recent past...
Additional images of each project may be seen in the Portfolio.
7 Tips to Capture a Perfect Architectural Photo
Picture This: is a great post on getting the best images of architecture. I love that the #1 tip is all about getting the light right. I'd add to it that lighting fixtures should be turned on in most instances. If we as lighting designers have done our jobs correctly, the spaces have been greatly enhanced by the fixtures, the layout, and the way the light falls upon the objects and structure. Show it off! h/t to architizer
Shortest Days of Light
Here we are, in the midst of some of the shortest days of light in the northern hemisphere. Most of us are 'burning it at both ends' with regard to bringing light into the spaces we occupy. Now is the time (if you haven't already) to use LED light as much as you can. Since most of use live/work in existing buildings, we need to have replacement light bulbs to go in our fixtures and lamps. My current favorites are the CREE A-lamp Replacement LEDs. They give off great light, are dimmable, and fit all the places we have most older lightbulbs. These are offered in common wattage equivalents (hopefully someday we can all stop thinking in those terms, perhaps generations from now) and also have 3-way lamp versions. I've been specifying CREE since they first arrived on the lighting scene with recessed can light replacement modules. They are an industry leader, they continue to make great strides in improving the technology (and the quality of light), and they provide LED components for others.
7 TED Talks for Designers
There are so very many inspiring talks in the TED universe. Here a small collection with the likes of John Maeda, Philippe Starck, Simon Sinek, etc. speaking about good design, simplicity, creativity, and inspiration. 7 TED Talks, h/t to invisionapp.com