7 minute read
STORY-TELLING, BRILLIANTLY
STORY-TELLING,
BRILLIANTLY
After Covid-19 put paid to 2020’s ‘How to be brilliant’, the ILP’s informal and friendly series of talks has returned in a new digital format for 2021
By Nic Paton
The ILP’s popular ‘How to be brilliant’ talks, which were held in London and Scotland, were one of the casualties of coronavirus last year.
One year on, we may not quite be out of the pandemic, even if the success of the vaccine rollout and the government’s route map out of restrictions does means hopes are rising for a gradual return to something approaching ‘normality’.
But the fact we have all got so used to engaging, networking and collaborating virtually over the past year meant that ‘How to be brilliant’ was finally able to return in a digital format last month, thanks to a sponsorship agreement with ILP Premier member BEGA.
PASSIONATE PRESENTATION
The first in what will be a series of talks during 2021 (and keep an eye on the ILP website for updates) was by David Gilbey, founder of d-lighting, on ‘how to be brilliant at telling stories with light’.
In a passionate and thought-provoking presentation, David cantered through projects that had inspired him over the years and why, within this, it was vital for designers, whatever their level, always to be finding the ‘narrative’ of a project, always to be telling the story of the space and the light within it and not getting bogged down in numbers, values or calculations.
‘I am absolutely burning with passion for light and lighting, and I have been following the light all my life. What we aim to do with light is inspire, and the great inspiration, for me, is nature,’ David enthused.
He highlighted the Batu Caves in Malaysia, which even have a Hindu temple inside them. ‘That light is almost spiritual; it is almost, “what came first, the light or the temple?”. We know it would have been the light of course, but what a great shot.’
He focused on the Highcross shopping centre in Leicester, a project he had worked on with Foreign Office Architects. ‘I love this project. It proves to me that the limits to creativity are not the budget, the limiters to creativity are the ideas.’
Canterbury Cathedral told a very interesting ‘story’ in terms of light because of its location. ‘It sits in a dip and it appears to be overlit. It is lit like a beacon, but it is lit to call you to prayer,’ David explained.
A combination of constellations of stars and dynamic illuminated shooting stars were at the heart of UMAYA Lighting Designs’ work on the Prime Tower in Dubai.
‘We started mapping out the building so we had a diagonal line of light to accent the shooting star,’ he explained. ‘When we were planning the constellations, we had no way of making the stars twinkle – we did not have any control on the outside of the building – so we had to use an optical illusion. We used a dark blue LED node and sort of cyan blue/turquoise blue and cool white; and that gave you the illusion that the stars were twinkling on the building.’
FIVE KEY CONSIDERATIONS
David then outlined what, to him, were his top five considerations to be thinking about when lighting the outside of buildings: 1. Make them look good from afar. ‘We all do that anyway as lighting designers.’
2. Make them look good as you
approach. ‘We have also got to make the experience realistic and engaging as you approach the building.’
3. Make it in context to the surround-
ings. ‘You may be doing a deliberate contrast. I lit the entrance to a risqué art gallery in Moscow and we made it look like a brothel. But here we are sitting very comfortably in context.’ 4. Try and create local landmarks. ‘Try and create buildings that people are proud of, and which become waypoints.’ 5. All the sustainable elements. ‘Energy efficiency, no light pollution, ergonomic elements, easy to maintain and so on.’
David added: ‘If you can tick these five boxes when lighting a façade, you are doing a great job.’ But he also warned: ‘With light we can tell stories. But if we get it wrong, we can also confuse.
‘As lighting designers, we have to use every tool in our armoury to tell a story when it is appropriate. Sometimes it is just about being bold with your lighting, or contrast,’ David continued.
‘The “story” can be history, culture or location; it can be anything. It can be the architecture, sustainability, branding. But what you do when you try and tell the story is try to capture the soul of a project; you try and connect the project in space and time.
Canterbury Cathedral. In his 'How to be brilliant' talk, David Gilbey explained how the cathedral's location in a dip is integral to its lighting 'story'. Main image on previous page: Lazarides Gallery in London (photograph by Yvette Jones) and Wafi City Mall in Dubai, both projects by David
‘As lighting designers, we have to keep ourselves interested and interesting. Our degrees are just a line in the sand, a mark in time, we have to keep researching and growing our knowledge. There are always learning opportunities on projects’, he added.
LIGHTING’S ROLE IN REGENERATION
David emphasised the importance of biophilic design and how lighting can be a key element that drives forward an urban regeneration project, highlighting the exemplary work by Kai Piippo on a dry dock area near Gothenburg. ‘With that comes prosperity. It’s like putting a stone in a pond and it ripples out. If you can regenerate an area, the area next door has got to regenerate and so on,’ he said.
‘I love how we can take ugly objects and turn them into landmarks, turn them into waypoints, turn them into part of the community with interactive light,’ he added.
‘It is just about thinking outside the box, and how we can use light as a celebration. How we can use light to frame, how we use light to accentuate, how we aim to add value with light.
His work on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Mumbai International Airport T2, where the Jaya He Museum comprises 3km of ancient Indian heritage art over four floors, remains his favourite architectural project, David explained. There were many stories to tell, including the spiritual light of ‘Godhuli’, which is the golden light reflected in the dust kicked up by the cows coming home from the fields; there were birds that fly, fish that swim and many spiritual elements, he outlined.
‘I hope you find this inspiring,’ David concluded. ‘To me, telling stories with light is the way I approach things; it is the way architects approach projects. And I think you will all be better designers if you take a little bit of inspiration from the present.’
FIND OUT MORE
To watch the full video from David’s presentation go to https://theilp.org.uk/ events/how-to-be-brilliant/
The next ‘How to be brilliant talk’ will take place on 10 May and will be by artist Liz West, on ‘How to be brilliant at celebrating colour’.
Keep an eye on the ILP digital newsletter plus go to https://theilp.org.uk/events/ for updates on Liz’s talk as well as upcoming ‘How to be brilliant’ events.
Our thanks to Premier member BEGA for sponsoring the sessions.
DO YOU KNOW AN UNSUNG HERO?
During the past year many within lighting have gone above and beyond to help those who are vulnerable or in need in their communities.
They don’t do it for the praise or the applause, but simply because they care and want to help people in need. But we at Lighting Journal think they could do with celebrating and applauding.
So, if you know someone within lighting who is an unsung hero in their community, or even if you are yourself, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps they’re raising money for charity, delivering food parcels, or volunteering to vaccinate and test.
Whatever it is, if you know someone who you think deserves a bit of a shout out for all they do and contribute beyond their lighting ‘day job’, please get in touch.
Either drop a line direct to Jess Gallacher at the ILP at Jess@theilp.org.uk or come straight to editor Nic Paton at
