A Designer's Deliberations

Tuesday, 22 January 2008

Mirror Mirror On The Wall...Who Is The Brightest Of Them All?

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organisam. It is the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for 'living' and the Latin lumen 'light'.

Each of us emits light, especially from the fingers, nails, brows and soles. Japanese physicist Mitsuo Hiramatsu succeeded in demonstrating that fingers emit about 60 photons per second. This bioluminescence cannot be perceived directly by the naked eye because it is very weak. The intensity is the same as a candle flame placed at a distance of 10 kilometres.

So when people told me recently that I 'glowed' whilst pregnant with twins I think they may have been on to something, as there was effectively the possibility of three times the normal amount of light being generated from one space (large though it was)!

In the animal kingdom, from which we are not far removed, bioluminescence is used as a lure to attract both prey and mates. For example, fireflies use periodic flashing in their abdomens to attract mates in the mating season. So I am wondering, that if the flush of young love creates more light emission and if whether that 'light' is subliminally visible to those caught in its web? Is it just another 'something' that we cannot quite put our finger on?!

Industrial Designers are already investigating the structure of photospheres, the light producing organs in bioluminescent organisms. Some proposed applications of engineered bioluminescence include Christmas trees that do not need lights, glowing trees to line highways, agricultural crops and domestic plants that luminesce when they need watering; and something I am really looking forward to - make-up that holds small quantities of fluorescent powders ensuring that we are 'glowing'!

Happy Lighting.

RW.

Don't be afraid of the dark

We are all children when it comes to being afraid of the dark, we love light and it gives us a feeling of wellbeing and confidence.

With so many wonderful lamps on the market a child's room can be at once playful and creative or calm and peaceful at the touch of a switch.

Ceilings and walls can be adorned with orbiting planets, planes and space ships or fairies, flowers and butterflies. On the more practical side there are cool to touch reading lights to fit onto bunk beds and lights that fade with sunset and rise gradually when it is time to wake.

It is important when buying lights for a child's room that they are not only fun and practical but they are safe. Young children are very curious and will touch everything, so lamps must be cool to touch and prying fingers must be protected from live wires and hot lamps. Free standing luminaires should have safety standard guarantees and wall and ceiling lights should be high enough so they can't be played with.

When planning a child's room there should be plenty of light for reading and playing and soft ambient light for winding down at the end of the day. Auto fade lights give a child a feeling of security while they gently fall asleep and turn off when they are asleep or dim to a very low level. A practical idea for the night is to create a pathway of light with low level wash lights to the parents room or bathroom giving them confidence to get up without being scared as to which current monster is lurking in the dark corridor.

Lynda M.

Friday, 18 January 2008

A must see

The Serpentine Gallery, set in Kensington Gardens, is one of London's best-loved galleries for modern and contemporary art and it is now showing a selection of installations by Anthony McCall.
British artist Anthony McCall (born 1946) has a cross-disciplinary practice in which film, sculpture, installation, drawing and performance overlap. In darkened, haze-filled rooms, digital projections create an illusion of three-dimensional shapes, ellipses, waves and flat planes that gradually expand, contract or sweep through space. The works are simple projections that strikingly emphasize the sculptural qualities of a beam of light.
The installations owe their magnetism to the way the audience participates within and around the cones of light, the beams draw the viewer into their fold whereby the participants play modifies the transitory forms. It is incredible to see how much anticipation is built into entering a darkened space; academically one knows it is just light filling the void, however I have seen adults refuse to walk through the cones of light, approaching them so exceedingly cautiously as to what may lie beyond, first a hand, then the body and finally the head enters through into the 'light'.

Most importantly for me, it re-emphasizes the thought of light as a tool, one that can inspire, energise and embrace.

Happy Lighting!

RW.

Friday, 11 January 2008

Big up your Bathroom...

Whether you're basking in the bath or dancing in the shower, bathroom lighting is very important. Flexibility is a key factor to any lighting scheme; it must range from good task lighting for those morning beauty regimes to subtle mood lighting in the evenings after a long day at work. To achieve this effect it is good to build up layers of light so there is diversity and choice of scenes at the touch of a button.

When designing a lighting scheme it's easy to start with bold and brave ideas that quickly diminish into something pretty ordinary. Well not anymore! Adding a little something extra to any design can change the dynamics of a scheme creating interest, a focal point and something extraordinary!

Here are some examples that can be used in the bathroom to add intrigue and excitement without going over the top.

What a way to brighten up your day with this light bath tub and sink. 100% recyclable, easy to clean, non-toxic; it comes either in white, with a multi-coloured changing light sequence (shown here), or in an assortment of fluorescent colours.

A unique Barrisol stretch ceiling with white or coloured changing light fixed behind it offers a highly polished, modern, artistic feature to any space. Barrisol is ideally suited to bathrooms and wet areas as the material is water impermeable and is unaffected by moist or humid areas. The material does not require any decoration or maintenance and is guaranteed for 10 years.

A niche detail with a touch of colour can add some fun to a bathroom as well as being a practical storage space. LEDS have been used behind a diffused glass sheet to create a "panel of light". This idea is excellent when incorporated into a night-time circuit as it provides a soft gentle glow to any space. RGB can also be incorporated into the fitting creating colour change or specific colours; towels change colour, light panel changes colour!

Add a colourful light stream to your taps. This clever device will colour change with the water temperature, alerting you that your water is running hot. This is great for the kids' bathroom as it is both safe and fun. The water pressure activates the LED light source and will change from light blue to red at 30 degrees and will then turn off when the water source is turned off. Easy to install in less than a minute, this light simply screws onto any taps.

The colourful trend continues with these LED bathroom handles. The simple curving bar of stainless steel and transparent plastic, lights up with vibrant changing colour. Here LED illumination indicates the status of the bathroom, glowing red when in use. An obvious indicator you can easily see from down the hall or across the room, ideal to act as a night light.

These ideas are here to inspire you and give you a different approach to lighting design. However a balanced lighting scheme is vital. Try and maintain a clean, simple design and then choose just one or two interesting features to add to a room. In the words of Mies van de Rohe "Less is more".

"Some people see things just as they are and say 'why'
- Some designers dream things as they never were, and say 'why not'"

Anon.

Natasha Hamilton Dick

Thursday, 3 January 2008

Are you switched on?

Fresh into the New Year, resolutions by the tonne and having just watched the film "An Inconvenient Truth" I am now, even more than before, looking at ways in which we can save energy and reduce carbon emissions. There are a number of different ways to reduce carbon emissions; turn your thermostat down, wash your clothes at 30 degrees, don't leave electrical appliances on stand-by to name a few, but being a lighting designer I want to focus on ways to save energy through lighting.

In her previous blog, Rafaela has already shown the importance of using compact fluorescent lamps instead of incandescent lamps but I want to point out another type of lamp that is also energy efficient and can be used in a scheme to fantastic effect; the LED lamp.

An LED lamp is defined as:

"A type of solid state lighting (SSL) that utilizes light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
as a source of illumination rather than electrical filaments or gas."

But why use LEDs as your light source? Below are a few key factors to help explain:

1. LEDs are solid state devices which have no filaments or glass tubes to break enabling them to be robust and shock resistant.

2. They have a very long life; a typical life for an LED can be 50,000 hours (5 years+) to 100,000 hours (11 years+) continuous operation.

3. LEDs do not waste energy as a filament does which has to be first heated until white hot to emit light.

4. They are low voltage; LEDs can operate from as little as 5 volts but can easily be configured to work from a wide range of voltages to suit specific designs or available power supplies.

5. There is no colour fade as an LED is designed to emit a specific wavelength of light. They do not rely on coloured filters or gels to produce a specific colour which could fade over time.

6. LEDs are low maintenance and require no servicing during their life.

7. LEDs are physically smaller than many traditional light sources and allow unobtrusive slim line designs to be made.

8. LEDs are a sealed unit and do not need to be changed, unlike fluorescent or filament bulbs, therefore the product design is simplified. This also makes the unit tamperproof and vandal resistant.

9. The slighter higher initial cost of LEDs is off-set against the heavily reduced running costs, extended lamp life and the ability to use only the required amount of light as opposed to either having all lights on or all lights off.

Here are some unique lighting ideas using LED lamps that will inspire you to transform you home aesthetically and purposefully.

Skylights allow natural daylight into spaces that may otherwise be dark and lifeless. The windows in these double-height stairwells provide a swath of natural light during the day, while at night the subtle lighting creates a unique feature. The use of LEDs is ideal in these situations as the accessibility for changing lamps is awkward.

A bathroom must have a flexible lighting scheme, ranging from excellent task lighting in the mornings to soft, gentle, relaxing light in the evenings. The addition of LEDs offer an additional source of light combined with a point of interest. Here LEDs have been used as uplighters to provide a soothing low-level light around the bath which not only provides an ethereal setting but can also act as a night light. The LEDs accentuate the materiality and form of the bath, creating an important feature in the bathroom.

It is important not to forget exterior lighting. A well-lit garden becomes a superior and dominating space at night. Having different levels and layers of light enables a dynamic and interesting scheme. Coloured LEDs have been fitted underneath glass panels in the ground which accentuates the architectural detail, complimenting the foliage and providing a clearly lit path for people using the space. The LEDs can be colour changing to create different moods and scenes.

I Love LEDs!

Natasha Hamilton Dick.

Finally, a fluorescent we can design with....

Installing energy efficient fluorescent lamps in your project is a great way of helping lower energy consumption, reducing electricity bills and saving the planet! Thanks to rapid developments in fluorescent lamp technology creative and illuminating designs can be achieved whilst 'doing our bit' for the environment.
Dimmable compact fluorescent lamps have been in the market for a while, but those of you who have experimented with these products will appreciate that their flaws can lead to a poor overall effect. The traditional 'stepped' dimming of compact fluorescents, whereby the light output can be reduced with dimming gear but only in 4 increments until 10% output, does not allow you enough flexibility to produce a coherent and seamless lighting scheme. Jerky and awkward movements between lighting situations can highlight the difference between a professional and an amateur. Fortunately, new 'smooth' dimming lamps have now reached the marketplace, giving you the control normally associated with the traditional tungsten filament lamps.

Produced in several shapes, sizes, wattages and connections, the smooth fluorescent dimming lamp sounds like it could revolutionise the lighting industry. But is this lamp really as amazing as it is set up to be? Some vital questions need to be addressed before we can know for sure.......

Do they really come in all shapes and sizes? Yes. From 7W (35W equivalent) to 18W (100W equivalent), the smooth dimming fluorescents can meet all of your lighting needs. They are manufactured in candle, traditional, golf ball, PAR and GU10 shapes, allowing them to be installed in any fitting, room or area, for almost any purpose.
Are they truly dimmable? Yes. They dim from 100% to 10% with a standard rotary dimmer, without the need of any additional equipment and most importantly without any erratic jumps in light levels.
Can they be easily controlled? Yes. They can be dimmed to 10% and can be introduced into a lighting control system such as Lutron or Crestron to work along side other light sources, thereby providing a seamless yet energy efficient lighting scheme (I have tested this personally, to give me the confidence to specify them in my projects).
Are they expensive? Overall, no. The slightly higher initial cost is compensated by the much-lowered running and maintenance costs, giving a lower overall cost than traditional tungsten filament lamps.
Are they hard to track down? No. Already retailing in many supermarkets and home improvement stores, the Megaman smooth dimming lamps are available in many places, especially online (including our own website, www.lightiq.com).

All in all, this new range of lamps looks set to change the design and use of energy efficient lighting schemes from sporadic to ubiquitous. Make your 'green' life easier with compact dimmable fluorescents!

RW.