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LAST WORD 01 Mark Vowles, director, Nulty.
Guiding Light While the market for lighting is relatively young, it is quickly becoming a powerful force in architecture, writes Mark Vowles, director, Nulty, shining a light on its potential
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he dip in oil prices notwithstanding, these are exciting times for the Middle East with two mega events looming – the World Expo 2020 in Dubai and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – holding the promise of an imminent resurgence. One of the things that continually impresses me here is the cohesiveness of the professional community in the region. We witness free-flowing discussions, camaraderie and collective sharing of ideas, and forge fruitful partnerships. It’s a very tight-knit design community and it’s relatively easy to build professional relationships. 48 DECEMBER 2016
It’s a young country full of young, cosmopolitan, educated people with new ideas and ways of doing things, and if such a collective, collaborative ethos and philosophy can be applied to all that we do within the lighting industry, then we can find a way of representing our industry with one voice that will ultimately address the many issues of quality, time, costs, fees and so on. A unified voice to promote the professionalism of architectural lighting design in the region is the need of the hour. Dubai in particular is a city of light. We’re all part of that history and that future, and collectively we need to do our best to support and promote our industry, because if we get it right, it benefits us all. I genuinely think there is the opportunity and the potential for this part of the world to be the benchmark that others follow. Trends
There are more opportunities for façade lighting projects in the Middle East than in Europe, and this seems to be the trend moving forward. As the cost of LEDs is coming down, these applications are becoming more affordable for clients. Designs should be carefully considered, and ultimately city-wide lighting master planning is required, to avoid the lighting arms race that will take place otherwise. With the price pressures in oil markets, the fallout can be felt further along the chain
in the form of reduced fees and reduced capital expenditure for luminaires. This is a dangerous thing for our industry – cheap luminaires simply leave a looming maintenance legacy for clients, and low fees undermine the professionalism of our craft. Client education is key. Ideally clients would better understand value rather than ‘cheapest’ – which worryingly is becoming the trend when appointing designers. Sustainability
Many people have the misconception that the Middle East is not focused on sustainability. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has proved otherwise and has the vision to make Dubai and the UAE one of the most sustainable countries in the world. To this end, the UAE governments and the rest of the GCC are investing heavily in future technologies and trying to wean the countries away from the dependence on oil and gas. Good lighting design plays a critical role in sustainability and therefore should continue to raise standards. As a big advocate of education, Nulty is planning to dedicate and invest a fair amount of time in raising people’s understanding of what good lighting is. Whether it’s architects, interior designers or developers, you cannot underestimate the importance of lighting a space. Creating that ambience is key.