21 May 2024

Form & function

Far from solely providing illumination, true architectural lighting seeks to enhance and be a part of its environment, serving both form and function

EVEN WHEN it was a matter of squirting orange sodium roughly in the direction of some distinguished facade or monument, lighting has long played more than a functional role in urban spaces, especially in signifying landmarks. Nowadays, lighting installations are considerably more technically and aesthetically sophisticated, and have a wider application in the urban landscape.

Arguably, they also have to work a bit harder. This is especially with the increasing hybridisation of art and function, as lighting not only denotes and decorates landmarks, but can aid with wayfinding, creating gravitational points, supporting regeneration and boosting the night-time economy.

All of this, of course, while avoiding light pollution and squandering energy. But as with the example of the media facade below, some even generate sufficient energy for their own operation.

Lighting is not just used to light the facade it has become the facade.

Two of the following schemes both featured in the architectural lighting category of the Dezeen Awards, one shortlisted and the other emerging as the overall winner. The third was shortlisted (at time of going to press) in the Surface Design Awards.

Delta, Oslo
Lighting Design Void

‘In addition to the spacial qualities of the block, the ornamental light art is distinct. With a light pulsating movement, the illuminated lines pull us in and through the labyrinthian plan’ Nina Marie Andersen, associate professor at the Department of Landscape Architecture, NMBU, in online art newspaper Kunstavisen. Image Credit: Einar Aslaksen

Delta is both an embedded light sculpture and a wayfinding device that flows through the streets and alleys of the Tullinkvartalet development in Tullinløkka. It was created to encourage visitors to explore the new neighbourhood in the Norwegian capital.

Created by local studio Void, it incorporates motion-detecting sensors to create ripples of illumination as people walk past. Running through cobbled alleyways, the lighting strips converge at a polished concrete ‘waterfall’ in the centre of the site. This crosses a change in level via a series of curved concrete steps and a ramp inspired by the smooth rocks of Norway’s coastline.

As well as providing wheelchair access through the neighbourhood, it also acts as a stepped seating space for impromptu gatherings and events. ‘The main goal was to attract people into the narrow lanes and the courtyard of the quarter, and to explore and discover what the inner area has to offer in terms of restaurants and nightlife,’ Mikkel Lehne, Void CEO, told Dezeen. ‘The lights lead the public into the space, help them find their way through, as well as bringing a sense of warmth and safety.’

The installation features aluminium profiles lined with acrylic glass set flush with the paving and concrete. These hold flexible, waterproof LED strips, each 4cm-long segment of which is individually controllable in terms of both motion and colour. These are connected to 24 motion-sensing cameras that detect the presence of visitors in order to create the waves of light.

For everyday use the installation provides an unobtrusive backdrop with a general setting of a warm white light, but can also be programmed for animation and colour change for special events. During Pride Month, for instance, a full rainbow flows through the installation. www.void.as

Novartis Pavillon Zero-Energy Media Facade, Basel, Switzerland
Lighting Design iart

Facade area: 2,471 sq m Organic photovoltaic area: 1,333 sq m 10,680 OPV modules 15,120 double-sided LED lights, 30,240 LEDs in total 22,536 tubular elements on supporting structure 11,608 node elements. Image Credit: Art and Laurids Jensen

Stadia, shopping malls, corporate HQs, art centres – the media facade has become a familiar element of the cityscape. While the 3D images of the Las Vegas Sphere and giant cat billboard in Shinjuku,Tokyo, are admittedly jawdropping – both cities having clearly thrown in the towel when it comes to light pollution – there is also necessarily a drive for the restrained and sustainable.

The winner of both Dezeen’s architectural lighting design of the year and an IALD Award of Excellence, the energy-neutral media facade of the Novartis Pavillon is an artistic ‘canvas’, combining photovoltaics and LEDs to create a communicative building skin.

Designed by Italian studio AMDL Circle, led by Michele De Lucchi, the pavilion is located alongside the Rhine at the campus of the Novartis healthcare company. A place of learning and exchange, its aim is ‘to bring the world of science and medicine closer to the community’. It hosts a permanent multimedia exhibition, as well as meeting spaces and a cafe. The media facade, which wraps round the circular pavilion, was created by Swiss media architecture studio iart, which describes it as ‘converting sunlight into art’.

The design was based on the idea of an organism, with the building’s skin comprising individual cells, and inspired by the shapes and colours of cells and molecules. It features a total of 10,000 diamond-shaped organic solar modules with 30,000 embedded LEDs and consumes only as much power as it can produce.

The LEDs not only shine outwards, but also inwards, causing the metal shells beneath to reflect the light. The semi-transparency of the photovoltaic layer is crucial, as it is the sole reason the light shimmers not only over, but also through the building envelope.

The multi-layered membrane is used to screen the works of three international artists, shown on the facade every day after sunset. The artworks – by Daniel Canogar, Esther Hunziker and Semiconductor – were created in collaboration with Novartis scientists, and ‘embody constant change and research’.

During the day, the facade displays moving text, using only the white LEDs that face away from the building. Organic solar modules were chosen over silicone-based counterparts for sustainability reasons. ‘They require less grey energy in production and need little light to start generating electricity,’ iart founder Valentin Spiess told Dezeen.

‘They can be used in areas where light conditions are not ideal, such as a facade. ‘With this project we want to show that a media facade not only consumes electricity, but can also generate it itself,’ added Spiess. ‘It’s a real milestone when it comes to media facades. And especially zero-energy media facades.’

‘This high level and innovative “skin” of light brings the building to life and allows it to constantly change and fluctuate in visual appearance,’ said the IALD judges. ‘The engaging and artistic use of light is powered only by integrated solar panels and requires no additional power, which sets an example for future buildings.’

Client: Novartis
Architect: Michele de Lucchi + ADML Circle; Blaser Butscher Architecten
Art curation: HEK
Digital artwork: Semiconductor

Artistic Light Installation, Orientkaj Station, Copenhagen
Lighting Design Light Bureau

Grafting a creative installation on to an ostensibly finished project would seem less than ideal. With tight restrictions on the location of equipment and the lost opportunity to integrate the scheme with the architecture massively constrains the possibilities. Which makes the ingenuity of this solution even more impressive. It is a deceptively simple intervention, the result of consisiderable research and testing, which creates an enormous effect.

Orientkaj Station is a new metro station in the northern harbour of Copenhagen, an area currently undergoing significant urban development. By & Havn (City & Harbour) commissioned the site-specific light installation as a permanent feature of the forecourt after the square had been completed and the basic lighting (iGuzzini Woody spotlights on poles) had already been installed. The artistic lighting could only be located on the existing lighting poles (it wasn’t possible to install fixtures on the elevated railway structure or in the finished square surface).

There was also a materials issue. The square is made of cast-in-situ concrete, the surface of which has a subtle, yet complex rippled texture, which disappeared at night due to the high light levels from the spotlights. Light Bureau wanted to reveal the cast finish of the concrete surface by lowering the light level and adding more contrast.

This cluster of challenges led to the idea of a ‘light hack’, adding specially designed reflective and filtering components to the poles, transforming a mundane feature into a sculptural element.

The aim was for an artistic effect during the daytime while creating captivating light patterns in the space at night using the illumination from the existing installation.

A series of physical and digital prototypes led to a solution with adjustable reflective laser-cut steel leaves featuring individual themed patterns in six colours.

These leaves filter the light downwards on to the square and reflect some of it back on to the elevated railway.

Light Bureau specified all components – necessarily robust given the marine environment – and specially designed the leaves for the project. The leaf structure is made of 3mm saltwater and acid-resistant stainless steel (electro-polished to make it highly reflective and to protect against corrosion and oxidization), while the clear plates are made of moulded acrylic, also resistant to rain and saltwater.

The leaves feature four different themes, all reflecting the harbour’s historical function as a freeport: the old timber and cranes in the harbour, the waves and rings in the water, a reference to the ocean, and serving as a metaphor for the journey between the world’s harbours.

Different surface characteristics create diverse lighting effects ranging from reflections to a colourful interplay of light and shadow. This also reduces the light intensity on the concrete surface and adds contrast, revealing the fine ripple structure.

To remove unwanted spill-light and create well-focused light patterns on the surface, the standard reflectors of the spotlights were painted matt black, which also decreases the discomfort glare when looking towards the leaves at night. The visual impact on both day and night-time appearance of the square has improved the sense of safety and orientation, and transformed a dull forecourt into an inviting and visually playful urban space.

While the restrictions initially appeared onerous, it has also led to a more sustainable solution and one which could have wider application in similar situations.

‘The leaf element represents a simple, yet sophisticated way of altering the standard spotlighting for an urban space by both filtering and reflecting the light,’ says Light Bureau. ‘As spotlight solutions are widespread throughout modern cities, it has significant potential as a simple and sustainable add-on without the need for new fixtures and poles or increased energy consumption.’

Client: By & Havn (City & Harbour)
Architect: COBE

Light Eating

Light can be manipulated in a variety of ways to create environments that encourage social dining experiences. Jill Entwistle takes us through some case studies

WHATEVER THE context, lighting is fundamental to the atmosphere and tone of any space. In restaurant and other hospitality environments, at least at the mid to high end, it is self-evidently crucial. The lighting techniques are familiar: multi-layering, low (dimmable) light levels, warm colour temperatures, high contrast and integration of light sources – these all signal a space designed for relaxation, conviviality and calm.

The following three recent restaurant schemes (though strictly speaking one is a teahouse) all demonstrate the potency of the deceptively simple scheme. Involving largely natural materials and neutral tones, they skilfully exploit surface texture and reflectivity, and play light against dark, confident in their restraint.

Yin Xi Teahouse, Jing’an Temple, Shanghai
Lighting Design and Design: Vermilion Zhou Design Group

Image Credit: 404NF Studio / Fang Wenchen

There was a time when no queue, an efficient check-in and someone hovering to carry your bags would be a fair start to your hotel experience. Arrival at the Grand Magic Hotel is designed to be a little more elaborate.

Like many lighting designs currently coming out of China, the Yin Xi scheme shows a profound understanding of the relationships between light and shadow, light and materials, and the orchestration of dark and light to endow a series of spaces with different moods. It is also rooted in and inspired by the culture of the teahouse, the Yin Xi being part of what is now a Tangmi Buddhist temple (razed and rebuilt many times over the centuries, the original temple was first built in 247AD).

‘The lighting atmosphere has a rhythm,’ says Ting Ho, creative director of Vermilion Zhou Design Group. ‘Moving from the public area to the private room area, there are transitions from a darker, theatre-like ambience to gradually brighter settings, making the brightness in the private rooms conducive to guest interaction and conversation.’

Situated in the mammon of Shanghai, the aim was to offer a sense of seclusion from the clamour of the outside world.

There are three themes associated with tea drinking which inspired both the interior design and the lighting scheme: the extensive use of gold, and the idea of sunlight reflecting the hues reminiscent of tea; a soundscape combined with dynamic lighting to enhance the auditory experience and recall the soothing, gurgling noise of pouring tea; the use of rippling water to reflect and animate light.

The Yin Xi scheme shows a profound understanding of the relationships between light and shadow, light and materials, and the orchestration of dark and light to endow a series of spaces with different moods. Image Credit: Jian Quan Wu

The emphasis is on integrated lighting and the use of a warm white colour temperature. ‘We did not want to specifically highlight the light fixtures,’ says Ho. ‘Instead, we used concealed techniques to integrate the lighting into the design.

A unified 2700K colour temperature warm light is used throughout, transitioning the colour coordination between soft and hard decorations, making it more harmonious.

The low colour temperature is also suitable for the overall darker lighting atmosphere.’

Ho describes the lighting as ‘dual-purpose’ in that it also uses the specific reflective properties of materials.

‘Some fixtures create the desired material effects and provide ambient lighting through the reflection of light and shadows in addition to their primary function.’

A simple light and dripping water installation in the lobby ceiling is sheer poetry. Sitting above a shallow expanse of water, the ceiling is moulded to a point with a small opening. The warm yellow light from the concealed fibre optic lamps inside illuminates the water as it drips into the pool, producing ‘golden water’.

‘By using the ripples created by the “golden water” dripping into the pool below and illuminating the water surface with a single bead light source from ceiling spotlights, we can physically create natural water wave refractions on the ceiling,’ says Ho. www.vermilionzhou.com

Kylin Sheng Restaurant, Zhengzhou, China
Lighting Design: HGLD Lighting Design

Image Credit: 404NF Studio / Fang Wenchen

The lighting scheme for the Kylin Sheng restaurant shows a similar sensibility to the Yin Xi Teahouse in its use of low light levels and shadow, especially in the entrance way. In fact a familiar theme in many Chinese lighting schemes is a dark and dramatic introduction to the main interior, a theatrical scene setting.

While the texture of the natural materials in the entrance passage ranges from rough-hewn stone to reflective marble, they are all dark in tone and dimly but warmly lit from a grid of square niches in one wall and borrowed light via windows through to the private rooms area. The orange glow from a backlit floor-to-ceiling depiction of a cloud formation draws diners into the interior. ‘On entering the restaurant, an amalgamation of light and shadow creates an immersive experience,’ says designer Daxiang Design Studio.

Image Credit: 404NF Studio / Fang Wenchen

Warm colour temperatures are used throughout – 2800K spotlights and 2700K ambient lighting – underlining the deep orange and brown scheme used for the restaurant interior.

The five-petalled plum blossom is used as the key decorative motif throughout the restaurant itself – Daxiang’s design philosophy is very much rooted in natural themes – including the feature floorstanding luminaires used to highlight tables. www.jiangdx.com

Design: Daxiang Design Studio

Josafat Zalapa Restaurant, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
Lighting Design and Design: FMA

The interior design is stripped back to its bare essentials, including revealing the elegant wooden rafters with dining and bar areas that are illuminated by long wooden suspended fittings. César Belio

Located in a characterful 19th century house in Morelia City, west of Mexico City, the restaurant combines Mexican culinary tradition with oriental influences. It offers a high-end gastronomic experience through a degustation menu prepared by the chef in front of just 20 diners.

They enter through an arcaded cloister, arches artfully uplit and featuring various artworks, to the adjacent two rooms: the main dining area and a bar space. The interior is stripped back to its essentials revealing the patina of the pigmented cement coatings on the walls and seasoned texture of the old rafters. The furnishings are natural wood.

The simplicity of the scheme is continued with the lighting. The linearity of the rafters and the continuous bench-style tables at the centre – where diners watch the chef in their midst prepare the food – is echoed in the long wooden suspended fittings which run its entire length on either side. A dimmable LED strip reduces the intensity of light from above and avoids shadows.

‘We wanted to achieve a very cozy lighting with a feeling of privacy for diners in the restaurant, that is why the amount of light is very carefully considered,’ says Francisco Méndez of FMA.

Over the bar is an industrial-style metal linear pendant. Linear uplighting at the base of the walls washes up to reveal the natural textures and balances the downlit element, while the occasional candle on shelves and bar top punctuates the space and adds atmosphere. Colour temperature is a warm 2700K throughout.

‘Particular emphasis was placed on lighting design and furniture integration,’ says Méndez. ‘This led to the custom design of each element, from the linear lamps that accompany the bar, to the chairs where diners will savour their meals.’

Essentially the scheme is about respecting and revealing the character of the building. ‘We wanted to highlight the dramatic nature of the old structure,’ explains Méndez. ‘The lighting reveals the layers of history that have been preserved over time, accentuating their architectural value.’ www.fm-a.mx