Spotlight News
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Enlightenment: The Basics of Efficient Lighting - 2010 Seminar Programme
Posted November 2009
Call for Expressions of Interest
The newly established lighting course “Enlightenment” was run over August, September & October in Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney.
Developed by IES: The Lighting Society, the Enlightenment Program was developed to meet the needs of the Lighting Council of Australia and allied sectors (such as facility managers, government agencies, electrical contractors). It is an introductory lighting course providing fundamental lighting knowledge and basic lighting principles that all people touched by our industry should be familiar with. It is not intended as a precursor to other established lighting courses but more as an induction program to lighting for those who require no specialist lighting training.
With the phase out of incandescent lamps requiring a greater understanding of complex lighting components, the Enlightenment Seminars ensure participants are are equipped to work with the range of lighting equipment now available in both domestic and commercial environments.
We will be looking to review the performance of the seminars that have been run in 2009 and we encourage anyone who is interested in this Course to provide any feedback or comments they may have to ensure that this course remains beneficial to our aim of enlightening the broader lighting community by filling in the Expression of Interest form.
The next round of Enlightenment Seminars will be held in the first quarter of 2010 and dates will be set by the end of December 2009. By filling in the EOI & registering your interest, we will ensure you are kept informed.
IESANZ LTD - NSW CHAPTER
Secretariat:
Suite 5, 38 East Esplanade
Manly NSW 2095
Tel: 61 2 8922 9615 Fax: 61 2 9977 6538
E:nswsecretary@iesanz.info
www.iesanz.org
Professional Lighting Design Convention: Berlin (part one)
Posted November 2009
By Paul Beale*
The convention of the Professional Lighting Designers Association, the PLDC, was held in the German capital of Berlin from October 29-31.
A biannual event organised by VIA publishing the PLDC is part of the Association's strategy towards gaining legal recognition of the profession at European governmental level.
The PLDC comprised a series of presentations from leading designers and firms from around the world. Themes included the physiological and psychological effects of light, case studies of cutting edge projects, professional practice and a strong series of papers on sustainability and daylighting.
The quality of papers was high as was the ensuing debate and discussion amongst audience members who were especially appreciative of the comprehensive coverage of daylighting and sustainable design.
What follows are some of the highlights of the PLDC program.
Daylighting and sustainability
The daylighting and sustainability stream heard a paper from Jim Benya (Benya Consulting, USA) advocating a common-sense approach to building and fenestration design in search of the daylighting ‘sweet spot’; bright enough for the performance of internal tasks but without causing excessive solar gain.
Delegates were reminded that in air conditioning regions daylight equals heat that needs to be removed via systems.
Benya identified daylight as a key driver, with efficient lighting and effective controls, in achieving a ‘net zero’ building.
Many audience members were inspired by Professor Andreas Schulz (Licht Kunst Licht, Germany) who reflected on “how the subject matter of light and lighting has gained extraordinary importance to a previously unknown degree in gallery buildings developed in Europe and North America”.
He demonstrated how Licht Kunst Licht designed the daylighting to the Stadel Museum in Frankfurt, through employing beautiful circular skylights. These skylights were able to connect the subterranean museum interior to the outside, in a way that afforded a high level of integration and control to preserve the artwork on display.
A presentation was also made by Davidson Norris (Carpenter Norris, USA), partner of renowned glass artist James Carpenter, who pointed out that daylighting design is nothing new; in fact buildings have been designed to maximise daylight for 10,000 years, all but 100 or so being exclusively daylit.
Norris shared a cautionary tale of daylighting design in a small office suite in one of their projects. He explained the potential problems of overly-complicated controls systems and the difficulty in making projects ‘stack up’ financially in the first instance given relatively inexpensive electricity and long payback periods.
Norris discussed ‘cognitive control’ strategies whereby the user controls his or her own lit environment manually via rudimentary controls such as switching or very basic manual dimming. This leads to high levels of user satisfaction, reduced energy and system costs as well as a near zero payback period as the initial costs are minimal. The human brain, Norris argued, remains superior to any electronic system control algorithm.
Lighting design research
In the lighting design research stream, Kit Cuttle (New Zealand) made the case that LED lighting could be the ideal application for narrow band spectra LED lighting if utilised in conjunction with sophisticated controls.
Cuttle discussed the delivery of an optimum composite spectrum to illuminate artefacts which a high degree of colour rendering and minimal damage caused by light.
In one of the highlights of the conference, Professor Dr George Brainard (Thomas Jefferson University, USA) talked about a recent discovery that has caused an upheaval in the understanding of photoreceptive inputs to the circadian and neuroendocrine systems of humans.
Recent research has shown that the three cone system that mediates photopic vision is not the primary receptor system that transduces light stimuli for acute melatonin suppression.
Several studies have shown that a relatively narrow band in the blue part of the spectrum between 446-477 nm has the most impact on melatonin suppression.
Professor Brainard stated that “ultimately, lighting based on classical design objectives will need to accommodate the relatively recent discoveries about the role that light may play in optimising human health and well being”.
Mark Rea (Rensselaer Institute Lighting Research Center, USA) examined the ‘price of light’ in real terms since 1900 and showed that when one considers the cost of electricity, lamps, luminaires, installation and maintenance along with lighting codes (ie. how much light we have to provide in design) and, of course, lighting design fees; the ‘price of light’ today is cheaper than at any time in history. Isolating design fees, they equate to roughly 2.5 per cent of the cost of a lighting system over its lifetime - a bargain and something we should remind our clients when discussing fees in the future.
Rea also highlighted the need for collaboration between research bodies and practicing professionals through demonstration projects.
A conference specifically on daylighting has been announced by PLDA/VIA for 2010 and the PLDC returns in 2011.
* Paul Beale is the managing director of Electrolight, a lighting design consultancy with offices in Melbourne and Sydney.
The final part of this report will be published in next month’s Lighting e-newswire.
Victoria’s finest lighting designs awarded
Posted November 2009
The Supreme Court and an iconic Melbourne theatre have both been awarded the highest accolade for lighting design, by the Victorian chapter of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESANZ).
The industry gathered in Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens for the gala awards dinner on the evening of October 23rd.
Ben Luder from Vision Design received an Award of Excellence for the design of the lighting scheme for the Supreme Court 11 and 12. The refurbishment of courts 11 & 12 provides an elegant contemporary lighting solution in a 19th century court room.
Vision Design was engaged to provide a lighting solution that complimented the architecture yet appeared simple and uncomplicated. The focus of the scheme is a 21st century feature pendant. It is not only a decorative feature but contributes significantly to the overall lighting levels within the court. It is supplemented by small metal halide floods to accentuate the window flanks as well as illuminating the ceiling, and continuous fluorescent uplight that provides diffused light to the ceiling as well as accenting the frieze beneath the windows.
Ben Lüder headed up the Vision Design team and worked with Stephen Hennessey of Stephen Hennessy Art and Design and the architects Billard Leece, to help realise a pendant that is of high performance and looks great.
Electrolight was equally acknowledged for its work on illuminating the facade and theatre of the Melbourne Theatre Company (MCT).
The façade of the MTC is an innovative solution to the problem that faces all designers of theatre buildings: how to deal with the flytower. Some theatres show off the flytower structure with cladding or light, however architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall opted to conceal the flytower of the MTC theatre in an optical illusion. The white pipework of the façade creates a massive two-dimensional picture, especially when viewed from one special location, effectively creating a completely separate geometry to the actual black boxes containing the building. The brief from the architect was for light to reveal the white pipework whilst hiding the black building behind.
The interior of the theatre contains a “word wall”, inspired by LED moving message displays but without the expense – a series of light boxes which can be linked to the activity within the theatre.
Electrolight received another Award of Excellence for Jess Perry’s design of the “Fireworks Chandelier” for Crown Casino – commissioned as part of an extensive refurbishment of the west end of the casino.
There is in fact a complementary pair of luminaries located at the top and bottom of a new escalator void. The upstairs luminare is a half sphere consisting of 200 hand blown glass balls attached to a central hub which contains wiring and connections. The transformer is remote. Each glass sphere contains a low LVTH lamp which is designed to be permanently dimmed to maximised lamp life.
At the bottom of the escalator, a full sphere consisting of 400 glass balls completes the pair.
Award of Excellence: Designs of the highest standard
. Supreme Court 11 & 12 - Vision Design, Ben Luder
. Melbourne Theatre Façade & Theatre – Electrolight,
John Ford
Award of Excellence: Luminaires
. ARTIS - Hella Australia
. Fireworks Chandelier – Electrolight, Jess Perry
Award of Commendation: Recognition of achievement
. Linfox Group Head Office - JA Consulting, Jan Jinadassa
. Lumia Cocktail Lounge - Glowing Structures, Adam de Guara
. Cantina Del Emporio - Glowing Structures, Adam de Guara
. Twenty 8 Freshwater Place - Carr Design Group
. Cobbers - Light Well Design, Steve Wright
. Reflections on High - Simon Gullifer
. Nartunda - Lighting Options, Rick Murphy
. Westfield Doncaster - Point of View. Michel Goupy, David Becker, Sara McClintok
. St Kilda Foreshore - Webb Australia, Robert Hamilton
. Melbourne Uni Lecture Theatre - Electrolight
Images: Top to Bottom:
The refurbishment of courts 11 & 12 of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Image: Vision Design
Melbourne Theatre. Image: Shannon McGrath
Fireworks Chandelier. Image: Peter Bennetts
University of Melbourne Economics and Commerce Faculty. Image: Peter Bennetts
Unique story of light for Port Adelaide’s Harts Mill
Posted November 2009
For three nights in October the Harts Mill building at Port Adelaide came alive with its façade taken over by characters, creatures, words, dreams and light.
Extraordinary moving imagery created by projection artist Cindi Drennan, of Illuminart (www.illuminart.com.au), was projected across the imposing red brick wall facing the Port River, set to a stunning original soundscape by composer Lou Bennett.
‘Harts Mill Inhabited’ was a story in light and sound commissioned for the City of Port Adelaide Enfield: Port Festival, and developed by Drennan in consultation with local groups and interested residents of Port Adelaide.
This site-specific audiovisual projection was developed to tell a story (using high powered audiovisual projection) on and about the historic building, interweaving local ideas and memories of the building and the Port River, with the artist's own vision.
Port Adelaide's iconic Harts Mill precinct includes two heritage listed buildings - Harts Mill and Adelaide Milling Company - built by Captain John Hart, a whaler, sealer, miller, entrepreneur and three times State Premier. Once a bustling industrial hub, the mills have seen generations of Port workers. They now stand empty, awaiting use within the redevelopment of the Port waterfront.
The ‘Harts Mill Inhabited’ story is told as though through the eyes and experiences of the Harts Mill itself, as if it is a character of many years' knowledge telling the younger buildings on the western shore of the Port River, what it has seen and may yet see.
The style was colourful and intended to be entertaining for children, so that families as a whole could appreciate the building, its impressive structure and size, and the years of history it embodies.
It was presented as a 20-minute looping show, moving through seven distinct ‘scenes’, held on three nights during the Port Festival from October 14th-16th.
Composer Lou Bennet worked with Cindi Drennan from her Melbourne studio to create the audio track, and animator Nickas collaborated on the sneezing flour machine. Performers Tsubi Du and Juniper (dressed as the ghosts of ships that once sailed to the Mill) appeared in the show, and on site interacted with the audience as they viewed the Mill.
For more information visit: www.illuminart.com.au
Rheinpartie – festival of projection art and media
Posted November 2009
From October 2nd to 4th, to coincide with the day of German unification, the Rhine Valley played host to a spectacular array of light art creations.
Known as rheinpartie, the festival attracted many thousands of visitors to the Unesco World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley, and transformed castles, monuments and ruins in a night dreamscape using the latest technologies.
Along with grand illuminations there were also a number of local initiatives on display. These depictions of life on the River Rhine used small scale projections on house walls and facades, 20 in total, lined up in a chain along the Rhine.
Skertzò (Paris) transformed the ruins of castle Rheinfels into a panorama of moved images which astonished visitors not only through its use of technology but also by the history of this castle.
The London based projection artist Rosh Ashton transformed the Germania (Ruedesheim) into a monument of the Unification of Europe.
“These were fantastically romantic full moon nights on the Rhine which have dipped this landscape of German history in a new light “, said artistic manager Helmut Bien. Already during the successful first edition of rheinpartie several artist’s teams and sponsors announced interest to be part of the next edition on October 3rd next year.
New partnership for energy efficient lighting across Asia
Posted November 2009
The Asia Lighting Compact (ALC), a partnership comprising governments, regional lighting associations and the world’s largest lighting manufacturers, was launched on October 29th in Hong Kong.
Its aim is to support the widespread adoption of high-quality, energy efficient lighting in Asia.
The immediate focus of the ALC will be on improving the quality of energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) manufactured and sold in Asia. Initial estimates indicate that a transition to higher-quality CFLs could result in substantial reductions in regional energy consumption and reduce Asia’s overall carbon emissions by at least 2.4 million metric tons a year. This is the equivalent of planting nearly 300,000 hectares of trees or removing nearly 450,000 cars from the roads. The reduction in energy consumption would yield enough electricity to light 2.8 million homes for a year.
More than 50 lighting industry leaders and government representatives attended the launch, which was held at the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair. The event was opened by the Acting U.S. Consul-General in Hong Kong, Christopher J. Marut.
“This initiative comes at exactly the right time, when governments around the world are trying to find ways to address climate change and Asian countries in particular are concerned about energy security,” said Jesus M. Pineda, Jr., President of the Philippine Lighting Industry Association. “The Asia Lighting Compact can help Asian governments reach their energy and climate goals while also protecting consumers.”
In 2007, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) published a landmark report that indicated that as many as half of the CFLs sold in Asia were substandard – producing less light or burning out faster than advertised or required by national regulations. These substandard lamps not only fail to save as much energy as advertised, but they also reduce consumers’ confidence in CFLs and energy-saving products in general.
To address this problem, the ALC has set up the Asia Quality Registry, an online system that allows lighting manufacturers and suppliers to register their quality products. CFLs that qualify for the Registry will be ranked on a three-tier scale based on international quality standards, and will be accessible to buyers of CFLs from around the region.
“The ALC’s efforts to harmonise standards can help to lower production and qualification costs for suppliers of quality products,” said Gao Ming, Lighting Technology Manager for GE Asia. “At the same time, buyers and consumers can be assured that these products meet international standards.”
The ALC resulted from an agreement in July 2008 by lighting companies, manufacturers, lighting councils and associations to develop a quality system for CFLs in Asia. Participants in that agreement, along with partners in the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (which includes Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, and the United States), supported the establishment of the ALC as an independent, non-profit organisation to implement this quality system.
“It is very important that the ALC is a public-private partnership right from the start,” Shyam Sujan, Secretary General of the Electric Lamp Component Manufacturers’ Association of India (ELCOMA). “It shows how serious lighting manufacturers, lighting associations and governments in Asia are about addressing the issues of energy efficiency and climate change.”
Funding and support for the ALC has come from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP), and Australia’s Department of Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts (DEWHA).
Image: Opening speech by Acting U.S. Consul-General in Hong Kong, Christopher J.Marut during the launch of the Asia Lighting Compact
Munro’s new Water-Towers sculpture
Posted November 2009
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Bruce Munro’s new installation, simply called Water-Towers, was recently given a ‘first outing’ in prototype form at Europe’s largest fuel cell event - The Eleventh Fuel Cell Symposium.
The event gave an international overview of the latest developments, issues and business aspects of renewable energy. Themes included the changing environment for fuel cells in buildings, and hydrogen and fuel technology.
The prototype of Bruce Munro’s Water-Towers was displayed on the stand of The Pure Energy Centre, a supplier of renewable energy systems and hydrogen cell products.
Munro conceived Water-Towers as a visual representation of pure water power. It is also an exercise in creating something magical from simple recycled materials: rainwater, discarded plastic bottles and laser cut recycled plastic sheet. The prototype illustrates the innovative work PURE are doing, and highlight the themes of the symposium in an inspirational way. “Water-Towers is not an intellectual piece,” said Munro, “but for me it’s a symbol of some very positive things.”
Munro’s installation is partly inspired by a book called Gifts of Unknown Things by Lyall Watson, which Munro read at the age of 21. Watson, a brilliant mind operating on the outskirts of accepted science, describes how the earth has a natural pulse in the upper atmosphere, resonating at a rate of 69 beats per day.
The full scale Water-Towers will include 69 massive illuminated towers echoing this earth pulse, set out in maze formation. Each tower will be made of 220 water bottles lit by optic fibres that pulse and change colour to a musical score.
“The Towers look like enormous liquid batteries of light,” said Munro.
Water-Towers will employ the latest energy-efficient LED technology - one 7.4 Watt LED projector will light each tower. A DMX control system will scroll through a rainbow of colours synchronised with the soundtrack.
There are plans for a full scale Water-Towers installation to appear at the energy conference in Geraldton Western Australia in May 2010. From there, Munro and his team hope it will go on the Eden Project in Cornwall, where Munro’s Field of Light had tremendous success during winter 08/09.
Finally in March 2012, Munro plans to install Water-Towers in Long Knoll Field in Wiltshire where he first displayed the Field of Light.
For more information visit: www.brucemunro.co.uk
How to light a theme park: Focus Lighting, NY
Posted November 2009
New York’s renowned Focus Lighting team recently completed a unique project, the lighting of three rides at the Tivoli Gardens Theme Park in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“Our goal for each ride was to have a person who was looking at it from afar feel the same sense of movement and excitement that someone riding it would experience,” said principal designer, Paul Gregory.
“To achieve that, we illuminated the rides in a way that was evocative of the movement of the ride itself.”
Energy-efficient LEDs were used for the first time at this historic landmark, first opened in 1843, to lessen maintenance needs and increase programming possibilities.
The iconic Himmelskibet, or Star Flyer, is the world's tallest carousel at 80 metres. It has one tall spire with twelve spinning arms and is entirely lit by LED & Metal Halide Projectors. The movement of the arms utilises light to accentuate the fluid movements of the ride.
To achieve a stimulating sense of motion from every view, Osram 1-Watt LEDs, in clusters of three, were integrated in the bottom of each of the twelve swinging bucket chairs. As the carousel spins, the varied speed changes whether the light points resemble lazy shooting stars or swirling comets.
Colour-changing LED strings line the 12 arms, creating a spinning web of vibrant three dimensional patterns. As the carousel moves up and down, Metal Halide Projectors create a shifting vertical pattern of light on the tower that adds a rich background to the overall image. Finally, a globe at the top of the towering structure integrates LED light strings to cap off the impressive structure. It stands out in Copenhagen’s skyline, creating a defining symbol for Tivoli Gardens.
The second ride completed is the Demon, a ruby red rollercoaster that is striking during the daytime but is even more prominent in the nocturnal sky.
A light string that has 1-Watt LEDs every 12 inches stretches over one mile of track helping the menacing ride make its presence known. A motion sensor that is adhered to the structure recognises that the cart has started moving on the track and assigns that cart a specific colour of light for the duration of the ride.
After passing by the next pair of sensors, the control system calculates the speed of the cart and adjusts the speed of the coloured light trail accordingly. It is always in sync no matter how its speed changes because the five pair of sensors detect the cart’s variables such as speed and weight.
“The park is lit with clear globe lamps on a string and our modern design’s LED nodes have domed and translucent lenses to stay true to Tivoli’s iconic design,” said Gregory.
Scheduled to be completed in spring of 2010 is the Golden Tower ride. It too will display a sequence of timed events during the course of the ride to accentuate the exhilarating motion.
