Topos 102

to po s. no 102

2018

30 INTO THE LIGHT – Rivals or lovers: Light and darkness and their contrasting relationship

44 SUNSET BOULEVARDS – Artist Philipp Geist illuminates gloomy cities

ISBN 978-3-7667-2378-9

60 MORPHING MEDELLÍN – A metropolis stepping out of the dark

Contents

T H E B I G PICTU RE

CURAT ED PRODUCT S

Page 8

Page 102

O P I NION

R EF E RE NCE

Page 10

Page 106

TA L EN T VS. MASTERMIND

EDITOR ´S PIC K

Page 12

Page 108

MET ROPO L I S EX PLA INE D

Page 14 M OR PH IN G M EDELLÍN

Page 60

BAC KFLIP

Page 110 TO O B I G TO HAN D LE

M ORPHIN G M EDEL LÍN

Daan Roosegaarde's delightful transformation of a dyke Page 18

A metropolis frees itself from the gloom Page 60

I NTO TH E LIG HT

ARABIAN NIGHTSCAPES

Light vs. darkness – a love-hate affair Page 30

What Occident can learn from Orient Page 70

DAR K SKY – LESS LIGHT IS MORE

DR EA MIN G TH E CITY

A new approach for planning with lumen Page 36

Changing urban perception with video art Page 76

P L AYIN G WITH BEA MS

L IGH TS OUT!

Light artist Philipp Geist sets urban spaces in motion Page 44

Threatened by extinction: starry skies Page 86

DA R K METAL IN K IRUNA

OR CHESTR ATIN G THE NIGHT

What happens when the lights go out in a mining city?

Page 50

Mobilising masses with light and fire Page 94

DA RK NE SS: FACTS A ND FIGURES

CON TR IBUTOR S

Page 58

Page 100

ESCAPE PLAN

Page 112 FRO M T H E E DGE S

Page 114 IMPRI NT

Page 113

LI GHT S O UT !

Page 86

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OPINION

M ETRO PO LIS EXPLA INE D

The battle of Bears Ears is far from over Page 10

Lissy Kaufmann on Tel Aviv Page 14

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Darkness

BIG

too

to Handle

The “hippie with a business plan” is back: Daan Roosegaarde has transformed the Afsluitdijk, a historical dyke in the Netherlands, by using a series of light-installations.

JAAPJAN BERG

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Darkness

Dark Sky Lighting in open spaces has significantly changed in recent years. Its worldwide increase impacts humans and the natural environment. In order to minimise the negative effects of artificial light in outdoor spaces, astronomers, environmental associations and manufacturers have begun to cooperate for a new awareness of darkness. They have announced a new approach to designing and planning the use of artificial light called “Dark Sky�. Their addressees are architects designing the nocturnal illumination of facades, urban planners and landscape architects.

THOMAS SCHIELKE

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Darkness can have an abundance of light qualities every bit as interesting as those of light-flooded rooms.

The aesthetics of darkness Satellite pictures of night on Earth provide ample evidence of how in many regions of the world viewing the stars has largely become impossible due to urban light pollution. Even sparsely populated areas are affected by this. In the same manner that daylight varies in intensity, colour and ratio of diffuse and direct light, darkness is characterised by subtle nuances. These can only be perceived if environmental conditions permit differentiated viewing at night time. Darkness can have an abundance of light qualities every bit as interesting as those of light-flooded rooms. Lighting concepts striving for sustainability with regard to darkness offer a superior quality in particular whenever they take into account the night’s natural atmosphere. In fact, such lighting schemes require dark-

ness as the counterpart of light. A dark open space can be structured through different illumination levels that create a hierarchy of perceptions and direct the viewer’s gaze. Unimportant objects recede into the background, important ones move into focus. To guide and control perception through lighting, even small light points with low illumination levels suffice. The light of the moon in particular has been a source of inspiration for naturallooking lighting concepts when it comes to direction of light, brightness and colour. To recognize regions with dark environments at night, the International Dark Sky Association has created a programme through which communities as well as nature reserves can obtain certification as a Dark Sky Region.

The antagonists: Dark Sky and urban spaces Buildings that are used 24 hours a day become light columns at night, and the towns and cities

where they stand turn into light carpets. Typically, advertisements with high illumination intensities and striking light colours compete for attention. To fight for the cause of Dark Sky at such places seems like a hopeless undertaking.

Yet it is important to recall that perceiving one’s surroundings at night does not require street spaces bathed in floodlight. Rather light should help making objects more recognisable, without relying on high luminance densities or strong contrasts. As architects plan and design public spaces and private buildings, the preferable strategy is one that favours quality over quantity. Light experts use the term “perception-oriented light planning” when referring to adequate lighting solutions. This strategy begins with how people perceive their immediate surroundings. The goal is to avoid light pollution and glare in outdoor spaces and create conditions that allow the gazing of the starry sky.

Light planning that prioritises quality considers visual tasks, such as the lighting of pathways or psychological requirements, as well as visual orientation.

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Darkness

Gate of Words – The light installation at the Meydan-e Azadi Tower in Tehran was made of colored words and abstract painterly compositions of images. In 2015 the artist visualised the topics of freedom, peace, space and time.

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“I flesh out a place in the dark.”

Philipp Geist discovered photography and painting while he was still quite young. He toured across Europe as a VJ before finding his vocation as a light artist. Geist, who lives in Berlin, now travels around the world and brings urban spaces and architecture to life with his light installations. He even developed installations for the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and the Azadi Tower in Tehran.

Our luck! We were able to speak with him about his work.

ANJA KOLLER

Photo: Philipp Geist, VG Bildkunst Bonn

topos: As a light artist, you deal intensively with light and darkness – what significance do such antipodes have for you?

GEIST: There is always something mystical and frightening about darkness. Light, on the other hand, stands for goodness, for something positive. For me as a light artist, both of these things are essential. My art of video mapping wouldn't work without darkness. It's only during the short period of darkness at night that I can bring buildings, plazas, objects and spaces to life with light art.

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Darkness

Morphing Once known as the most dangerous city in the world, this January Medellín in Columbia was named the number one travel destination on the rise in South America. From a world full of darkness and crime, the city has stepped into the light – thanks to its own society, which remembered its values at the darkest moment.

ALEJANDRO RESTREPO-MONTOYA

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A Snapshot from comuna 13 of a young Colombian swirling in his bedsheet .

The district used to be one of the most dangerous in MedellĂ­n. Nowadays the quarter attracts tourists with its street art.

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Photo: NASA Earth Observatory, 2012

Satellite picture of the Arabian Peninsula at night: from Cairo in the west to the coast of Oman in the east.

Darkness

Arabian Landscape architects and urban designers are mostly trained to design for the daylight hours. As a result, projects often respond to daytime uses, a design’s nighttime functions are hardly considered. It’s quite the opposite in Bahrain where most urban spaces only come to life at night. Gareth Doherty explains what we can learn from the Arabian Peninsula.

GARETH DOHERTY

Nightscapes topos

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Darkness

Lights It sounds like a paradox: Light emanating from cities is making it harder to see the light of the stars. Brightly-lit industrial plants and buildings, street lamps and illuminated advertising crowd out the darkness needed to even see the twinkling of the heavens at all. Because of this, astronomers are advocating for the creation of protected zones where it is still possible to marvel at the starry skies far away from light pollution.

out!

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Photo: Unsplash / Greg Rakozy

UTE STRIMMER

Due to its wonderful night skies the Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah was designated as the world's first Dark Sky Reserve.

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