32 minute read
Briefing
David Sellam
Following a recent rebrand and the launch of its first ever lighting collection, Carra, arc sits down with TLS CEO David Sellam to talk more about the new collection, the history of TLS, from its beginnings as a printing company, and the new direction for the brand.
Can you give us a brief overview of your career to date? We started out as a small printing company in Israel more than 26 years ago. We then moved to Canada in 2002, offering large-format prints on fabric, then SEG lightboxes. Years later, as we continued to grow, we had no choice but to move to another larger facility when we received a project for a large lightbox that, once it was assembled, could not fit through our shipping doors.
How did you get into lighting? At one time, we were using fluorescent tubes to backlight our lightboxes and, as our production sizes grew larger and the need for higher quality and sustainable illumination increased, we designed the award-winning TLS, which stands for Tension LED System. The system, which took four years to develop, is collapsible and offers even lighting for our clients’ single or double-sided lightboxes.
Can you give us a bit of background on TLS as a company? How did it start? And how has it grown to the position it is in today? TLS is our architectural lighting division. At one of our print tradeshows, we were highlighting our lighting system in our lightboxes and a designer came up to us and asked a question that changed us dramatically: “Can you take your TLS and backlight stretch fabric in a ceiling?” We then realised we had a product for the architectural lighting sector and that’s what pushed us to launch our architectural lighting division. We got to today’s position by working with our agencies and partners in each territory and providing high-quality products for different project applications. We are continuously developing a wide range of products from tunable white to a pixel-controlled RGBW system along with control systems that provide our clients with the highest quality solutions.
The company launched its first-ever lighting collection, Carra, earlier this year. What was the inspiration behind the collection? We felt that we needed to simplify our process by offering a standardised, off-the-shelf type of product, that can be easily specified into projects with our standard sizes, saving on costs, shop drawings and communication time. TLS originally grew by specialising in larger and more complex projects - a good fit for our tension LED system. The flexibility in terms of design demands and structure restrictions meant that we won a lot of large-scale projects. However, we recognised the growing demand for surface lighting.
Why now? What led to the launch of Carra? It came from our designers and partners. We understood that the simplicity of having various standard sizes, mountings, lighting engines and frame colours made the entire process straightforward. Having high-quality surface lighting as a commodity product is something that we felt was needed amongst the designers. Our technology is really unique due to our patented system, and making that more easily accessible was the smart next step for us.
TLS specialises in both bespoke and larger, more complex projects. How will that change with the introduction of Carra? Will this still be your core focus? We will still be known as the bespoke architectural lighting company. Carra has just made specifying certain projects easier. We added some high-tech machinery to our arsenal to continue delivering creative largescale projects.
What applications/markets would the Carra collection best serve? Where do you see it being specified? We see it being specified in small and large scale environments, such as airports, retail, hospitality and, medical. The possibilities are virtually endless.
Alongside the launch of the Carra collection, TLS has undergone a full re-brand. What was the reason behind this? What do you hope to achieve with it? As our brand awareness has grown exponentially over the last few years, we decided to take the company to the next level, by re-branding ourselves for our widening worldwide clientele.
Do you have any more new products/collections in the pipeline? What is next for TLS? Our pipeline is filled with new products and technology, shortly we will launch two more collections, Circa and Linéa. Circa, our circular collection, will have standard sizes like Carra, and the same mounting and frame colour options. Linéa is our linear collection, standardised widths and available up to 20ft in length. With the three collections and our bespoke offerings, designers will be able to create lines, shapes, angles, circles with colours and contrast.
What do you think the future holds for the lighting industry? We see the market shifting towards immersive lighting and away from static lighting. As with our VegaRGBW lighting engine, we can programme static lighting, a circadian sequence, then have the option to control each RGB and W pixel to create a scene or a mood. The best example would be the Whitacre tower lobby at the AT&T discovery district in Dallas, Texas. More than 12,000sqft of wall-mounted and recessed LumiCLoud VegaRGB creates the entire mezzanine.
The Quest for Excellence With Paul Nulty celebrating his studio’s 10th anniversary this year, arc sits down with him to talk about how it all got started, and what the next 10 years may bring.
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ince establishing his own, eponymous studio in 2011, Paul Nulty has become one of the most widely recognised faces in the UK lighting design community. Under his leadership, the practice, Nulty, has grown from a one-man band operating from his dining room table to a global company with offices in the UK, US, Middle East and Asia, as well as two spinoff brands, Studio N and Nulty Bespoke. With a background in theatre and set design, and having graduated from Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, it was here that Nulty ‘discovered’ the wider world of lighting design. “In the theatrical work that I was doing, I became more and more interested in using light to define the space. I was designing fewer sets and just using light to tell the story,” he recalled. “I then had this epiphany about the power of light beyond the world of theatre. “The line ‘if all the world’s a stage, I want better lighting’ is such a cliché, but I wanted to apply what I was doing to the real world. I started exploring other areas in the lighting sector and realised that there’s a whole fascinating industry of architectural lighting that I didn’t even know existed.” Keen to be a part of this industry, Nulty sent his CV out far and wide, before landing a job at the Lighting Design Partnership (LDP). After a year there, he moved on to join Paul Traynor at Light Bureau – then known as Indigo Light Planning. “I was the junior there, and God was I a junior,” he joked. “Naivety is a wonderful thing – you never know what you don’t know until you know it. “I look back and think how pushy and opinionated I was, and to Paul Traynor’s credit, and patience, he allowed me to flourish. I was with Paul for 11 and a half years, and I owe him an awful lot.” Traynor was a key figure in Nulty’s burgeoning career, and he was quick to cite him as one of his lighting role models when starting out. He also reserved special praise for LDP and its incredible track record of nurturing young talent that have since gone on to become leaders in the lighting industry: “We are so fortunate to work in an industry that has such an amazing history and a rich tapestry of talent.”
1. One of the first projects for Nulty’s newly formed practice, the Nike Manchester United stadium store became a flagship project for the firm. Here, Nulty used light to create a sense of drama and excitement, while reducing energy consumption by 50%. (Pic: Nike) 2. Designed by Nulty’s Dubai studio, the lighting for Hakkasan Abu Dhabi’s outdoor terrace works with the existing architecture to open up the space and create a relaxed, intimate ambience. (Pic: Alex Jeffries Photography) 3. A young Paul Nulty. 4. A landmark project for Nulty came in the refurbishment of London hotel and members’ club, The Ned. Working within the parameters of a Grade I listed building, Nulty focused on surface-mounted, decorative and ornate fixtures to bring a balanced level of light and luxury to the project. (Pic: The Ned) After 11 years of being an employee, soaking up as much knowledge as possible, Nulty had what he calls his “Jerry Maguire moment”, where he decided to leave the relative comfort of the practice and go out on his own. “I always had a lot of frustration with the industry and that there were only a handful of really wellrun professional practices in the UK. I had this moment where I thought that there’s got to be a different way of doing this. It’s not just about creating great lighting design, it’s about delivering a brand with exceptional marketing and PR. The business of lighting design fascinated me. “So, I left and started up on my own. I had zero savings – I bought my first Mac, printer, and camera on an interest-free credit card, taught myself HTML and how to programme my first website. I rang up a few people, who sent me a bit of work here and there. Luckily, one of those projects was the Nike store for Manchester United, which was a turning point for us.” An early partnership with engineering practice E+M Tecnica, whereby they invested in some equity in Nulty’s self-titled studio, allowed the firm to “springboard very quickly”, he explained, growing to six people by the end of year one, and doubling to 12 by the end of year two. By the end of year three, Nulty was in a position to buy back the equity sold to E+M Tecnica, by which point, he said, they “were off and running, and we haven’t looked back since”. When considering the early years of running his own practice, Nulty reflected that there were two key lessons that he learned: “Number one is it’s OK to make it up as you go along, and number two: say ‘yes’ and then worry about how you do it afterwards. There was a bit of winging it; there’s no denying that. I had a very clear strategy though, and a very clear mission statement, which has been crucial to our success. I was very clear about what I wanted to achieve, and I knew roughly how it should be achieved. Because I came at it from a very strategic perspective, I think that made growing the business a lot easier. “One of the biggest challenges was building a perception that we were credible. We were a brand-new start-up, very small, with a limited portfolio and trading history, so trying to convince people to take a chance on us was challenging. I think the solution to it was making sure that our story and narrative as a practice was crystal clear so that people could understand our authenticity as a brand and come along for the ride.” On top of this, Nulty added that he has consistently looked to build strong working relationships throughout his career – a trait that proved
Paul Nulty
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beneficial when starting out on his own. “I’ve always tried to be polite, kind and respectful to people in the industry,” he said. “I’ve always thought that we’re only as good as the service that we get. So if you have created good relationships with people, then they’ll hopefully want to build upon those relationships. “We worked with some amazing people back then, won some great work and took on some really fantastic employees. It’s been a runaway train ever since.” Over the course of the past decade, Nulty’s practice has grown to become one of the most wellknown within the lighting design community, working on a broad scope of projects from retail and hospitality to workspaces, museums, and exhibition spaces. And while there is always a wide variety of projects on the go for Nulty and his team, he explained that there isn’t one sector that he prefers over others. “I love that we have such a variety of projects – we’re probably one of the broadest spread practices in terms of sectors in the industry,” he said. “You’re always learning on a project, and what you learn in one sector, you often airlift and apply to another; I love the cross fertilisation of ideas and technologies. I also enjoy the fact that you can be working on a project that’s going to take 12 years, whilst working at the same time on a project that’s going to take 12 weeks. Retail for example turns around very quickly and the learning curve on these projects can be steep, whereas some projects take a lot longer, and it’s more about the finer detailing.” Amongst the studio’s vast portfolio of projects, which has seen them work with the likes of Nike, Harrods, the Ritz-Carlton, J.P. Morgan, Hard Rock Hotels, BP, Google and Estée Lauder (to name a few), Nulty doesn’t have one specific ‘favourite’ project, but rather those that have a long-lasting impact. “I love projects where you really get to make a difference, that are challenging and really push boundaries. My least favourite projects are those where you’re basically a marriage counsellor between a husband and wife agreeing on how their house should be illuminted,” he joked. Across this spread of work, Nulty explained that he has always aimed to instil the same ethos and approach in everything that the practice does. “If it’s good enough, it’s not good enough,” he said. “We can always do better. We should be striving for excellence in everything we do, whether that’s writing a single email or delivering an entire project. Everything we do should be excellent. I think that’s the ethos that then pushes everybody to evolve and grow.”
One of Nulty’s most iconic projects to date, the Leake Street Arches in London, saw Nulty implement an architectural lighting scheme to the “Graffiti Tunnel” to highlight and celebrate the vibrant, colourful street art, while improving the quality of light throughout. A suspended theatrical truss mounted with spotlights highlight the artwork, while linear RGBW uplights illuminate the arched ceiling. The lighting has helped to revitalise the space, making it a must-see destination within the city. Another key facet of Nulty’s approach has been consistently giving opportunities to the next generation of lighting designers. This can be seen from the presence of junior and intermediate designers at events, in feature articles, and taking part in a myriad of speaking engagements. Nulty explained that this was a conscious decision from the moment he set out on his own. “I came into this thinking of what frustrated me as a young designer. I want my staff to have complete ownership over their work, I want them to love it and be passionate about it, and that passion comes from having accountability and responsibility. “I don’t shy away from employing people that are more talented than I am. It’s absolutely my intention to employ people who I think are better than me, as it strengthens the team, and inspires me. I have an enormous amount of gratitude for everybody that has come and gone through the life of our practice. Success is about teamwork and I’m incredibly grateful to my team. “I’ve always described us as a merry band of pirates (which my team hates!). If you look at a pirate ship, you have hierarchy, you have structure, you have teamwork. But you can also make your own rules and plough your own furrows, you can go your own way and if you want to go against the grain, you can do that collectively, as a team. So Nulty is the pirate ship that we’re all aboard. I might be the captain of the ship, but I don’t tell everybody where we’re going – I would actually describe myself more as the rudder: you tell me where you want to go, and I’ll help steer us there. “We have a young and energetic team. I owe so much of our success to people like our MD, Ellie Coombs, Creative Director Dan Blaker and Associate Lighting Designer Phil Copland. They are powerhouses of ideas and creativity. When they talk, I listen.” Alongside teamwork, Nulty stressed the importance of other, often under-recognised sides of running a successful business, areas such as an effective PR and marketing strategy. “I wouldn’t profess to be the greatest lighting designer in the world, but I think I’m a pretty good designer,” he said. “I also have a clear understanding of marketing and PR, and I believe that unless you celebrate your company achievements, no one is going to know how you are progressing. So, success is borne out of doing great work, delivering great service, and being passionate about what we do, but also about being able to tell the story.” However, for all of the successes that Nulty has had as a lighting designer, it almost never happened, as he revealed that growing up, he had aspirations of another career entirely. “I wanted to be a doctor. When I look back at my old Record of Achievement from school, it’s all about wanting to
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be a doctor,” he said. “But I had an unmotivating science teacher in my final year of school when I was doing my GCSEs, who said ‘you’re going to fail your exams; you’d better not go to college and apply for science’. “So, I thought ‘what else am I good at?’ I was good at drama, so I thought I’d go and be an actor – I went to college to do a BTEC in Performing Arts and off the back of that, got into set design. The rest is now history. “Although for the record, I actually proved her wrong, I left with an A,” he added. “I realise now was it wasn’t so much medicine that I was interested in – I wanted a career that had a bit of science; a bit of sociology because I’ve always loved the power of people and how they interact; I was always interested in psychology; I was pretty good at engineering; and then I was really passionate about the creative arts too. It’s amazing that I’ve ended up living a life that encompasses all of the things that I was passionate about. “I feel very privileged that unless NASA come calling, or Liverpool want to sign me as a professional footballer, then I don’t think I could have a better career – I love what I do, because our industry and our work affects people in such an amazing way. “When you get it right, lighting brings a space to life and even to this day, I can walk into a space and get goosebumps. There’s nothing better than turning all the lights off and slowly bringing the circuits on one at a time to balance and compose the light within a space. It’s one of those breathtaking moments seeing a space come to life.” As the company celebrates its 10th anniversary, Nulty can look back on a decade that has seen the firm expand into new markets, with studios in Dubai (run by Mark Vowles), most recently Bangkok (run by Spencer Baxter) and Miami, and spinoff ventures, with the launch of Nulty Bespoke and Studio N. However, he says he never expected to be in such a position after just 10 years. “I always thought that it was possible to grow a business to 20 people and work across the world and be respected for it. A lot of people were doubtful and said it’s not possible, and I think part of my motivation was about proving people wrong. But I never thought it would be like this. It’s amazing to think of what we have achieved in such a short space of time. “Part of that is coming from genuine hard work, not just by myself but by the whole team, and a key factor is recognising when opportunities arise and taking those opportunities.
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“We’ve always been entrepreneurial, and I’ve always had the attitude that you have to at least try out ideas, just in case it leads to something amazing. We’ve always tried new things – some fail, but some have worked out well for us. It’s good, and it constantly challenges me as well.” Looking to the future and what the next 10 years might bring, Nulty explained that he has a couple of bold ambitions that he is yet to meet in his career: “My grand aim is twofold: I would love us as lighting designers and as a profession, to be taken as seriously as architects and interior designers – I think we’re still a long way off from that. “My other goal is that at the end of my career, I would love to look back and find that we’ve had a positive effect on the lives and careers of talented lighting designers. I’d like to think that we’re creating a legacy and that future lighting practices and successful designers made their start at Nulty. I take great pride in developing good designers through the business and giving them great opportunities – if anything it’s one of the most satisfying things about the last 10 years.” As for lighting design as a whole, Nulty predicts big challenges ahead with the ever-changing technology on offer, and the growing impetus placed on sustainable approaches, even if the actual core aspect of lighting design remains the same. “At its most basic level, lighting design hasn’t changed. You’re still breathing life into a space and emotionally connecting people with that environment, whatever it is. “I do think that the next 10 years are probably going to be more challenging than the last, because of the way technology is going, the way sustainability and green thinking is going, and because of the understanding that people have of human psychology, and how that’s also evolving. I think lighting is going to become even more scientific, psychological and sociological, as well as creative. There will be more and more layers of complexity than there ever used to be. The need for lighting design is going to grow, so it’s important that we evolve with it. “But at the same time, when it comes to light itself, it has been the same since the dawn of time; it will continue to be the same and it will affect people emotionally in many different ways. I think the beauty of light, lighting and lighting design is that we get to impact those emotions. To me, that’s why I do what I do. I love the impact that we can have on people’s lives.”
www.nultylighting.co.uk
1. Throughout his career, Nulty has been a regular speaker at lighting events, delivering seminars and CPD sessions around the world. 2. The newly completed Browns’ flagship store on London’s Brook Street features a futuristic lighting scheme that complements the building’s Grade II* listed status, while providing effective illumination to the high-end merchandise on display. (Pic: Bozho Gagovski) 3. Another landmark project for the studio, Nulty worked closely with 10Design to create a vibrant architectural lighting scheme for the Dubai International Financial Centre’s Gate Village. The outdoor lighting solution brings the village to life through light, with the brightly illuminated bridges acting as a striking focal point. (Pic: Alex Jeffries Photography)
Search Engine Optimisation
The first ever physical Google Store opened in New York this June. Designed by Reddymade Architecture, a complementary, minimal lighting scheme was developed by Reveal Design Group.
PROJECT DETAILS
Google Store, New York, USA
Client: Google Lighting Design: Reveal Design Group, USA Architect: Reddymade Architecture, USA Photography: Paul Warchol
The landmark Google Store - the first physical retail space for the brand - is characterised by the use of soft, tactile surfaces and natural materials such as cork and wood, contributing to a warm, calming ambience.
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he opening of a new retail space for one of the global tech giants always comes with a buzz of excitement – whether it’s the latest Apple store, a new flagship location for Microsoft, or Amazon’s supermarket chains. This buzz has once again been seen with the opening of Google’s first ever physical retail space in New York this June. The store, located on the ground floor of Google’s headquarters in Chelsea, Manhattan, was designed by Suchi Reddy, Founder of Reddymade Architecture and Design, with the concept centred on the core principles of Neuroaesthetics – a theme that Reddy explored in A Space for Being, a collaboration with Google and its VP of Hardware Design, Ivy Ross, at Salone del Mobile in Milan. The architect’s work follows the belief that “form follows feeling”, meaning that the design has been carefully calibrated to the human, and positively influences wellbeing, creativity, and productivity. The architecture and interiors of the store are a pragmatic, playful expression of this motto, bringing a unique focus to the interplay of good design with human perception. The intention from Reddy was to “re-awaken visitors to the childlike wonder found in the technology and digital innovation on display”. The architectural lighting for this landmark store was designed by Reveal Design Group and cofounder Levia Lew explained how the firm got involved in the project: “My firm and I are currently working on a large residential/hotel project in Florida, which started in 2017 with Suchi Reddy. Suchi and I found that our creative processes are very compatible; we have a lot of fun designing and problem-solving together. In 2019, she invited me to assist on A Space for Being, the Google partnership for Salone del Mobile. The success and impact of the installation paved the way for the collaboration between Reveal Design Group and Reddymade for the flagship store.” The overall design for the store is warm and calming, with an abundance of soft, tactile surfaces and natural materials such as cork and wood. Lew explained how this impacted on the brief for the lighting design: “The overarching goal and design vision was focused on sustainability and natural materials to convey a sense of light, openness and possibility, as well as a feeling of ‘home’ given the products and services that Google planned to showcase in the space. The goal of LEED Platinum certification also set very clear boundaries as to what kind of lighting could be used in terms of energy consumption.” Lew explained that because of the material palette selection and “flow” of the space, the lighting concept was kept deliberately minimalist and restrained. As such, a precise and orderly arrangement of fixtures in the 16ft ceiling, with an aperture size and warmer colour temperature more typically found in hospitality and residential spaces, was used. This, Lew added, served to highlight the dramatic architecture, while simultaneously bringing the visual focus down to the human level to create the sense of home.
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Alongside this, moments of intimacy and relaxed ambience were intended through the selective use of integrated lighting, with illuminated display cubes and focused lighting casting a warmth, while visually organising the expansive space into comfortable areas and differentiated zones. “The goal was to create a sense of differentiation between each ‘room’ as Google wanted them to embody the various experiences of the products and services featured within,” said Lew. “Thus, one area is a homey living room setting, another is a gaming setting, and another a product showcase setting. They all had distinct personalities to be shared.” One of the key design elements that Lew had to factor in when developing the lighting scheme was the abundance of natural light that fills the store, and how to marry this with artificial lighting. With the lofty, 16ft ceilings and huge, double height windows, daylight, and the ambient brightness of streetlights outside, were prominent influences on the interior of the space. However, instead of seeing this as a challenge, Lew was eager to create a scheme that would complement the ambient daylighting, while using this as a tool to enhance the natural materials and clean lines of the interior design. “The space was already naturally lit though the curtain wall with the most powerful source we have: the sun,” she said. “One of my mentors years ago said to me that a space will tell you how it wants to be seen. In this case, the sheer amount of daylight coming in through the windows was a major force that we could not fight, nor did we want to. “The room, with its light, wide open planes and surfaces that gently reflect the ambient light from the window directed the choice to continue that gesture by gently washing the interior surfaces with light rather than to accent them with dramatic beams.” Softly diffused and reflected light creates an even ambience with relatively few fixtures; Lew then selectively accented gathering and product showcase areas with direct illumination to create visual contrast to add emphasis on certain zones. She continued: “Lighting designers often speak about painting a space with light. In this case, I used light like watercolours, to wash and blend surfaces, allowing the crisp lines of the architecture to cut its own path through it. The paintings of Morris Louis and Mark Rothko, as well as the works of James Turrell, were initial inspirations for the design of this project.” Thanks to a strong pre-existing relationship with architect Reddy, Lew and her team were given the trust and freedom to create a lighting scheme that would sit in harmony with the store’s interior design. She explained: “My team worked closely with Suchi’s team from start to finish. We were in near-constant contact, problem-solving and coordinating field conditions along with the usual challenges that come up during the design and construction process. “However, once Suchi’s vision was strongly established, we were given the freedom to come up
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with our own lighting scheme and ideas to communicate the intended feeling within her design. We have an exceptional, open dialogue between our two firms. It is incredibly refreshing and rewarding when ideas flow both ways with such honesty and clarity, allowing for that rare creative freedom and trust.” This trust meant that, while the approach of “form follows feeling” was an integral facet of the architectural design, Lew could bring her own interpretation of this mantra for the lighting. “Like many lighting designers in the architectural field, I was trained in the theatre, where I learned to use light to elicit audience emotion based on script and story. My design methodology is inspired by the way something makes us feel, whether it’s a sculpture, space or building. I’m driven to discover and tell a meaningful story, and to evoke an intended feeling. “However, light is both abstract and technically scientific at the same time. The Google store’s space and architecture made me feel and see specific things, but from a lighting perspective, in order to realise those feelings in reality, hard science and calculations are required to make light behave as we envision.” Inside the store, the warm lighting and neutral tones guide the eye to one of its main focal points, dubbed the “Imagination Space”. Standing at the entryway to the store, a semi-circular node of extruded glass tubing suspended between the ceiling and the floor refracts light and invites visitors to interact with Google’s products and technologies on an individual level. Lew explained how a minimal lighting approach helps to bring this key element of the store to life: “Suchi’s vision for the Imagination Space was so elegantly minimalist with its clean, austere lines and magnificent fluted tubes enveloping the visitor in a glass cathedral of light that it seemed vulgar to treat the volume with more than what was necessary to make it sparkle. “We exploited the physical optics of the vertical fluting by using a simple, uninterrupted circle of light from inside of the column so that the visitor’s kinetic experience changes depending on whether they are inside or outside of the cylindrical space. “I am always looking for inspiration and had an ‘aha!’ moment one night at home, noticing how light reacts through the crystal strands of my selenite votive when a candle is lit within. It is exactly the same principle at the Imagination Space, only on a much larger scale.” With the store designed according to the highest standards of sustainable and renewable practices, receiving LEED Platinum certification in the process, Lew was given limited wattage allowances for any fixtures specified for the project. “What that translates into is minimal quantities of lighting fixtures, stringent energy efficiency and functional longevity criteria for those fixtures, and the use of sensors that limit energy consumption,”
1. The main focal point of the store, the Imagination Space is comprised of a semicircular node of extruded glass tubing suspended between the ceiling and floor. With the glass itself refracts the natural light in the store, the architectrual lighting remained minimal, allowing the glass to take centre stage. 2 & 3. Alongside the main retail space, the store includes a number of breakout zones, each designed to embody the various experiences of the products and services that Google offer - from entertainment to home products and gaming. 4. With its light, wide open planes and surfaces that gently reflect ambient light, Reveal Design Group continued this gesture by gently washing the interior surfaces with light, rather than accenting them with dramatic beams.
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she explained. To achieve this, she opted for fixtures from USAI, DMF Lighting, Kelvix and ETC, alongside Lutron’s Vive wireless control system. As the first physical retail space for the tech giants, the Google Store will no doubt be compared to those of its rivals. However, Lew said that such comparisons didn’t factor into her approach to this landmark project. “I try very hard not to get distracted by previous projects and design gestures, since every project has its own DNA and story it wants to tell,” she said. “In the theatre, we learned early on that as every show is unique, you must approach each production like a blank slate. This also goes back to my belief that every space will tell you how it wants to be seen. What I consider and strive for above all is that each client sees the best possible reflection of themselves and their intentions in the final result.” This final result is a space that encapsulates the warm yet inspiring aesthetic that both the architects and lighting designers aimed for. And while the environmentally conscious, sustainable interior design is gaining plaudits, Lew feels that the lighting goes a long way to creating a strong impression on visitors. “Lighting is crucial to creating a subconscious impression that presents itself through an emotional response to the viewer,” she said. “Suchi wanted to create a welcoming feeling of openness and possibility. By taking our cues from her vision and material palette as well as the actual spatial conditions, we were able to create a cohesive layer that ties all interior and architectural elements together.” Adding this landmark project to the Reveal Design Group portfolio was a singular opportunty and privilege for Lew, yet she says the greatest joy is seeing the pride her team has on completing a winning project. “It is certainly exciting and gratifying to add such a successful, groundbreaking endeavour to our portfolio,” she said. “However, what I find most rewarding is seeing our team’s pride in a successful project after tirelessly investing tremendous dedication and effort. “Our Google Store project management team - Josh Klein and Ashton Allin - spent more than two years of hard work and careful coordination to achieve the design and I am incredibly proud of them and their teamwork.”
www.revealdesigngroup.com
1. Situated on Chelsea’s 9th Avenue, the store’s design is built on the philosophy of “form follows feeling”, where good design positively influences wellbeing, creativity and productivity. 2. Selective accent lighting in product showcase areas creates a visual contrast for visitors, while adding emphasis on certain zones. 3. The store’s double-height windows fill the space with plentiful natural light. Reveal Design Group therefore tailored its lighting design to work alongside the daylight, complementing and enhancing it with softly diffused and reflected light.
lighting specified
ALW MoonRing OnePointFive DMF Lighting DRD5S ETC Irideon H.E. Williams Slimline Suspended & MX2W Kelvix Performance 300 Series Lutron Vive USAI Lighting BeveLED 2.2
