Luminous 10 - White LED Light

International Lighting Magazine 2013/10 March

White light Lighting designer views Guido Bianchi, Ta-Wei Lin and Ulrike Brandi

Architects’ workshops Learning through doing

2 EDITORIAL

WHITE IS THE COLOUR OF PURITY Do you remember how LEDs started out? Decades ago, they were just colourful indicator lights in our car dashboards, or perhaps at home in our music centres. And when they became more powerful, the applications were broader, but they were still, well... colourful.

This would turn out to be the main perception of LEDs. They were colourful lights, great for special effects, but not so good at producing beautiful, pure, white light.

Fortunately, we now have LEDs available that give us genuine, white light, with a complete spectrum that allows us to see the colours around us in their natural splendour. The white light produced by LEDs has improved so much that it is even used to illuminate Rembrandt’s Night Watch, one of the five most famous paintings in the world, and the pride of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

White light has also enabled the use of LEDs for general illumination. In this edition of Luminous we report on PACTE LED, a research project in France that has found that the energy currently consumed by halogen spots in hotels and restaurants could be cut by 80 per cent if they were all replaced with LEDs. This is now possible, because white LEDs can produce a warm, natural light that combines a white glow with sparkle and brilliance.

Another innovative technology, OLED or Organic LED, also makes beautiful white light.

Moreover, OLED makes light that is flattering, soft and gentle, and just plain beautiful. As I said in a film last year: if an LED is the sun, with its shadows and brightness, then an OLED is the sky, with its soft glow and diffused light. See on page 20 what designer Christoph Bauder of Whitevoid has created with OLEDs, and how you can use his modular units yourself to make new and unexpected designs!

White LED is also a very pleasant light for work spaces, as Pentagon Design in Finland has shown. The office is lit entirely with LED fixtures that give the space a comfortable level and colour of light, without any glare. Ana Latvala of Pentagon explains in this edition of Luminous what she had to do to transform an old hat factory into a contemporary office.

These inspiring projects mark a true transformation of the lighting industry: we are rapidly moving from analogue light, which requires maintenance, more energy and is hard to control, to LED or digital light, which can be embedded, offers new possibilities and is easy to orchestrate.

But how do you keep up with all of this new knowledge? To help, we are now regularly organising ‘inspirational visits’ for architects and designers: a day-and-a-half in our Philips innovation kitchen, to learn about this new light. Read more about it in this edition of Luminous, and perhaps one day I will have the pleasure of welcoming you during one of these visits of discovery!

Thank you for reading. This is the 10th edition of Luminous and we are delighted that so many of you have joined our journey of discovery through all the editions. Enjoy Luminous 10!

Rogier van der Heide Vice President & Chief Design Officer

colophon published by | Philips Lighting BV – Mathildelaan 1, Eindhoven 5611 BD, The Netherlands – www.lighting.philips.com editor in chief | Vincent Laganier managing editor | Paulina Dudkiewicz steering committee | Fernand Pereira, Matthew Cobham copywriting & editing | Ruth Slavid graphic design concept | MediaPartners printing | APS Group BV more info | luminous@philips.com ISSN nr | 1876-2972 12 NC 322263567298 cover | Office of Pentagon Design, Helsinki, Finland photo | © Tomi Nuotsalo

coNteNt 3

WHITE LED LIGHTING DIALOGUE white led light

The past, present and future of white LED light

leds stUdy for hosPitality

desigN for desigNers

4 12

Replacing halogen spots will please both your accountant and your customers

Why designing your own office allows you to push the boundaries of lighting

FEEDBACK iNside the iNNoVatioN kitcheN

30

learNiNg throUgh doiNg

34

Inspirational visits are educational - it’s official

DOSSIER white light

24

Hands-on lighting experience keeps Polish architects awake

see aNd toUch

16

lUmiNoUs talks

38

liViNg scUlPtUre

20

sUstaiNaBle festiVal

40

Bringing Californian sunlight to Belgium

3D technology that allows designers to focus on what they’re best at - design

The relationship between light and human health

A total package. Inventive, beautiful and sustainable lighting

20

34

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24

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White LED light

By Ruth slavid

In Germany, Italy and Taiwan, what are the trends regarding white light? What is important for you when you design lighting with it?

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Š Jeffrey Cheng PLG1212250148_67298 Luminous magazine #10_BW INT_NEW.indd 5

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6 Platform

Guido Bianchi:

© Vieri Bottazzini

“We want to be descriptive rather than interpretative.”

With certain designers keen to demonstrate the show-stopping effects that they can achieve with coloured light, one might come to think that white light is just, well, white light. That it is simply light that is not coloured, the vanilla flavour that is necessary but not very exciting and always the same. The history of LEDs has tended to exacerbate this impression. The earliest LEDs were only available as colours, with white the most difficult type of light to achieve. And the first white LEDs tended to have a very cold colour temperature.

Now this has all changed, with the range of colour temperatures for white LEDs greatly improved, and the rendering also far superior to just a few years ago. As a result, thoughtful designers, many of whom do much of their work with white light, are turning to LEDs for the first time.

Guido Bianchi For example, Guido Bianchi of Italian practice Rossi Bianchi, said, “We started using LEDs two or three years ago. Before that it was a very bad source – the colour wasn’t stable, there was no power, and we hated seeing the “dots” of LEDs everywhere. The colour rendering was not good enough for projects such as a fabric

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shop.” But now, he says, “it is different. LEDs are more interesting because they are becoming powerful engines with a high quality of colour rendering. And they can provide a warm or a cool light.”

Bianchi prefers to design with white light. “In general we don’t use coloured light,” he says. “We use the colours of white light. Most of our projects are in Italy, in historic towns, and we use light more as a function than to create an atmosphere. We want to be descriptive rather than interpretative.”

Ta-Wei Lin Ta-Wei Lin, who operates from Taiwan, also prefers to use white light. “Our environment is already polluted by fast-changing coloured light,” he says. “In general we prefer to use white light. Without a strong intent, coloured light seems too much like entertainment.” He has used both white and blue LEDs on the exterior lighting of a six-storey office building for a bicyclemaking company, using the blue to highlight the undersides of the curvaceous balconies as well as the top of the building. But this is an exception.

He now uses LEDs for all his projects and says the colour rendering is getting better and better. And energy concerns make

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© Rossi Bianchi

Platform 7

Renovation of Brera Museum, Milan, Italy Architect: M. De Lucchi Lighting design: Rossi Bianchi lighting design Top: East-west section through the central yard.

Middle: East-west section through the exhibition spaces and galleries.

Bottom: Gallery section with accent and indirect white lighting from suspended fixtures.

Guido Bianchi, Italy

“In general we don’t use coloured light. We use the colours of white light.”

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© Ta-Wei Lin

8 Platform

© Jeffrey Cheng

Top: The white light arcade, which smoothes the visual transition from the sidewalk, is lit by orange-tinted street lighting.

Left: The facade’s lighting system consists of four major parts, namely the curtain wall, the light tower, frames and building corners.

Right: To reflect the curvature of the building’s shape, the metal bars running along the facade are highlighted.

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Ta-Wai Lin, Taiwan

“Without a strong intent, coloured light seems too much like entertainment.”

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Platform 9

Ta-Wei Lin:

“The white light LED creates more working hours for lighting designers.”

it impossible to go back to other sources. But, he says, “I am still haunted by the old fashioned incandescent light source. Every time that I look at a museum or space where the lighting has been replaced by white LEDs with high CRI, the slightly purplish colour still bothers me. I cannot help but compare it to the “good old days” of incandescent light.” But he relishes the challenge of working with what he sees fundamentally as a different medium, saying, “I am glad that I am experiencing this major change in lighting technology. It is such a great opportunity for me to learn.

We are ready for the changes.”

Ulrike Brandi German-based Ulrike Brandi is even more vehement about using white light, saying, “I am known for the use of white light. I am much more interested in the different colour temperatures of white light. Why not use it instead of coloured light? There was an inflation of coloured light and I became bored by people using colour for no reason. It had no relationship to the building or the surroundings.”

Brandi wouldn’t use LEDs in the early days because of the limited range of colour temperatures. “We couldn’t use the daylight white

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either inside or outside,” she says. “We tried filtering the light to get warmer colours.” Now, she says, the situation has changed entirely. “We can use LEDs anywhere, even in museums. It’s where the lighting industry makes the biggest effort. It is not only colour temperature that is important if you are going to light art, but also colour rendering.”

If the space is lit by daylight then the lighting needs to be coolish – “but it is still different to the bluish light of day,” says Brandi. “If there is no daylight, then people feel comfortable with a warmer light.”

Brandi now feels that white LEDs have reached the quality and the cost levels that allow her to use them for all her projects.

Her only concern is with street lighting where she believes that manufacturers have not yet developed the fittings that make LEDs comfortable to use. This is particularly important for her because she is working on the lighting masterplan for Rotterdam, which she says will, “give a certain order to the city, and help people to understand it.”

Communicate ideas If designing well with light is important, so is the ability to communicate the intended effect. All three designers like to use

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10 Platform

Ulrike Brandi:

“It is not only colour temperature that is important.”

hand sketches to communicate their ideas, alongside models and technical drawings.

Like Lin, Brandi and Bianchi are treating LEDs as a different kind of light from what went before – and relishing the challenge. “As you are using a different light source, you are offering a different experience,” says Bianchi. “Having a shop window with 1,000 Lux doesn’t mean that it is good. Having 800 Lux can be good too.

The eye doesn’t measure absolute levels of light. It just measures contrast.” As we increasingly recognise the need to reduce our energy consumption he believes that, even with low-energy LEDs, we will learn to accept lower lighting levels.

Bianchi sees this as an exciting time, as we finally say goodbye to the old-fashioned incandescent bulb. “Since Edison invented the light bulb it has been there,” he says. “Now it is going. Of course it is an exciting time.”

Good news He also welcomes the fact that for the first time since LEDs were developed, some type of standardisation is being introduced. “It makes us very happy,” he says. It should make Lin happy as well, because he says, “Since there are so many white light LEDs with

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no consistent quality, we need to test and make a mock-up each time to see if the effect is OK. We all laugh about it; the white light LED creates more working hours for lighting designers.” One of Lin’s concerns is hiding the LED fitting itself. “We try to avoid using a linear LED light, no matter if it is white or coloured, on building façades without a reason,” he says. “The high output LED light overpowers the form of buildings at night. It makes buildings appear flat and look similar.

“Normally, we will create a detail for LED light to bounce at least once before it reaches viewers’ eyes, which means we prefer to use LED light in an indirect way.”

All three of these designers believe that the quality of light produced by LEDs is different from that produced by other sources. Not necessarily worse, but different, so that they have to think about designing with light in different ways. This requires an in-depth understanding, technical proficiency – and the ability to communicate visually with clients. “We have to give them an idea of the light that they will be getting,” says Brandi.

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© Jörn Hustedt

© Ulrike Brandi Licht

Platform 11

Top: White light on lighting sketch, Town Hall, Bremen, Germany Lighting design: Ulrike Brandi Licht.

Bottom: Implemented project with CDM lamps, Town Hall, Bremen, Germany Lighting design: Ulrike Brandi Licht.

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Ulrike Brandi, Germany “I am much more interested in the different colour temperatures of white light.”

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12 Platform PACTE LED research project, France

LEDs study for

hospitality

By Ruth Slavid

A research project in France has found that the energy currently consumed by halogen spots could be cut by up to 80 per cent if they were replaced with comparable LED alternatives. Philips has developed two lamps for this project, which are easy to use and that users of the spaces find provide a light quality that they are happy with. The primary targets for the new lamps are hotels and restaurants.

A major research project in France has led to the development of LED lamps that can replace energy-hungry halogen spots.

It addressed two vital issues: developing a lamp that could perform well in technical terms, and ensuring that the lights were acceptable both to users of the lit spaces and to those responsible for replacement and maintenance.

The three-year project was sponsored by ADEME, (France’s environment and energy management agency), which has the goal of reudcing the country’s energy consumption. Whereas some incandescent lamps have now been banned throughout the European Union, there is no legislation covering halogen lamps – and spots in particular are almost impossible to replace with compact fluorescents because they just cannot be made small enough.

The Cluster Lumière, a French lighting sector network consisting of over 120 companies and organisations, therefore came up with a proposal in 2009 to discover whether an LED replacement could be found that would be both technically and socially acceptable.

Christophe Marty, coordinator of the project for lighting engineering agency Ingelux, who takes a scientific and technical approach to lighting design, explains, “we realised that we had to find a way to

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make a replacement for halogen dichroic lamps that would fulfil all the needs. There was no product on the market, so we proposed to ADEME that we should carry out the research with Philips and a number of other partners.”

ADEME set a target of cutting the energy use of the lamp to a quarter, but in fact the new lamps have exceeded that target, reducing energy usage by 80 per cent. “Philips did even better than we expected,” said Bruno Lafitte, head of lighting at ADEME. Philips produced 10,000 of the lamps, called Pacte LED lamps, and these were used not just for laboratory tests but for tests of lighting perception and ease of use. The lamps were designed to work with existing halogen transformers and wall dimmers, so that replacement was simply a matter of removing one lamp and installing the other.

Right: Lighting engineering agency Ingelux is taking a scientific and technical approach to research.

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14 Platform

© Kaory Studio

Two-thirds of guests are equally as happy with the LED spots.

PACTE lamps for tests of lighting perception and ease of use.

Some 80 volunteers invited to test centres were asked to evaluate the light from the LED spots and from halogen spots and comment on the quality without knowing which source had been used.

Nearly three-quarters of them said that they would be prepared to replace halogen spots with the LEDs. A major study was also carried out within the hospitality industry, at hotels, cafes and restaurants. “Demonstrators” were asked to replace their halogen spots with the Pacte LED lamps, and to evaluate both the ease of changing the lights and the quality of light. In addition, Accor Hotels, at three of its facilities in Lyon, set up tests with hotels guests, asking them to walk through pairs of corridors, bathrooms and bedrooms with both sources and evaluate the light quality, again without knowing what had been used. Again, the results were excellent, with two-thirds of guests being equally happy with the LED spots. Of the “demonstrators” who were replacing lamps, 85% said that they would be ready to replace halogen lamps with LED alternatives.

The PACTE project was developed by a consortium of scientists and other experts.

Websites www.ademe.fr www.ingelux.com www.lighting.philips.fr www.entpe.fr www-leti.cea.fr www.lne.fr www.cstb.fr www.accorhotels.com www.clusterlumiere.com

LED lamps last on average 13 times as long as halogen, so despite a higher unit cost, payback in hotels where lights are often on 24 hours a day, can be as little as one year. So there would be both benefits for users and, crucially, major benefits for the country’s consumption of electricity.

Are you satisfied, by comparison with the lighting previously provided by halogens, by: Worse 0

The quality of the global ambiant lighting?

The lighting uniformity in the room?

The luminous contrasts in the room?

The colour rendering of objects in the room?

The fidelity of the colour rendering of your skin?

better

equivalent 2,5

5

7,5

10 7,6/10

7,4/10 7,2/10 7,4/10 7,2/10

Proportion of “equivalent or better”: 94% 91% 93% 94% 93%

As compared to halogen: The obtained lighting is: The comfort perception is:

7,4/10 7,0/10

89% 86%

Data in the table is based on 600 perception questionnaires collected all over France.

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White Light Esprit, Antwerp

Living Sculpture, London

Pentagon Design, Helsinki

page 16

page 20

page 24

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white light i 17 Esprit, Antwerp, Belgium

See and

touch

By Ruth Slavid Los Angeles architect, Standard has brought a feeling of Californian sunlight to a fashion store in Antwerp, Belgium.

Online shopping has made intelligent retailers rethink their offerings.

Nobody actually needs to go to a shop anymore, and therefore it is the retailer’s role to make them want to go – to give them an experience that they enjoy. This is the case even with fashion. There are distinct advantages in being able to see and touch clothes and to try them on, but people may still choose to shop online, and exchange disappointing goods, if going to the shops is not a pleasant experience.

One retailer who has tackled this issue head on is fashion brand Esprit. It has come up with the idea of the Esprit Lighthouse, a concept that both tries to be as contemporary as possible and also harks back to its roots in California in the 1980s. The idea is to provide a range of different spaces and to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The company wants to roll-out a series of ideas, but not a cookie-cutter design and so is opting for a different architect at each of its Lighthouse stores.

The first, in Cologne, was by German practice Reich und Wamser.

When Esprit approached Los Angeles based Standard, the practice did not know which location it was being asked to look at. “They came to us and other architects with a long, clearly described brief with images, and asked us to come up with an approach separate

Left: The designers opted for the warmest LED colour temperature available to them - 2700K.

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18 white light i

“It looks very much like sunlight or candlelight.”

from an actual solution,” explains Sylvia Kuhle, one of the founders of the practice. Having presented their ideas in Dusseldorf, she and her colleague Jeffrey Allsbrook were then asked to come up with a design for what turned out to be the second Lighthouse Store, in Antwerp, Belgium.

“We wanted it to feel more like a home than a store,” explains Allsbrook. They therefore designed it as a series of rooms, each with a different atmosphere, rather than as a single coherent space or set of spaces. “The sun-filled environment of California is very different to the typical environment of a mall,” says Kuhne. “We needed to create this feeling without actually having the sunlight.

We did it largely through the use of materials. We used a lot of wood, a lot of recycled materials, and natural materials like bamboo.

We used a lot of diagonal lines. Part of our feeling was that we wanted to be more feminine and organic – we didn’t want to be as rigid as previous stores.”

Table tops and cupboard backs are in jute to add to the softer organic feeling and each room has an individual atmosphere – timber beach houses, contemporary Californian design, or a more rustic feeling. All of them aspire to have a Californian quality of light, and in order to achieve it they have used LEDs. “There are just a few metal-halide lamps in the floor that were not necessarily needed,’ says Kuhle.

In keeping with the domestic atmosphere and the desire to replicate Californian sunshine, the designers went for the warmest colour temperature that was available to them - 2700K. “It looks very much like sunlight or candlelight,” says Kuhle. “It sparkles.” The LEDs satisfied the environmental aspirations for the project and the profile of the original founders of Esprit, as well as providing the quality of light that was desired.

And although the technology is the same in every room, the fittings are not. Some rooms use a combination of uplighters and downlighters, whereas in others there is a linear track concealed within a diagonally patterned ceiling.

The changing rooms, where it is essential that customers not only enjoy the atmosphere, but also that they can see themselves

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without shadows, have one of the most sophisticated arrangements, with indirect lighting from the mirror going up to the ceiling, supplemented by two direct lights focused on the customer in front of the mirror.

Retail is one of the most demanding environments and although the feel of the shop is out of the ordinary, it was still essential that shoppers should be able to see the merchandise. There was therefore an iterative process. Having specified LED lighting, the architect then found ways to integrate the sources in ceilings and furniture. The retail company then checked that this would not create any dark spots before installation could go ahead.

The effort was worth it. The Antwerp Esprit Lighthouse opened with great fanfare on 1 June. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from shoppers and also from the company”, says Kuhle.

Expect the idea – but not the detail of the design – be rolled-out to more cities.

Client Esprit Architect Jeffrey Allsbrook and Silvia Kuhle, Standard, Los Angeles, USA Lighting solutions Philips LED, CDM Elite Luminaires Philips StyliD Pure Detail, Storeflux, eW powercove QLX, some Modular Websites www.standard-la.com

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Š Esprit

white light i 19

Top: Having specified LED lighting, the architect then found ways to integrate the sources into ceilings and furniture.

Bottom: The designer wanted to replicate Californian light, and to achieve this LEDs are used almost exclusively.

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LivingSculpture, 3D module system, London, UK

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Living

sculpture

By Ruth Slavid

Š Philips/WHITEvoid

There is now a system available that allows designers to produce three-dimensional arrays of OLEDs for walls and ceilings, without having to grapple with complex technology.

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22 white light ii

Christopher Bauder:

“When you dim them it gives a nice brownish-reddish colour.”

Many designers are wary of working with the output of other designers, wanting to put their own stamp on what they do, rather than adopt somebody else’s ideas. But in the case of the Philips LivingSculpture 3D module system, developed by Christopher Bauder of WHITE Void, they should have no such scruples.

Bauder’s 3D module system was launched in London in June. The unwary may have thought that the installation of OLEDs that they saw was a very specific design by Bauder. But, in fact, he was just displaying his own interpretation of a nearly totally flexible system.

“The most important thing is that it is something that other designers and artists can use to come up with their own vision,” Bauder says. “It offers untold possibilities.”

Using a series of tiles and linking rods which fix into a back plate, Bauder has come up with a system that allows a designer to exercise their creativity without having to worry about the technicalities.

Having developed their design, which they can do with the help of an online tool called the Configurator, crucially WHITEVoid has designed the control software as well as the system.

The idea arose after Bauder had seen a demonstration of OLEDs and was wondering how best they could be employed. “It was our idea to have a modular system that would allow people to use it in the way that they wanted,” he said.

Built up from a number of base panels which can be fixed to a ceiling or wall, the Philips LivingSculpture 3D module system allows designers to select a form that suits them in three dimensions. Each base plate, measuring 324 by 324mm can

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accommodate up to 16 OLEDs – although insertion points can be left empty. OLEDs are mounted on rods at intervals of 2.5 cm selected from the following lengths: 0cm, 2.5cm; 5cm up to 40cm. The OLEDs themselves are square, with 76mm long sides. These were selected because they are among the largest sizes that Philips offers, although if customers want smaller OLEDs, or a different shape, they will have this option in the future. Philips has initially launched with the single shape as it feels that this is the most appropriate.

For his demonstration piece, Bauder chose a relatively warm colour temperature of 3000K. “I like the warmth,” he says, “and when you dim them it gives a nice brownish-reddish colour. But you can order them in a different colour temperature – or in a different colour.” There is also the option to intersperse mirror tiles with the OLEDs, reducing the overall cost and providing a mirrored surface when the lighting is switched off.

The base plate, which is fixed with four screws, only weighs 2.5kg, so there is no need for a supporting frame behind it – although Bauder recommends using one if you may want to subsequently reconfigure the room and avoid having too many screw holes. With a depth of only 5.1cm, the base plate allows the designer to have as great a variation in the size of rods as the dimensions of the room can accommodate.

The effect is not static. The array can be programmed so that patterns of light sweep across the sculpture as individual OLEDs dim and brighten, or even go off altogether. WHITEvoid has written the software that makes this possible, and The Living Sculpture is already available for sale. Designers can explore the

possibilities by using the Configurator tool at www.the-new-art-of-light.com.

The main applications, believes Bauder, will be in imposing spaces, such as hotel receptions or, “I would love to see it in a bar, in an office entrance or perhaps in an airport,” he says. One of the advantages of OLEDs is that, although the array may provide plenty of light, it will not be bright enough to dazzle, so people can look at it and admire it for as long as they wish.

Several clients have already expressed an interest in buying one of these systems.

Bauder has also designed the LivingSculpture kinetic installation, which was launched at Light and Building. Rather than just having the light sweeping across it, this had actual moving parts. Hanging above the main information desk on the Philips’ stand, it consisted of 24 triangular shapes, each containing OLEDs, which were moved by a series of 72 winches.

The kinetic installation is already for sale, while the 3D module system will become available for sale in January.

This is a further demonstration of the versatility and potential of OLEDs. As designers learn how they can best employ the very different lighting experience that OLEDs provide, the LivingSculpture 3D module system offers them a way to exercise their creativity without having to tussle with technical issues.

Websites wwww.whitevoid.com www.the-new-art-of-light.com www.facebook.com/Lumiblade

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Š Philips/WHITEvoid

white light ii 23

Top: OLEDs are mounted on rods which can vary in length by increments of 2.5cm.

Bottom: On 26 June 2012, a private preview of the LivingSculpture 3D was held in London at One Mayfair.

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Office of Pentagon Design, Helsinki, Finland

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Design

for designers

By Ruth slavid

Š Tomi Nuotsalo

The working space of Finnish design agency, Pentagon Design, makes the most of a spacious former hat factory, with a light, bright aesthetic. A range of LED solutions is used throughout the space to complement the design in an energy-efficient and appropriate manner.

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26 white light iii

Anu Latvala:

“16 designers who all want to have a say in the process.”

For an interior designer there is something special about designing a space that they will occupy themselves. The opportunity is relatively unusual, and to be relished, although it also brings particular challenges. So when Anu Latvala of Helsinki-based design agency Pentagon Design was faced with creating a new home for the organisation within an old hat factory dating from the 1930s, she knew it would not be straightforward.

“I think designing for your own company gives you certain opportunities to really consider new ways of working and interacting with clients and workmates,” she says. “I cannot say it is easy when you have 16 designers who all want to have a say in the process. Still, we wanted everyone to have their voice heard and we got lots of great ideas to support our design work.”

The team liked the light and airy feeling of the original space, and wanted to preserve that and not intervene too much. The aim was to create a peaceful working place and common areas. Most of the surfaces are white, and the palette of materials was deliberately restricted to epoxy flooring, white painted walls, and brightly coloured furniture. There are also some small elements of wood used in the kitchen area.

The space benefits from tall ceilings, up to 6m high, and the designers wanted the building to be as light and bright as possible.

The building had previously been used as a photographic studio.

With an empty space and no lights in place the designer had a blank sheet on which to start thinking about lighting. As well as making the most of natural light and installing practical illumination for effective working, she also wanted to use the lighting to emphasise some of the original features of the building.

The office uses LED lighting throughout, a decision that was made easier by the fact that new lighting had to be bought in its entirety,

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rather than deciding whether to keep existing lighting or not. “Our interest in using LED lighting is because of the better quality of light, and because it allows us to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions,” said Latvala. “Lighting is central to our work and we are happy that the whole office is equipped with good quality LED lighting.”

Much of the lighting is suspended, a solution that was made both possible and desirable by the high ceiling heights. A colour temperature of 4000K is used throughout, to create a bright white light that matches the brightness of the surfaces. This is a working space that is bright and contemporary rather than “cozy” and the colour temperature reflects this aesthetic.

Although LEDs are used throughout, a variety of fittings and control systems are used to reflect the different needs of the spaces.

There are rows of Celino LED fittings in the open-plan working space, their simple repeating rhythm matching the layout of the desks. An ActiLume detector controls each line. In the openplan exhibition and rest areas, which will be used for a number of different purposes, there are DALI controls and StyliD spotlights to provide the necessary flexibility. The smaller meeting rooms, which are potentially some of the more difficult spaces, have Lumistone luminaires which combine efficiency with stylish design. Cielo luminaires in the kitchens deliberately provide a more domestic appearance.

In the last few years there has been a tendency for creative businesses to choose deliberately funky workplaces, with games and toys, bright colours and gimmicks. The not-so-hidden message is that work is fun, and that “fun” people choose to work there. Pentagon has taken a very different approach, one that is

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Š Tomi Nuotsalo

white light iii 27

Much of the lighting is suspended, a solution that was made both possible and desirable by the high ceiling heights. A colour temperature of 4000K is used throughout to create a bright white light that matches the brightness of the surfaces.

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28 white light iii

Left: Lighting plan with rows of Celino LED fittings in the openplan working space, their simple repeating rhythm matching the layout of the desks.

An ActiLume detector controls each line.

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white light iii 29

Anu Latvala:

“Lighting is central to our work.”

solutions are flexible and very user-friendly.” But many people working in, or visiting Pentagon’s new office may simply feel comfortable there, and may never notice the carefully selected lighting solutions. They will just know that this is a pleasing, effective, uplifting place to be. And that is just how it should be.

Website www.pentagondesign.fi

© Tomi Nuotsalo

appropriate to an organisation that is interested in making everyday objects better rather than in creating desires for previously unconsidered objects. It has specified a cool calm background in which the enjoyment can come from actually doing the work rather than, as seems to be the case in some of the wackier designs, in spite of the work. Here, design is used as a facilitator and background, rather than in the foreground, and the lighting design fits well with this ethos.

Latvala says, “Both visitors and users have been impressed with the lighting solutions in this space. The style of the luminaires are well suited to the building’s architecture. We have found that the

“Lighting is central to our work and we are happy that the whole office is equipped with good quality LED lighting.”

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30 cpd INSPIRATIONAL VISIT GETS STAMP OF APPROVAL FROM RIBA

Inside the

innovation kitchen

By Matthew Cobham

We always appreciate it when customers take the time to see and experience lighting innovations. The 1.5-day Inspirational Visit has always aimed to give an authentic impression of the Philips innovation kitchen for designers. As it has now been assessed and accredited by the world’s oldest architectural association, RIBA, it will become even more valuable as a tool to help create a rich dialogue on how lighting innovation should proceed.

Philips already has a range of RIBA accredited presentation material on various lighting subjects. In addition, many architects and designers have for some time joined a 1.5 day Inspirational Visit which aims to give an insight into lighting innovation and includes time with lighting research and development, specific innovations such as OLED manufacturing in Aachen and the latest light-source developments.

Since 2010, small groups, typically held monthly, of 10 to 12 designers have given their time, accompanied by their local Philips contact person, to look inside the Philips Lighting innovation kitchen. The monthly visits have aimed to give a different perspective on the large Philips organization. No PowerPoints are shown (well almost none) and visitors are given a very handson experience, spending time with lighting researchers and

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developers in several parts of the organization, including LED and OLED development.

In February, a group of UK-based architects and lighting designers, together with The Architects Journal, came on that months’ Inspirational Visit as part of a project to regenerate Rye Lane in Peckham, London. The designers were then able to use some ideas discussed during their time in Eindhoven for the community project. In fact, to date, 26 visits have taken place and this has led to lighting innovations being harnessed in many projects globally, from leading design practices.

For many of the 300 or so designers who have so far taken part, one of the highlights of the visit is the time spent at the OLED research, development and manufacturing centre in Aachen, Germany. Here, in one location, designers have the opportunity to

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cpd 31

Top: Lighting Application Center, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Bottom: Learning and discussing the latest innovation in LED Lighting.

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32 cpd

Inspirational Visits has been assessed and accredited by the world’s oldest architectural association, RIBA What is ‘’CPD’’?

Continuing Professional Development is informally or formally required by many professional organizations to ensure the competence of their members. For architect members of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Dutch Institute of Architects (BNA) members are formally required to undertake CPD. In the case of RIBA, this is 35 hours per year. RIBA is also working with many other architectural associations including Germany, France, Spain, Hong Kong, Australia, North Africa, Turkey, Hungary, Croatia, Poland and Sweden to promote the formal implementation of CPD amongst their national architectural associations.

talk with people involved in all aspects of this rapidly developing technology. And for some, this has been the turning point from previously considering OLED as being possibly something for the future, to now actually using it in projects.

It is obviously difficult to make a manufacturer’s visit completely non-brand specific as the visitors are by definition at Philips.

However, since the inception the aim has always been to give designers real insight into a part of lighting development that they would be unlikely to otherwise see. For these reasons there have been regular requests to have the Inspirational Visits accredited so they can also submit the time to the RIBA for CPD points.

During the visit, which took place in June, the UK Architect and RIBA assessor, Terry Vanner, joined us with a group of designers from Spain for almost two entire days. During this time he was also able to provide us with some feedback, which has already been put into place, to make the Inspirational Visits even more valuable and hopefully inspirational for the hundreds of designers who now come. We look forward to welcoming many more designers to see lighting innovation at Philips and are proud that the RIBA has given its stamp of approval.

RIBA Head of CPD, Joni Tyler, says that companies like Philips are essential to helping RIBA’s members to stay up to date, competent and innovative. With a difficult economy and construction climate, people who actively keep up their skills and learn new things, have a competitive edge. They are better able to stay afloat, to take on new kinds of work, and to attract new clients through new offers.

Tyler says that the RIBA is proud to partner with Philips through the RIBA CPD Providers Network, and they are excited about the innovative approaches to CPD Philips can offer professionals.

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Since 1834 RIBA has been promoting greater architectural knowledge and was originally established for, ‘…the general advancement of Civil Architecture, and for promoting and facilitating the acquirement of the knowledge of the various arts and sciences connected therewith…’.

Therefore continuing education is deeply established in RIBA’s roots. Today it has a membership of 40,000. ‘’CPD’’ can take many forms. Often it is an educational presentation from a manufacturer about a specialised topic (e.g. acoustics in building materials or LED innovation). For formal CPD the presentation material itself must have been assessed by the architectural association as being of educational value and be non-brand or product specific. Other CPD material can include, amongst other things, online learning, reading and manufacturer visits. The ‘’Inspirational Visit’’ is now also accredited by RIBA.

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1, 2, 3: A group visits the research facilities at High Tech Campus in Eindhoven to learn, discuss and experience the latest innovations. Many of these are not yet introduced to the market.

4: Experiencing acoustic and lighting qualities of Large Luminous Surfaces, at High Tech Campus, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

5, 6: Visiting the production line, learning about latest innovations and discovering the qualities of OLED at the OLED factory in Aachen, Germany.

7: Exploring the latest researches at the Experience Labs at the Research Facilities in Eindhoven.

8: Learning and discussing the latest innovation in LED Lighting.

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workshop 35 Architects of Light workshops, Warsaw, Gliwice, Sierpc and Łódź, Poland

Learning

through doing

By Ruth Slavid

A programme of workshops in Poland has addressed the understanding that architects in the country have of lighting. They have gained hands-on experience and an appreciation of the excitement of working with light.

This year, architects and lighting designers in Poland have been enjoying an opportunity to put theory into practice by not only receiving lectures and demonstrations of theory and the latest developments, but also getting the opportunity to light actual buildings.

A series of workshops entitled, “Architects of Light”, aims to address the problem that architectural students in Poland do not learn

about light. “Architects knowledge of light in Poland is not good,” explains Marek Łasiński, Lighting Applications Services Manager at Philips for Central and Eastern Europe. “If they design lighting, they care more about the form of the luminaire than about the light distribution.”

Philips set out to rectify this situation, not through a series of dry “chalk and talk” presentations, but by combining conventional

Left: Sketch of the amphitheatre at Fort Sokolnickiego.

Middle: Realisation of the designed concept of the amphitheatre.

Right: Another sketch of the auditorium – these sketches became reality.

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36 workshop

To achieve the desired lighting effects.

teaching with practical applications. In the first half of 2012, two programmes took place one for the north of Poland and the other for the south. In each case architects were invited to attend two seminars, with carefully selected buildings where they could exercise their imaginations and new skills in lighting.

Michał Kaczmarzyk, of architect Qbik, whom Łasiński describes as one of the few architects in Poland who does have a profound understanding of light, lectured the students and helped them develop their projects. He said, “The workshops were creative, as we had four different spaces in which four different types of illumination had been prepared. We managed to achieve the desired lighting effects. I am very satisfied with the cooperation between Philips and the architects, who obtained full technical support during the implementation of their concepts.”

Architects in the north of the country worked first at the Sokolnicki Fort in Warsaw, and then at the Museum of the Mazovian Countryside in Sierpc. The southern contingent worked first on a set of abandoned buildings at an old coal mine in Gliwice and then in Łódź, where they made installations that formed part of the city’s Light Move Festival. Lastly, all of the participants were brought together in a final workshop.

The first seminars were in the spring and the second seminars and the final event in the autumn, to combine reasonable weather

with sufficient hours of darkness. The days were long, with first both inspirational and practical lectures and then the sketching of ideas. As dusk approached the groups of architects set up their installations, and then they were lit and appraised after dark. “They worked until midnight,” said Łasiński, “but they were so involved that they forgot about the time.”

Dorota Sławńska, Philips’ Marketing Communication Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, said, “The most important part of the programme were the workshops, which gave the architects a chance to put themselves into the role of a lighting designer, to free their minds and imaginations, to work with the equipment, to check the possibilities and to find the best solutions for their projects.”

The results were spectacular, with the architects transforming buildings through light in a variety of ways. “They have started to love light,” said Łasiński. “The prognosis for the future is very good.’

Websites www.philips.pl/architekciswiatla TV report http://goo.gl/RV2IZ

The barn at Zawady Farm was one of the buildings in the Museum of the Mazovian Countryside, Sierpc, which architects tackled.

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workshop 37

Top: Zygmunt Stary Bridge was one of the most exciting objects that architects could light during the special workshop for students of architecture in Piła.

Bottom: Designs for the same bridge by a different group of students.

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38 workshop Parsons, New York, UNITED STATES

Luminous

talks

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By Vidya Sarma Aisola The scientist whose research may help astronauts to work effectively and get enough sleep was the keynote speaker at an interactive event held in New York where the relationship between light and human health was discussed.

Held in October and called Luminous Talks, the event was organized jointly by Philips Lighting University and Parsons The New School for Design. It brought together several experts in the field. The keynote speaker, Dr George Brainard, a professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, outlined his research into the effect of blue light on circadian rhythms.

NASA in particular has been interested in Brainard’s investigations which show that exposure to blue light suppresses melatonin,

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workshop 39 the hormone that makes us sleepy. It sees this as a possible means by which it can govern the wakefulness and sleep cycles of astronauts, ensuring that they are fully alert when they need to perform vital tasks.

Other speakers included Matthew Cobham, head of indoor lighting application at Philips Lighting. Dr Craig A. Bernecker, founder and director of The Lighting Education Institute, Philadelphia, led a lively discussion between the speakers and the audience, keen to grapple with this essential topic which takes lighting design beyond the purely functional and aesthetic. Designers need to understand those principles but also to grasp the effect that light can have on mood and on health. Luminous Talks helped those who attended to increase their understanding of this exciting and relevant new topic. In recognition of the level of the presentations, the event was accredited by both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects.

Left: Dr George Brainard giving his talk.

Top: The right light exposure can improve nocturnal sleep (especially when people do not get enough daylight), improve alertness and alleviate depression. This is especially useful to help patients recuperate faster in hospitals.

Bottom: From left to right: Steven Myers (Philips Lighting University, US), David Lewis (Dean of Constructed Environments, Parsons), Matthew Cobham (Philips Lighting Application), Dr George Brainard (Professor Thomas Jefferson University), Dr Craig Bernecker (Associate Professor, Parsons), Vidya Sarma (Philips Lighting University), Derek Porter (Director Lighting Design, Parsons).

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ILIGHT FEsTIvAL, MARInA BAy, sInGAPoRE

Sustainable

festival

By Ruth slavid

The iLight Festival in Singapore’s Marina Bay showcases inventive and beautiful work in extraordinary surroundings – and manages to be sustainable as well. Philips’ Rogier van der Heide discusses his favourite work at the festival.

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42 gallery

“Festivals like this remind us that art adds quality to urban spaces.”

There are two factors that make the iLight Festival, held in Singapore’s Marina Bay, special. One is immediately obvious, the other more subtle. For Rogier van der Heide, Vice President and Chief Design Officer at Philips, both are important. ”It’s a unique setting,” he explains. “It is very beautiful. All of the art works are arranged along the bay, and are reflected in the water.

It is unlike other light festivals, which are in city centres.” The other important factor, he says, is that, “Singapore is the only light festival that is sustainable. It has a carbon offset programme.” For example, during the course of the festival, office owners in this perpetually hot and humid city are encouraged to turn up the thermostat on their air conditioning to compensate for the energy that the lighting consumes. And all the electricity that is used comes from green sources.

None of this would matter if the work was not good – but it is. At the most recent festival, in March this year, van der Heide was impressed by the reaction to austerity. For example, in “Flow” Singapore-based Olivia Lee used discarded water-cooler bottles as containers for her beautiful lighting effects. Shinya Okuda used an emergency post-earthquake shelter from his native Japan to create “Bioshell”, lit with LED floodlights. Van der Heide also enjoyed installations that combined light with sound.

“Festivals like this remind us that art is incredibly important,” he says, “and that it adds quality to urban spaces.”

Websites www.ilightmarinabay.sg wwww.ura.gov.sg/pr/text/2012/pr12-22.html Video youtu.be/PjeFc4rNOdA

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Page 39: 5QU1D by Ryf Zaini, Singapore.

Top: Lighting of the Merlion by OCUBO, Singapore.

Bottom: enLIGHTenment by Edwin Tan, Singapore.

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Discover the Philips Lighting hub iPad app The app contains inspirational projects and also offers you the complete professional lighting portfolio in one go.

The Lighting hub is a great source for inspiration and information.

The quarterly email newsletter www.philips.com/luminous

Copyright Š 2013 Koninklijke Philips Electronics B.V. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. The information presented in this document does not form part of any quotation or contract, is believed to be accurate and reliable and may be changed without notice. No liability will be accepted by the publisher for any consequences of its use. Publication thereof does not convey nor imply any license under patent - or other industrial or intellectual property rights.