Light Challenge 2013 Light your street, feel like home.
Almere Team: Alejandro Rodas, Annafrancesca Triboli, Bauke Bakker, Jeroen Ruijter, Niall MacKellar, Wouter Klaase medialabamsterdam.nl/lightchallenge -‐ medialabs.lightchallenge@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION During the initial phase of our research we conducted a survey to discover the main problems, needs and wi-‐ shes of the residents of the Agavestraat in regards to their street lighting. The two important considerations that came out of this investigation and also from the first meeting we had with the residents (13th of Fe-‐ bruary 2013) were safety and the old fashioned look of the current street lighting. Also, a non homogeneous di-‐ stribution of the light is the cause of dark corners in the street, which gives the people a feeling of insecurity. We first created five concepts and each focussed on a diffe-‐ rent aspect of light. Step by step, thanks to experts’ ad-‐ vice and Light Challenge inspiring masterclasses, we ar-‐ rived at a final concept that merges the best solutions for an effective lighting system.
Figure 1. Maquette of the Agavestraat
CONCEPT We asked ourselves what a possible safe and meaning-‐ ful environment could be for the residents. The answer was easy: our home. Home is, by definition, our shelter, a place where we feel safe and at ease.
Figure 2. The team talking with the residents
That is why we thought of recreating a home-‐like envi-‐ ronment using light by bringing the inside of the house outside. Our idea is to visualize typical and iconic ele-‐ ments we find in our living room, our kitchen or in our houses in general. This way the street is turned into a house, the residents’ house, and entering the street would be like entering your own safe home. It is possi-‐ ble to use the blind walls of the houses that are present in the street to visualize the objects. Also the ground can be a canvas to draw the house. In this way you can mark the perimeter of the different rooms, creating a sort of blueprint of an Agavestraat house. The visualization of the rooms will be divided between the street and the walls: on the street there will not only be the planime-‐ try, but also some objects placed on the ground corre-‐ sponding to the room they are placed in. The walls on the other hand will have the silhouette of the front view of the elements commonly seen in the various rooms . This concept can also be easily implemented in the nar-‐ row alleys between houses. Including simple elements which convey information relating to day-‐to-‐day activi-‐ ties such as the temperature or time helps the residents connect and feel comfortable in their street. This can
help create an interactive light installation and avoids a still and monotonous panorama. The main lighting will be provided by hanging lamps, distributed in the strategic points of the street in con-‐ formity with the room of the house, giving an equal light diffusion and covering the most important parts of the Agavestraat. These lamps have to be in line with the concept of the house, therefore they will have a design connected with the typical indoor lamp idea. Residents are expected to feel safer, as they would be in their own house. This idea can help them to reach that feeling and at the same time it can create a unique and new expe-‐ rience, not seen anywhere else in the Netherlands, ma-‐ king them feel proud of their own street. The theme ap-‐ plied throughout the entire street is expected to help increase social cohesion, visual appeal and pride. Far from a common lighting system, the light will be an in-‐ novative and playful element that could maybe change the daily relationship between residents and their street. The light installation can become a meeting point for kids or a game for passers-‐by.
Figure 3. Possible view of the lighting system
Figure 4. View of the lamp
This solution does not compromise safety, since during dawn and dusk there is still a slight luminosity and the color of the LED light provides a cozy atmosphere wi-‐ thout harming visibility. The second material is Seramic Light Coating. This technique provides light using illu-‐ minated crystals. These crystals exist in the form of a coating which can be charged during the daytime using either artificial or natural light. After charging the coa-‐ ting, it is possible to have an illumination of 8-‐10 hours, and after the illumination phase the coating will be re-‐ cognizable for approximately 12 hours. Then the coa-‐ ting needs 5 minutes of recharging, which can be done by sunlight but also by artificial light. Also, to make the lighting system sustainable it is possible also to dim the light's intensity thanks to movement sensors. By placing the sensor in strategic positions of the street it is possi-‐ ble to track movements in order to dim light depending on the presence of people or cars. When there is no one around the intensity of the light would be softer, while it could be stronger when people are passing by. This ma-‐ kes the light interactive, saving energy at the same time and increasing the lifespan of the LED lights.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS There are different ways to realize this concept. Some of the possible materials are LED lights, seramic light coa-‐ ting and sensors. LED lights can be fixed or program-‐ med. The second option would be the best way to create a highly interactive installation, not only controlling the intensity of the light, but also deciding the sequence of the drawings depending on the movement of people. In our concept, we also want to use colors according to the natural cycle of the day.
Figure 4. The lighting system on the 3D model