Emulating the patterns of natural light and our deeply embedded responses to it are central to lighting design, said experts at the RIBAJ/Occhio lighting event
Everyone knows that light plays a vital role in architecture, and yet it can be one of the most difficult aspects of design to discuss. Light is intangible, ever-changing, and its use often entails theatrical illusion or misdirection. How and when design teams should discuss light was a subject speakers returned to repeatedly at an event held by RIBAJ in partnership with lighting manufacturer Occhio at its sumptuous new showroom in South Kensington, London.
It took place among displays that illustrate one challenge – and opportunity – for designers: a bewildering range of choice. ‘Our product portfolio consists of only five series,’ said showroom manager and country director Tristan Forrest, ‘but between the different heads, fittings and finishes there are something like two million possible combinations. This enables us to provide the best possible light for every situation, interior design and architecture. In the end it’s not about single products but about the light and the atmosphere people can create with Occhio.’
Keith Bradshaw, CEO of lighting designer Speirs & Major Light Architecture, advocates developing a shared ‘vocabulary of light’ rooted in common experiences: intensity, distribution, contrast. Words can be a better guide than images – especially in the age of AI. ‘Clients often arrive with a visual, and we say: “You do know this project is on planet Earth?”.’
Designers should also think about the ‘anthropology’ of light – responses rooted in the most primal of human experiences. One that Speirs & Major Light Architecture is particularly mindful of is subtle motion. ‘Natural light doesn’t like keeping still, so why should artificial light?’ At the Soho headquarters of crypto bank Copper, animated light plays across metal mesh curtains behind the glazed facade, so that by night the building shimmers.
Likewise, the quality of light must relate to its direction: ‘Cool natural light comes from above, and firelight from below – something deeply embedded into us as a species’. That understanding informs projects such as Exchange Square in London, where light spills across the ground like liquid amber from beneath curving steps. ‘Simple to talk about,’ said Bradshaw, ‘but it’s much easier to put light on buildings than on the ground.’
These universal responses are inflected by varying cultural contexts. Occhio initially developed extra-warm lamps with a colour temperature range of 2200K to 3500K for the Scandinavian market, where winters are long and cosiness highly prized. Nevertheless, it has found them to be very popular in southern Europe. Occhio founder Axel Meise’s house in Mallorca is a case in point: a sepulchrally dark interior is warmed by the rich orange glow and brass finish of the company’s fixtures.
Colour temperature is something many get wrong, said Sally Storey, director of both John Cullen and Lighting Design International. ‘In visuals, cooler temperatures often look more contemporary, and can look great in the daytime. But in the evening what you’re desperate for is candlelight.’ Likewise, she suggested, there’s a mistaken assumption that cooler light might feel more comfortable in hotter climates, but again warmth at night works best in practice.
Storey, who has written Inspired by Light to demystify residential lighting for architects, outlined ways to think about composition for both function and atmospheric effect. Her project for the Frantzén restaurant at Harrods illustrates the value of layering light, with ornamental fixtures adding glamour and pools of illumination to central circulation spaces, while fixtures concealed behind banquettes and integrated in joinery create intimacy within the lofty volume. Points of focus are also critical – both to aid orientation and set the mood – but should be used judiciously. ‘If you come into a space and the flowers are lit in a really concentrated way, it seems like a ray of sunshine and creates a sense of excitement,’ she said. ‘But if your points of focus overlap, you’ve probably got too much.’
All pointed to the importance of considering light early in the design process. Not least, as Bradshaw pointed out, because its behaviour should influence the choice of materials. At the Fortnum & Mason restaurant in the giant hall of London’s Royal Exchange, parts of the twinkling nickel-plated steel canopy over an island bar were given a matt polish to better hold the light projected onto it. ‘Light doesn’t like polished surfaces’.
Such considerations gain greater importance as we try to reduce energy use. Bradshaw recently completed a ceiling installation for the open-air ‘grand room’ beneath a commercial tower in Taiku, Hong Kong. With a permitted maximum of just 14W/m2 to produce 100 lux at ground level in the 11m-high space – enough to navigate by – the design team used translucent materials that hold the light well, and focussed the lighting to produce impactful highlights rather than a dull uniformity across the installation. ‘The point,’ he said, ‘is that you can still do amazing, beautiful things even with strict codes on energy use’.
New technologies are also changing our relationship with light. On display in the showroom are luminaires with integral Bluetooth connections, so that whole networks can be wirelessly controlled through the Occhio Air app, as well as sensor-equipped fixtures that dim with a wave of the hand in the air beneath. ‘The technology behind gesture control is an important part of the company’s evolution,’ Forrest explained. ‘We are looking at how people interact with lighting in a much more emotionally resonant way; when clients get it they really love it.’
With that, guests were invited to try these features for themselves. Words and pictures might be vital in describing the intended effects of light but, of course, nothing beats experience.
Speakers:
Tristan Forrest manager of the Occhio showroom in South Kensington
Sally Storey creative director of John Cullen and founding director of Lighting Design International
Keith Bradshaw CEO and senior partner at Speirs Major Light Architecture
In partnership with Occhio