Lee Barker-Field, Pioneer of Light - AECOM

© Cédric Helsly

Pioneer of Light Lee Barker-Field

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Lighting design: theatrical or subtle?

By Denise Close, Jean-Luc Wittersheim

Effective lighting design is more imperative than ever in the face of contemporary stresses and expectations, according to Lee Barker-Field, head of lighting at AECOM. Lighting’s impact will intensify in tandem with diverse design opportunities and technological possibilities unfolding through smart lighting systems.

What inspired you to become a lighting designer?

Like most lighting designers, really, there wasn't a day when I thought, «what I really want to be is a lighting designer».

The first higher education study I did was in electrical – electronic engineering. The way I actually got into lighting from electronics was by being involved with prototype lighting control systems.

But with lighting, when you get involved in one aspect of it, it often leads to other aspects, so if you're involved in controlling the output of light sources that has to link to the wider aspects of luminaire design and how lighting systems are designed, installed and operated.

So in the end I was inspired to make a career in lighting design by seeing just how much you can do with light and how much it matters.

How do you keep your knowledge up-to-date?

I have a three-tiered approach: 1) Scouting innovation and trends I find industry exhibitions, conferences and increasingly online forums in lighting and related design areas a useful source of information on contemporary design developments and thinking.

2) Researching technical background I find it’s always useful and necessary to validate new design techniques and technologies before we can properly consider using them. Conferences, peer discussions, research papers, independent testing and supplier consultations are very helpful for this.

3) Testing solutions If we are at the point of planning to use something for the first time we need to ensure the whole solution will be viable, including supply chain availability, application feasibility, local code compliance and that the solution is both maintainable and sustainable for its planned service life. This all requires further research and can require detailed

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supplier consultation in combination with authority and other project stakeholder positioning discussions.

What are the key factors in lighting design and architecture?

Two broad design considerations from a lighting perspective need to be reconciled: objective and subjective needs. Objective needs include technical aspects like satisfying codified lightlevel requirements and disability glare limitations for safety. Subjective needs include designing for wider human factors such as health, well-being and happiness. Sometimes a highly theatrical composition may be needed; at other times a more subtle and natural-feeling scene.

Why is light so important in projects and for you personally?

I’ve seen what a difference both good and bad lighting can make to a place and the people using it. When we think about the speed, stresses and expectations of modern life and how we are increasingly operating in a 24-hour society, the role that lighting can play in keeping us all in reasonable physical and mental health has never been more acute. We are all familiar with the concept of retail therapy and detoxing, but maybe we would benefit more from light therapy or light nutrition? Personally, I really enjoy exploring how light can make people happier and healthier.

Have you seen an evolution in the way architects integrate light into their work?

Yes, there’s been a steady evolution, and lighting design is more widely recognized than it was 15 years ago. When people see the complexity and benefits of good lighting design they recognize it as a specialist discipline and they engage more. This evolution and increased engagement is likely to continue if not speed up in the coming years with the diverse design opportunities and benefits presented by smart lighting systems expanding the role of lighting designers.

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Biography Lee Barker-Field Lee Barker-Field is head of lighting at AECOM, and director of the Building + Places division of the UK-based business since May 2009. He also heads the specialist lighting team working throughout the world.

From 2004 to 2009 he was in the principal specialist lighting group at Oscar Faber,which was acquired by AECOM in 2001 and rebranded as AECOM in 2009. For a year before that he was a director at Light Places, after being the solutions manager at Trilux Lighting from 1998 to 2003.

He began his career at Product Development Engineer at Daletech Electronics Ltd, in 1994.

Barker-Field studied electrical and electronic Engineering at Leeds College of Technology from

1993 to 1995, and qualified as a Bachelor of Electrical and Mechanical Building Services Engineering at Leeds Metropolitan University in 1997. He developed expertise in lighting principles and design and then advanced exterior lighting and light measurement at the Lighting Industry Federation (LIF), London, a Master of Sustainable Electrical Design and Lighting Building Services at UMIST, Manchester in 2002 and a Master of The Built Environment Light and Lighting, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, London in 2003.

I really enjoy exploring how light can make people happier and healthier

AECOM profile The company designs, builds, finances and operates infrastructure in more than 150 countries through 87,000 employees. Its global network of experts works with clients, communities and colleagues to develop and implement innovative

What is your vision for smart lighting in architecture design?

I think technology should aim to make tasks easier. If we can become better, more effective and efficient, at doing the things we need to do, that should be good both for people and for the planet.

To do this, technology needs to have an intuitive human interface and invisible automatic augmentative functions. Lighting is already very electronic with a lot of digital technology. This make lights easier to adapt in a multi-purpose way for other digital tasks. Also, lights go where people go and, typically, are deployed densely.

This means that lights are inherently close to us and well placed to do other things for us. Whether it’s information gathering, providing navigation or lifestyle gestures, access to the internet, helping us get better sleep or other cool things lighting could do, I certainly see lighting getting smarter by doing more than just providing light.

How does smart lighting enhance lighting design?

It gives lighting designers new opportunities to do meaningful and beneficial things with lighting systems. It’s much more than just connecting a light to the IoT and “job done”. Ok doing that can help with things like data movement, control flexibility and consolidation, but you still need to understand and plan what you want smart(er) lighting to do and why. I think we should first think about benefiting people and the planet when planning smart lighting systems.

In your wildest dreams, how do you see urban lighting that isn’t yet possible?

I would it to be far more dynamic and able to respond to people’s needs and desires. To keep such lighting ordered in a shared space like the urban public realm would require a much more multi-layered design and control approach than current exterior lighting offers.

This would benefit the majority of people on the planet by 2050 given UN forecasts that 68% of the world population will be living in urban areas by then and that as much as 30% of cities can be public realm. Bringing the kind of interaction that we see in digital art installations, coupled with the kind of information and

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solutions to complex challenges. The firm’s traditional engineering and design consultancy has expanded to become multidisciplinary with many specialities – including the Building + Places lighting team headed by Lee Barker-Field.

The practice integrates a developing capability known as DBFO to design, build, finance and operate projects. Its combined specialties and capabilities enable AECOM to cover all aspects of any given project, from masterplanning sustainable cities to designing temporary exhibitions.

The worldwide headquarters is in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A, with offices in New York, London, Moscow, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Brisbane.

entertainment that we get from our smart phones to the exterior environment in cities would make them much more engaging and able to deal with future lifestyle challenges and desires.

Of all your projects which three stand out?

Ones of particular interest for me: The O2 Arena, Dublin – (now the 3Arena) This is one of my early but all-time favorite projects for a whole bunch of reasons: the client, the nature of the project, the range of technical challenges that were there, and some of the other members of the design team. The client was Live Nation and the CEO of Live Nation Ireland was a fascinating guy, who had a background in entertainment events from theater to larger arena-style spaces.

The Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil When you’re working on a project that will be the «shop window» of the most-viewed event in the world, there are a wide range of requirements to tackle. Not least are the technical challenges coming from the size of the project and its required resilience, finding the right solutions to create a unique atmosphere – in this case a carnival-inspired one – and accommodating the ever more demanding lighting needs of HD television broadcasting.

The latter includes things like super slow-motion replays and new action capture camera placements.

The Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar Built for the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar, and taking a dramatic pleated form, the Al Janoub Stadium is inspired by the rich heritage of Qatar and the Al Wakrah region, with its timeless characteristics of simplicity, solidity, space and light. This is visible in the colors, patterns and materials used throughout the stadium as well as in its interpretation of the dhow, the Arabian pearl fishing boat that is of great cultural significance in Qatar. Working with this unusual stadium form, quite radical legacy transformation requirements, and the challenging environmental conditions made this project another memorable one.

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© Robb Williamson

© Cédric Helsly

© Dow Photography

2016 Olympic Park and Venues, Rio, Brazil

Significant projects Lighting special events – 2016 Olympic Park and Venues, Rio, Brazil – Serpentine Pavilions 2013-2019, London, UK – Wahat al Karama, Memorial Park, Abu Dhabi, UAE Lighting amazing architecture – Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar – The O2 Arena, Dublin, Ireland – St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK Lighting sustainable infrastructure – Masdar City, United Arab Emirates – Calgary International Airport, Canada – 2012 London Olympic Park Legacy Plan Lighting for extreme environments – Halley VI Research Station, Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, UK

Website www.aecom.com

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar ↩ page 36

© Aecom

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