05.06.2014
Vivid Light 2013 Sydney
Jeff Koons puppy reborn as a lit bunny on Dawes Point, Sydney
Vivid enjoyed another great year in Sydney. Even better was the late autumn weather. Crowds exceeded last years record numbers. Again the projections were the crowd pullers. Its great that the vivid organisers have developed different streams for the applicants, as event projections are completely different from architecural lighting and light sculptures.
Entry to Cambell Cove, behind OPT sydney
Ready to serve
The paparazzi ready themselves
Entrance/ Exit to the catwalk
It was amazing to see the space we lit filled with people enjoying the 
ambience we helped create.
09.10.2012
ParkLight 2012 @ Sydney Uni
Parklight, held in late August, was the 4th exterior lighting event organized by the NSW IES lighting society and the first to be run in conjunction with Sydney University’s Department of Illumination. It assembled together over 50 eager participants; lighting designers, architects, students and lighting suppliers to meet, discuss and experiment with lighting techniques and the equipment used in exterior lighting. Electrolight lighting designer and event organiser Ryan Shamier described the event as “a wonderful excuse for suppliers and designers to collaborate and share ideas” The theme of this years event was 'winter wonderland". Participants were fashioned into 6 groups: ice, blizzard, snow, frost, chill & cold, provided with a range of exterior luminaires, then allocated a predetermined location around the Gadigal Green at Sydney University. Their challenge was to improvise and problem solve within their group, using the donated equipment to design and light a winter themed tableau. Groups went off on their task and quickly dissected the opportunities that different luminaires provided. This hands on approach allowed participants to use the luminaires in a range of settings and applications, exploring each lamp’s potential and the effects of colour, beam angles and reflector types. Judging was conducted by a show of hands, with all attendees casting their vote for their favourite lighting design.
Students gained the experience of a "hands on" approach to exterior floodlighting
All participants voted for the favourote application: the winning effort from the group Blizzard
13.08.2012
Designing Portal lighting
Today we are at the entrance of an underground car park in a large shoppping mall in Moore Park, NSW. The lighting design of Carpark entrances and exits are often neglected in the design process. Major problems that occur because of this have to be remediated after the building is completed, creating great inconvienance to the client and their customers, undermining the legitimacy of builders and designers. Owners or managers of car parks potentially face large litigation claims if accidents occur at entrances or exits to covered car parks where poor lighting is seen to contribute to any accident. If the safety of drivers and pedestrians has been comprised by having drivers enter a car park with the sun directly lighting the entrance and thus reducing their ability to see, then expect litigation to follow. This car park is case in point. Anecdotal evidence (see photos) indicates that the increase in lighting fixtures has occured after the buildings completion and wasn't included in the initial design phase (pre construction) The problem arises as the drivers eyes are adjusted for daylight and as the entrance is in full sun (and often painted white) the eyes iris adjust to read detail in the exterior opening leaving the internal carpark itself completely black as the driver enters this zone they are virtually blind and would not be capable of seeing any obstructions, obstacles or pedestrians in their path. To allievate this problem, the illumination levels in the opening area to the carpark, called the threshold Zone have to be increased, this increased illumination gives time for the iris to open to accommodate lower light levels. As the entrance speed to a carpark is usually 20 kmh, (unlike motorways where entrance speed is above 80kmh) the threshold Zone is a relatively short distance. To increase efficiency and aid in energy saving the luminaries can be linked to a daylight sensor that switches the lamps on or off as required (eg switched off at night when the drivers eye is accommodated for night vision
entrance to the carpark illustrating increased illumination in the threshold zone
Increased levels of illumination required for carpark portals
This image illustrates the post building completion inclusion of additional lighting
03.08.2012
Mother courage with Warwick Thornton
Mother courage with Warwick Thornton
Warwick Thornton's video installation for the Berlin Biennale and the Australian centre for the moving image in Melbourne
We are shooting the video component which will be later rear projected in purpose built screens that fit inside the van
The title of the work is "mother courage" a nod to Berholt Brechts famous play
The lighting set up consisted of 2 bank kino and 2 x dedo lights. We are using 2 X Red cameras to record the footage
03.05.2012
Lighting is a design activity
Lighting is a design activity, like engineering or architecture where science and artare combined.
In interior lighting, many roles overlap, thescience and engineering aspects include mechanical, electrical and HVAC and the art and design most notably in the architecture and interior design.Interior lighting is compelled to achieve standards applied in AS/NZS 1680. But these are not wholly prescriptive and allow for the designer to achieve acceptable results through many approaches.
Achieving the right numbers isn’t that important, the most important aspect is to get the appropriate appearance for the design. Early 1900 commercial and residential architecture was developed to maximise daylight penetration. Early Town planning was often based on access to daylight and pre dated the grid city planning adapted for most cities today. Building footprints were shaped for a large perimeter exposing greater areas to sun and sky. With the development of fluorescent lighting, (and other developments like lifts and air-conditioning etc) building design dramatically changed. Most notably by altering ceiling heights (lower) and changing window size (smaller). These economies continue today and continue to be major drivers in the design of commercial spaces. There was a lack of understanding in the roles windows play in people’s comfort and their productivity in the workplace. There is a big difference between the role of windows as a light source and their function as a dynamic element in the design (passing of time stimuli etc). Office design continues to evolve with open plan still the most popular. A design objective allowingaccess to natural light and maintaining people’s view of the outside world. Even thought the heat load of sunlight is comparable to incandescent lighting the issue is controlling its abundance, you might need 320 lux at the table top but the sunlight coming through a window might exceed 10000 lux. Attempting to harness sunlight can be compared to trying to get a drink from a fire hydrant. Overseas countries have now legislated for minimum levels of daylight. As a light planner it is a prerequisite that I display a love and respect for the subject. To be a reallygood designer, I must acknowledge the whole subject and its context and must complete rigoroustask analysis and design the lighting to specifically to suit each project. Design Activity Images
10.04.2012
How we can help
- Loss in productivity, through fatigue endengered by poor task lighting
- Community backlash, in the implied fear of the impact of obtrusive lighting on households and residents
Source: Mudgee Guardian Newspaper Sept 11th 2011
The matters below should be considered as part of an integratedand safe system of work.
- All aspects of the work must be effectively planned, from the physical process to the individual tasks carried out by employees. Both direct and indirect impacts on safety and health of each task or process should be considered at the planning level. This would include issues such as fatigue and psychological stress.
Source: General Duty of Care Guidelines provided by the Department of Mines www.dmp.wa.gov.au/documents/Guidelines/MSH_G_GeneralDutyOfCareWAMines.pdf
Detailed proposals would be discussed with priorities of:- Sustainability,
- Providingsufficient lighting on site to ensure that safety is not compromised.
- Appropriate lamp selection and the impact of colour rendering on the task,
- And compliance with all relevant standards and guidelines such as:AS4282—1997– Control of Obtrusive Effects of Outdoor Lighting
02.04.2012
Office Lighting
Flourescent lighting has been the most powerful force in Architectural design of the workplace since the second world war.
Office Lighting Images
02.04.2012
Residential Lighting
Project:
Residential Interior Bathroom Fitout
Our latest residential interior is a contempory bathroom renovation in Sydney. A complete modernisation was called for.
As with everything new in architecture the client asked for more natural light. By determining the daylight factor of the existing windows it was calculated that there would be an increase of daylight available with a floor to ceiling aperture.
Rather than filling the remaining window aperture it was decided to fill it with a remotely switched light box. Constructed wth the same glass as the exterior window, the cabinet is fitted with a waterproof RGB LED strip controlled by a movement detector above the entry.
As you enter the bathroom the light switches on automatically, flooding the room with soft colored light, great for young children using the bathroom late at night. Glass shelves allow light to reflect back off the floor of the cabinet.
The end result is a bathroom that can be lit for any mood.
In this bathroom interior the lighting design combines LED down lights, lighting horizontal surfaces, with an RGB LED hidden in a glass cabinet and activated by a remote movement detector for general ambience. This luminaire then fills the white tiled bathroom with washes of colour. The strip LED is activated remotely and can be controlled by a hand held remote, any RGB colour mix can be achieved.
This picture gives an indication of the primary colour washes available
The pre-renovation bathroom indicating how the window aperature was enlarged and second window remodelled into an light box.