LIGHT FINGERED

The links between crime and nighttime dimming or part-night lighting have long been hotly debated within the industry. Now a study has come to the somewhat surprising conclusion that, at least when it comes to on-street vehicle crime, thieves may actually prefer more brightly lit streets

By Nic Paton

Lighting, safety and crime

There is a logical, and longstanding, assumption that criminals prefer to operate in the dark. It’s why, after all, many of us have security lights on our houses and set timing systems for our lights to come on when we go out.

It is a similar assumption when it comes to street lighting. Darkness, whether by that we mean dark patches, shadow or fullblown darkness, is often perceived to be inherently less safe than more illuminated public realm areas.

As Lighting Journal showed last summer, unpicking perceived versus actual safety in the public realm, let alone the role artificial lighting plays within this, is not straightforward (‘Safe as streets?’, September 2021, vol 86, no 8).

Equally, as a police-led ‘safer streets’ toolkit highlighted last year, by and large crime does decrease – by about a fifth – in areas with improved street lighting, with four out of five studies showing ‘statistically significant’ decreases [1]. A webinar for LDC Ireland, ‘Dark skies or safer streets’ also delved into this contentious issue in February – and we will be bringing you more on that within Lighting Journal in the coming months.

However, a study in the academic Journal of Quantitative Criminology has thrown the proverbial cat among the pigeons by arguing that, at least when it comes to on-street vehicle crime, the picture may be considerably more complex than we might assume [2].

The study, led by academics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and University College London (UCL), has concluded that fewer cars are broken into at night on roads with part-night lighting (PNL), or where streetlights are switched off between midnight and 5am.

Moreover, it found no evidence that lighting changes can be associated with changes to the levels of violence, robbery or residential burglary in an area.

The research team examined detailed police-recorded crime data from Thames Valley Police as well as data on changes to street lighting in local authorities in Oxfordshire, Reading and West Berkshire from April 2004 to September 2013. Their analysis concluded that the rate of thefts from cars at night was halved in streets with PNL compared to the same streets before PNL. Intriguingly, this coincided with a similarly significant 1.5 times’ increase in vehicle crime on nearby streets where the lighting remained on all night, suggesting some criminals were deliberately deciding to move to better-lit streets nearby, the research team argued.

Over the ten-year study period there were 283,275 crimes, of which 79,000 (28%) were vehicle crimes. After controlling for underlying long-term and seasonal trends in crime, the team concluded that thefts from vehicles considerably reduced on street segments where the street lighting was switched off at midnight.

COST-BENEFIT CALCULATION

As the ‘LANTERNS’ project, led by LSHTM’s Dr Phil Edwards, concluded: ‘Theft from vehicle offenses [sic] reduced in streets where street lighting was switched off at midnight but may have been displaced to better-lit adjacent streets.

‘Relative to daytime, night-time theft from vehicle offenses reduced in streets with dimming while theft from vehicles at all times of the day increased, thus suggesting temporal displacement. These findings suggest that the absence of street lighting may prevent theft from vehicles, but there is a danger of offenses being temporally or spatially displaced.’

This latest study builds on previous research in this area by Dr Edwards. Back in 2015, for example, a research project he led concluded that reduced street lighting in England and Wales was not associated with increased road-traffic collisions or crime [3].

Drilling down into the latest study, the researchers argued any preference on behalf of car thieves for better-lit streets probably comes back to a quite complex cost-benefit calculation.

In any car theft or crime, the ‘benefit’ for a thief will either be the transport or resale of the vehicle itself or any goods that can be stolen from its interior or exterior, or both. Set against this, of course, is the ‘cost’ of being caught or apprehended in the act by the police and/or being seen and reported by a member of the public (with probably the same outcome).

As the study argued: ‘A lack of street lighting alters both sides of this calculus. In the times when PNL is switched off (after midnight) there is little chance that light from buildings will provide ambient light to the street. If this assumption holds then the streets are likely to be in near darkness, which means that would-be offenders may find it challenging to assess target suitability.

‘Since many contemporary vehicles have built-in stereos and satellite navigation systems, offenders may be looking for other valuable goods that are left unsecured in vehicles, which may prove difficult if lighting levels are low. Thus, the benefits of committing a vehicle crime in darkness are unknown or hard to estimate.

‘Dark conditions may also incur greater costs. A known modus operandi used by opportunistic offenders is to try car doors to see if the owner has forgotten to lock the vehicle. Unlike other modus operandi this can still be employed in darkness. However, the offender still likely requires some form of light to either start the vehicle (to drive it away) or to search the vehicle for contents to steal.

‘Similarly, exterior fittings of vehicles, such as hub caps, wheel trims or number plates all require some light to successfully remove. Artificial light introduced to the crime scene signals unusual activity to

Lighting, safety and crime

potential guardians and invites unwanted attention which the offenders may not feel comfortable risking. The costs of committing vehicle crime on unlit streets are therefore higher than elsewhere,’ the study emphasised.

DIMMING AND VEHICLE THEFT

The study also reached a number of other intriguing conclusions. For example, it found an association between dimming and an increase in theft from vehicles occurring at all times of the day. This, as it pointed out, ‘may suggest that dimming is more likely to temporally displace vehicle crimes to earlier in the day, rather than spatially displace offending to nearby streets.’

There was no evidence that white lighting was significantly associated with changes in any type of night-time crime examined. However, there was some evidence of an association between changes to white light and reductions in burglary at all times of the day, the research team argued.

However, this could, at least in part, be associated with factors beyond the lighting itself, the study cautioned.

‘Consultation with residents in treatment areas revealed that concerns regarding reducing light were intertwined with perceptions of cost-cutting. So, it is conceivable that improving luminosity, as is the case with white lights, is perceived as signaling [sic] investment into the community. In turn, this can prompt feelings of community pride and cohesion and indirectly feed into enhanced informal social control in such areas,’ it argued.

CONCLUSIONS

In sum, the study has suggested that the mechanism by which street lighting has been proposed to reduce crime – in other words, increased visibility at night – may also have the unforeseen effect of increasing vehicle crime, especially opportunistic on-street vehicle crime.

‘Reduced visibility at night may mean that valuables left inside cars overnight are not seen so easily, thereby reducing the temptation for would-be thieves. On unlit streets, offenders may walk past vehicles for which rewards cannot be seen, into better-lit nearby streets where rewards are more visible,’ the study argued.

‘This study sheds further light (pun intended) on the mechanisms through which street lighting may impact on crime and suggests that reduced street lighting may prevent theft from vehicles, but there is a danger of offenses [sic] being temporally or spatially displaced,’ it added.

In response to the study conclusions, Professor Shane Johnson, director of the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL and deputy head at the UCL Department for Security and Crime Science, said: ‘Research studies such as this can help us to better understand crime and security issues. The study findings suggest that energy saving street lighting adaptations have not increased crime in the streets studied. This is very encouraging, but it is important to note that it does not mean that this will be the case under all conditions, and so changes to lighting should be managed carefully.’

And Steve Fotios, professor of lighting and visual perception at the University of Sheffield, said: ‘The public provision of artificial light at night should be based on the best available evidence of its effects on public health and safety. The reduction in vehicle crime found by this study is surprising, but further research is needed to evaluate optimal lighting levels for residential streets after sunset.’

[1] ‘Safer Streets Fund – crime prevention toolkit’, 2021, College of Policing, Secured by Design, Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, https://assets.college.police.uk/s3fs-public/2022-03/ Safer_Streets_toolkit.pdf [2] Edwards P et al (2022). ‘Absence of street lighting may prevent vehicle crime, but spatial and temporal displacement remains a concern’, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-022-09539-8 [3] ‘Switching off street lights at night does not increase car crashes and crime’, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, July 2015, https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/877898; full study: ‘The effect of reduced street lighting on road casualties and crime in England and Wales: controlled interrupted time series analysis’. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. DOI: 10.1136/jech-2015-206012, https://jech.bmj.com/content/69/11/1118

THE VIEW FROM THE ILP

The way people use spaces is complex and multifaceted, writes Peter Harrison.

This report in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology looks at part of the picture and its valuable findings are just one piece of a bigger jigsaw.

It is surprising to find some car crime reduced when the lighting was switched off. However, this should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution.

Crime did migrate to adjacent areas and the roads where part-night lighting was implemented were selected using criteria related to accident and demographic information.

What the report did not mention was the impact lack of lighting has on elderly and more vulnerable people in society, their fear of crime and, often, reluctance to leave their homes at night as a result.

More information can be found on this area in the ILP’s Professional Lighting Guide PLG08: Guidance on the application of adaptive lighting within the public realm.

You can find it on the ILP website by scanning the below QR code:

Peter Harrison is the ILP’s Technical Director

Smart connectivity, in particular the use of networks of low-cost airquality sensors, can enable local authorities really to drill down into changes in air pollution on roads within their communities, including the impact of traffic flow and even the role of weather, as a pilot scheme in Hampshire has shown

More than half (55%) of the global population lives in urban areas today, according to the United Nations [1]. This is expected to increase to around 70% by 2050, which will lead to 2.5 billion more urban residents across the planet. The UN has set out 17 ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) for the future, with the aim of encouraging prosperity whilst also protecting the planet [2].

These acknowledge that ending poverty and increasing economic growth are a partnership when it comes to tackling social issues such as education, health, climate change and environmental protection.

Yet, you do not need to be thinking on a worldwide scale when it comes to addressing these issues. Within our own cities and towns, we can see how those goals are relevant and we can use our knowledge to make changes to them.

With a growing population, local authorities must prepare for the huge pressure this will put on their infrastructure. At the same time, they must confront associated challenges such as climate change, poor air quality, increasing congestion and housing shortages.

Smart or connected technology exists to help tackle these urban issues and enable cities to become more sustainable, resilient, and safer, as well as improve quality of life for citizens.

In recent years there has been a surge in the availability of technological and engineering-based, internet-based solutions

Smart lighting

that can monitor anything from your body mass index through to the nearest free parking bays, all delivered straight to your smartphone.

The Internet of things (IoT), a term to describe using apps to plan, predict and manoeuvre your way around your day with convenience, reduces waste in time taken waiting on disruptions to the network of travel.

With an ever-expanding catalogue of apps to cover shopping, lifestyle, exercise and social media, the concept of using ‘smart technology’ to enhance wellbeing and health within the transport network has scope to be addressed. So, how can we use it (and in particular smart street lighting) better to monitor our environment and protect our wellbeing?

HAMPSHIRE PILOT PROJECT

In 2020, I undertook a university research project looking at how the concept of smart city technology to monitor air-quality using the network of centrally managed systems to deliver ‘real time’ data within specific locations. With the help of SSE Mayflower Control Systems to investigate how we might better tackle air quality monitoring, it was decided by using the deployment of a network of low-cost air-quality sensors within the boundary of Hampshire County Council (HCC) we could detect, analyse and produce valuable information for councils and local residents about the area in which they are residing.

This article intends to look at some of the learning points and findings of this research project. It will examine the information the sensors were recording and how that was interpreted in the form of daily pollutants, monthly recordings, trends and overall levels in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

PARTICULATE MATTER (PM) GUIDELINE VALUES FINE PARTICULATE MATTER (PM2.5)

10 μg/m3 annual mean

25 μg/m3 24-hour mean

COARSE PARTICULATE MATTER (PM10)

20 μg/m3 annual mean

50 μg/m3 24-hour mean

Figure 1. World Health Organization air quality guidelines for PM10 & PM2.5 [3]

Smart lighting

From there, we’ll endeavour to determine whether current methods of managing traffic and pollutants are adequate and if there is sufficient information to recommend further work be undertaken to address those levels.

The sensor network was to have the following objectives:

1. Testing of air-quality sensors for local authority use. 2. Trial of a novel deployment technique, using existing smart cities’ infrastructure to provide power and daily communications with the sensor network. 3. Analysis of the impact of NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and particulate concentrations around a heavily congested roundabout in Hampshire. 4. Analysis of the cost-effectiveness of such a network in comparison to NO2 diffusion tube networks.

Air quality levels within a particular region can be found on the government website. There are currently several known sites in Hampshire that exceed government air quality guidelines because of their known congestion issues. The A32/Quay Street Roundabout, Fareham – a very busy and complex set of multiple junctions and dual ‘A’ roads merge – was chosen based on an assessment of various factors.

This included the location of streetlights, rush hour traffic in the morning and evening, and its significant congestion issues. The short averaging times also allowed for a detailed analysis of the impact peak activities on pollutant concentrations.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) covers the five pollutants that are most likely to affect health on a day-to-day basis [4]. These are:

• Ozone • Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) • Sulphur dioxide (SO2) • Particulate matter (as PM10) • Fine particulate matter (such as

PM2.5)

For councils to meet the levels set by the World Health Organization (as shown in figure 1), planners and transport officials need to be looking at promoting healthier options of travel. Equally, they need to be looking at the measures necessary to meet the goals set by the UN’s 2050 SDGs.

THE SENSORS

The sensor network was made up of sensors manufactured to NO2, O3, CO, SO2,

140.00

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60.00 Measured in µg/m3

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20.00 Average Readings over 40µg/m3 during December 2020

Nitrogen Dioxide (ppm) PM10 (µg/m3) PM2.5 (µg/m3)

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30/12/20 29/12/20 28/12/20 27/12/20 26/12/20 25/12/20 24/12/20 23/12/20

Column 51, Gosport Road, Fareham 27/12/20 26/12/20 25/12/20 24/12/20

23/12/20 Column 61, Gosport

Road, Fareham 30/12/20 29/12/20 28/12/20 27/12/20 26/12/20 25/12/20 24/12/20 23/12/20

Column 72, Gosport Road, Fareham 30/12/20 29/12/20 28/12/20 27/12/20 26/12/20 25/12/20 24/12/20 23/12/20

Column 75, Gosport Road, Fareham

Figure 2. Data analysis for December 2020. Note the spikes recorded for the period 25-30 December 2020

Figure 3. This shows spikes in PM10 and PM2.5 during January 2020. These were consistently higher than the national limits, with most coinciding with traffic flow during school and rush hours

Figure 4, showing average measurement by timestamp and date. Note how column 75 (the highest spike) registers its highest reading at 9pm

Figure 5. This graphic compares the results with a similar trial in nearby Bursledon, which is 15 minutes away. Looking at the PM data, what this appears to imply is that the reading we were getting in Fareham were specific to the localised pollutants and not an atmospheric indicator Figure 6. This shows the PM10 readings. The highest percentage of PM10 recorded in the week of 25-30 January was on 29 January. No physical explanations were available to justify the results found on this date, however the weather on that occasion was foggy

AVG Above 40 µg/m3

1,200.00 1,000.00 800.00 600.00 400.00 200.00 0.00 Average Readings for Jan 2021 above 40µg/m3

19/01/21 13/01/21 10/01/21 09/01/21 08/01/21 07/01/21 01/01/21 29/01/21 28/01/21 27/01/21 09/01/21 08/01/21 07/01/21 27/01/21 13/01/21 10/01/21 09/01/21 08/01/21 07/01/21 01/01/21 29/01/21 28/01/21 27/01/21 26/01/21 19/01/21 13/01/21 10/01/21 09/01/21 08/01/21 07/01/21 01/01/21

PM10 (µg/m3) PM2.5 (µg/m3)

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Smart lighting

PM2.5 and PM10, and other data, such as humidity, air pressure and temperature.

They are compact units and once deployed have a maintenance and calibration interval of up to 24 months. Data drawn down to a resolution of 30-minute intervals can be recorded.

The sensor network and datasets are not reliant on power and/or Wi Fi connections thanks to being located on SSE’s smart lighting columns in the location. This provided smart city communications (in other words, hard-wired internet connectivity 24/7) and mounting locations for the sensor instruments.

SSE also provided the smart city platform to enable the sensors to send data via the Zigbee modem to a central database, which interprets the coding to produce the analytics on the website dashboard.

This is an ‘open’ network, which means that it would be possible for other parties to join the platform, providing their systems can accommodate Zigbee and API addresses are released.

The data was recorded on the dashboard as an average for the day. Further analysis was required to gain a wider understanding of the 30-minute readings for a day. The information was easily extracted and very user friendly. For more complex analysis, it was necessary to download and manipulate independent of the platform. Figure 2 shows some average readings taken during December 2020.

What this shows is that, for the period 25-30 December 2020 readings still exceeded national guidelines for the 24-hour average mean. The most significant spikes occurred between the hours of 3am and 5am on 27 December, with PM10 being the highest recording pollutant during those hours. The World Health Organization, to recap, levels set at a limit of 50μg/m3 as a 24-hour mean and most readings were above that daily.

As shown in figure 3, the spikes in PM10 and PM2.5 during January 2020 were consistently higher than the national limits, with most coinciding with traffic flow during school and rush hours. Taking temperature readings for that week, this showed the weather was not unusual and humidity was even, not enough to cause the spike. Figures 4 and 5 then show, respectively, average measurement by timestamp and date and the results with a similar trial in nearby a nearby village that appeared to imply that the readings for our sensors were specific to the localised pollutants and not an atmospheric indicator.

In figure 6, meanwhile, it is clear the highest percentage of PM10 recorded in the week of 25-30 January was on 29 January. No physical explanations were available to justify the results found on this date, however the weather on that occasion was foggy. The manufacturer reported that, when fog is present, water particles are higher and so can register levels that exceed the norm. One frustration was that we had intended to use the static monitoring station nearby as the control for this trial, but it transpired that it only registers NO (nitrous oxide) and SO (sulphur monoxide) readings, not particulate matter. The next available PM monitoring station was across in Portsmouth and so too far away to be of use as a comparative tool.

Figures 7 and 8 then show how the most significant PM2.5 spike was recorded on 27 December at 5am but that there was an anomaly reading in one column (column 75). A similar spike on the same day and at the same time was recorded PM10. Contact was made with both Hampshire Constabulary and Hampshire Fire Service to see if there were any recorded incidences that may have contributed to the spike but they both responded as negative, so it was all a bit baffling, if still interesting in terms of what it showed around the ability to collect data in this way.

Again (figure 9), column 72 was something of an outlier in terms of its readings, in that it did not seem to pick up the same level of readings as the others around it. The location of the columns was checked to make sure there were no differences in distances from the carriageway. The only column not on the north side of Gosport Road was column 75, which sits on the southbound side adjacent to the waterway.

Figure 10 overleaf then shows a graphical representation of PM10 readings for 27 December. Notice how the highest recording was at 602.58μg/m3. Weather data for the same time and date showed it was raining. The highest spike for PM10 (figure 11) was recorded on 11 February between 7pm and 11pm. Again, intriguingly, the historical data for weather at those times showed it was raining.

To prove the theory behind the correlation to rain and high particulate matter, a weather comparison was done for Christmas Day, 25 December, as the day was mostly clear (figure 12). The PM readings

Figure 7. Readings from the dashboard showing that the most significant spike was recorded on 27 December at 5am

Figure 8. PM2.5 column readings for 27 December at 5am. Note the anomaly of column 72 (highlighted in yellow). It is positioned between columns 61 and 75, so there was an expectation its results would range between the two figures, not be so completely lower Figure 9. PM10 column readings for 27 December at 5am. Once again, column 72 was something of a baffling anomaly

COLUMN NUMBER

PM2.5 READING

51 120.3

61 226.3

72 12.49

75 79.71

COLUMN NUMBER SENSOR READING

51 261.58

61 602.58

72 21.64

75 256.37

Smart lighting

for that same day showed an increase after 12pm when the wind speed dropped, and air was coming in from the north west (which was notably more polluted). With wind-speed dropping, PM readings started to decrease. This was noted on the readings for the same day by the sensors.

CONCLUSIONS

In sum, the trial has been deemed a success for identifying the feasibility of using CMS and air-quality sensors in areas where there is a continual concern for high levels of pollutants and for the future assessments needed to tackle the improvements.

It could eliminate the need for diffusion tubes and the time lost in analysis and ease of transportation to other locations. It can offer more in terms of particulate matter readings than some static monitoring stations which purely measure NO2.

Using a solar option for this trial assisted in testing greener forms of data transmission equipment in a drive to negate carbon emissions. This does not seem to have affected the quality of the readings being received. The sensor defects were because of internal component failures and not the solar device powering their supply. This option also prevented further cost of energy consumption which would be part of a power connected supply.

Evidently, there is still more work to be done. Project funding needs to be available if there is a genuine intention to look ahead at greener solutions and management solutions to fall in line with the government’s 2050 net zero agenda.

As things stand at present, local authorities are not able to be part of a larger smart city community due to restrictions from central government. Until such time as the various council sections have interactive solutions that can be linked to one main platform, there would be no need for a local authority to take on such a cost.

Complex communication systems and digital monitoring devices for air quality, traffic flow, bin collections and salt spreading are all part of what will gradually be a wide smart city operation. If a network disruption can mean that your alarm clock is amended so you are not late for your meeting, shouldn’t the issues surrounding air quality and preservation of quality of life be just as easily controlled?

In the meantime we have innovation driving the engineers of the future so that one day what currently may stand as a barrier for business will eventually become a mere obstacle to overcome when driving for change.

In my view, if it were possible to link health, transport, planning and environmental efforts digitally then it would better portray to communities – whether in Hampshire or elsewhere – a much clearer picture of what their council is doing in to improve areas surround health, transport and future planning. It would also show local authorities are working to meet net zero aspiration, and how the behaviours of residents, especially in terms of transport use and traffic, is affecting the area they live in.

Walking-to-school weeks have been a successful way to ‘nudge’ parents who usually drive to school to begin to the difference in air quality when they leave the car at home. Clearly, this sort of monitoring is just one small part of what is a much larger, and much more complex, environmental puzzle, one where lighting professionals can provide only some of the answers.

Nevertheless, having this sort of monitoring in place – and effectively interrogating and communicating the data that comes from it – can help to educate communities about the environmental dangers and risks they are living with. It is another way that lighting professionals can contribute to the green/sustainability agenda that is becoming an ever-more pressing conversation for all of us.

Figure 10. This is a graphical representation of PM10 readings for 27 December, showing how the highest recording was at 602.58µg/m3

Figure 11. The highest spike for PM10 was recorded on 11 February 2021 between 7pm and 11pm, with the historical data showing, again, that it was raining Figure 12. This reading, from Christmas Day, showed the PM readings increasing after 12pm when the wind speed dropped, and more polluted air was coming in from the north west

[1] ‘68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN’ United Nations, 2018, https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-ofworld-urbanization-prospects.html [2] ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ United Nations, https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda [3] ‘Ambient (outdoor) air pollution’, World Health Organization, September 2021, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health [4] ‘Daily Air Quality Index’, Defra, https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution/daqi Amanda Reece BSc (Hons) EngTech AMILP is an engineer with WSP

Image shows our retrofit gear trays in Newbury Town Centre, installed within DW Windsor Strand and Schréder Albany lanterns.

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Cost-effective and quick-to-install, you can rely on our IP65 retrofit gear trays and IP66 replacement bowls to breathe new life into otherwise sound installations.

Want to learn more? For further information on our retrofit solutions, contact hello@acrospire.co 12

YEAR

WARRANTY

Public realm lighting

A new interactive light scheme, ‘Lightplay’, has turned Royal Terrace Gardens in Torquay, which had a reputation for being an unfriendly hub for antisocial behaviour, into an inviting destination for the whole community. As Michael Grubb explains, its inspiration lay in long, sunset-drenched walks with the family during the first Covid lockdown

By Nic Paton

Royal Terrace Gardens in Torquay, known locally as ‘Rock Walk’, is a network of Mediterranean-planted cliff-side paths that run alongside, and overlook, the harbour and seafront of this picturesque south Devon seaside town.

This article intends to explain the thinking, concept, challenges and learning points from the lighting scheme – called ‘Lightplay’ – created by Michael Grubb Studio as a permanent, interactive route along the seafront, and which in the process has made the area more inviting and vibrant for the whole local community.

Studio founder Michael Grubb discussed the project at the ILP-supported Light School, part of the Surface Design Show, in February (and turn to page 30 for our review of the whole two-and-half day event). Lighting Journal sat down with him, virtually, after the event to get under the skin of this innovative project.

‘The genesis for the scheme began back in March 2020. You all probably recall that was the month we were plunged into the first Covid-19 lockdown – and that experience was an important part of this scheme. At a practical level, however, at that time simply to be able to get out of the house and on to site, even briefly, was a massive relief!’ Michael explains.

‘Having said that, it was a very grey and miserable day that first visit, which really didn’t help the first impressions. The whole site felt really dark and dingy. The steps that zig-zagged up from the seafront and then the viewing platform at the top just felt rundown and were often associated as a hub for antisocial activity, So, it wasn’t inviting at all.

‘The lighting wasn’t helping, either; to my mind it was a really good example of lighting by numbers without really considering the consequences. The light spill from the highway on to the pathway was giving you 5 lux in places; it was all shadows and dark patches and simply felt deeply intimidating,’ Michael adds.

Michael Grubb Studio is based in Bournemouth, where Michael also lives with his family. And, as he explains, it was navigating that whole first, unprecedented lockdown period that sparked his design vision for the Lightplay scheme.

‘As a family we were going out every evening, just to get out of the house and some fresh air. It was that time of the year when the evenings were just getting long enough so you could do a working day and still get out,’ he recalls.

‘You probably all remember that one of the few bright spots of that uncertain time was the fact the weather that year was beautiful; it was a really sunny and warm spring and summer. So, we’d be going out every night for long walks with the kids and the dog. By luck at first and then later deliberately we found we were timing our

Public realm lighting

walks to coincide with catching some amazing sunsets.

‘Looking back through my phone for that period there are pictures of just hundreds and hundreds of sunsets! I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like a sunset. Nearly everything about them represents positivity; even the most negative, cloudy day can be lifted by a magical sunset.

‘There is also a closure to a sunset; today might have not been the best (and that was especially the case in that first lockdown) but there will be a new dawn tomorrow. A sunset allows us as humans to reset; to remind ourselves that there is more to life than work, manic-ness and the whole Zoom world we had all suddenly found ourselves in at that time,’ Michael adds.

It wasn’t long, of course, before this personal embracing of sunset walks as a family tipped over into a more professional recognition that this was something potentially he could use and apply to the Torquay project.

As Michael explains: ‘As we walked and engaged as a family of an evening, I became increasingly aware professionally – as a lighting designer – of the power and impact of these sunsets. How they look on people; those colours, those hues of a sunset, they look good. We all know that much warmer light is used extensively in pubs, hospitality, restaurants and bars. We all know the positive impact of warm light on health and wellbeing, on our calmness.

‘That, to me, felt important in a world where we were all feeling a bit vulnerable and confused by Covid. It really resonated; that sense of what the light of a sunset means; that glow it can give you. And I felt it was something we could explore in the Torquay project. That meant, when we got into the concept planning of the project, we began talking about how we might be able to capture the idea of a sunset as you walked along Royal Terrace Gardens.

‘I was, however, also very aware of the classic light art problem – a concept can look amazing at night but then awful during the day, especially if there is loads of intrusive infrastructure. We started therefore to look at other options. How could we create something that brought colour and pattern to the area and the idea, the experience, of sunsets; yet, equally, had more of a decorative element to it?’ Michael adds. The project had originally started out with a brief to illuminate just three locations along the pathway. However, once Torbay Council started getting a feel for what the practice was proposing, it quickly got on board with the vision and the project expanded from there.

‘We knew that, yes, whatever we did needed to have a visual element that was attractive both by day and night, and we wanted to get that sense of sunset. Yet it also rapidly became clear that there was an opportunity to do something a bit special here in terms of placemaking, in terms of rethinking the landscape, the cliff face and everything that came with it. So, it was about trying to open the whole thing up,’ Michael says.

‘We also recognised that, in this sort of location, it needed to be about more than the site itself. You could have a really intimate experience as you walked along the pathway but, also, we wanted to ensure that, if you were looking across the cove, you could see this animated clifftop working in a respectful, landscaped way,’ he adds.

DECORATIVE COLUMNS

Funding for the project was coming from the Torquay Towns Fund (itself generated from money invested by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities). The conclusion reached therefore was to have a series of interactive lighting columns along the pathway to form beacons and create pools of light, yet keeping costs down by using standard products inside a decorative metal column.

‘Once we realised there would need to be an artistic and graphical element, we’re humble enough to know we’re not the experts in that. So, we collaborated with visual artist Anouk Mercier, in partnership Torquay Museum, to develop a series of integrated projections along the lower pathway inspired by the museum’s collections. Intriguingly, to this day I’ve still

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Public realm lighting

not met Anouk face to face, as it was all designed in the Zoom/lockdown world,’ says Michael.

Anouk was given the brief of reflecting Torquay’s heritage, especially its art, science and biodiversity, and created a series of designs focused around geology, seaweed, maritime, flora, trees, and birds.

‘I absolutely loved it because it connected to the ocean, to the clifftop, to the greenery of the area and so on; it just brought everything together,’ says Michael.

‘Within the columns there are dimmable floodlights with RGB filters – so in a way it is all quite old school, just warm white light with a selection of dichroic glass gels. And then there are GOBO projections on to the walkways to create playful, dynamic punctation points and reflect the stories in Anouk’s carvings.

‘Taking the artwork – fossil corals, seaweed and so on – from concept to reality was quite challenging, however. We worked closely with a fabricator to see which of those shapes could be easily laser cut and then back-lit. It was the classic thing – if you cut the wrong shape the middle falls out.

‘The other thing we wanted to ensure was that any images requiring big cuts – like the birds – happen out of arm’s reach. So, you can’t post cigarette butts, crisp packets in or stick your hands in the columns. It was one of those attention-to-detail elements that most people probably won’t notice unless it is pointed out to them, but it was quite deliberately designed in. Another attention-to-detail element was ensuring the columns were placed so as not to create bottlenecks at the most popular meeting points,’ Michael adds.

CAREFUL TESTING

When any scheme like this, extensive trial-and-error testing and learning is absolutely key, Michael emphasises (and as the image shows on page 24).

‘We did absolutely loads of testing to make sure we had not only the right cuts but the right colours. We must have tried about 50 different shades of oranges and yellows. We weren’t allowed to use red for all the usual connotations, so we went for as dark an orange as we could get away with. What you see is a range of golds and fiery, orangey reds designed to mimic the effect of a sunset,’ he explains.

‘The stairs, which are glass-fronted, had historically had lighting in them but, again, this illumination had stopped working years ago. So, we took the same narrative approach here, with lots of testing, trying out LEDs with different filters and different types of glass,’ Michael adds.

‘We also took that approach with the viewing platform, where we kept the original column but either replaced or reused the fittings inside. We used the same filters so that everything has the same language and palette, but that column also has its own filter and colour-referencing code.

‘With all the testing, both on the stairs and the columns, what was interesting was that, on some of the filters, what should have been a perfect, even-distribution “sunset”, just didn’t work. With a bit of playing around and testing, however, we started to get something that resonated and worked; we ended up with a palette of filters and colours that we absolutely knew we could guarantee were going to work,’ Michael continues.

This attention to detail meant the laser cutting took three weeks longer than it should have because it was so complex. ‘But it was absolutely worth it for the finished effect,’ Michael says.

Left: one of the early sketches of the scheme. Right: a close-up of one of the fabricated cut-outs, showing the attention to detail

Above: the finished pathway, showing how artist Anouk Mercier’s images are projected on to the ground. Below: the newly illuminated glass-fronted stairs that wind up to the cliff top. All project photographs for this article by Mike Massaro

Public realm lighting

The columns come on at dusk and project on to the path, so framing the landscape and giving walkers and visitors confidence that this is now a safe, inviting environment.

‘The lighting inside, the GOBO projector and the floodlight above are on a simple LED sequencing system. One slowly fades up over 20-30 seconds, and other slowly fades down. I wanted it to be really subtle but also to ensure that, as you walk along the pathway, you never get the same experience twice. It is always slightly different – a bit like a sunset,’ Michael explains.

‘With the steps, which were once dark and antisocial, there are now so many people using them, gathering and taking photos. You get teenagers congregating on their mobile phones, but now in a really positive way. The stairs produce a warm glow, even on the bannisters; you can feel that warmth as you walk through the area.’

IMPORTANCE OF NARRATIVE

What, then, have been the takeaways, the lessons, from a project like this? ‘First of all, what was interesting to me is how important it is to bring a narrative, a story, to a project. If you can get people excited about what you’re trying to achieve, really buying into it, then our job as the lighting designer becomes that much simpler – to make that narrative a reality,’ Michael says.

‘On public realm projects, if you want something to survive ten to 15 years, a full generation, you have got to get the public to love it. Because that means, when things fail (as eventually they will), the community will kick up a fuss, which means, in turn, the local authority is forced to upgrade, maintain or replace rather than (as Royal Terrace Gardens had) fall into disuse and disrepair.

‘This project has also taught me a lot about the importance of creating an emotional connection; creating “experience” is just so key. It is about creating somewhere people feel they want to return to it, somewhere powerful and subtle at the same time, somewhere where people say, “oh, let’s go for another walk down there”,’ he adds.

Another important learning point, Michael points out, is to understand that how you use colour can be as important as what colours you use. If you pick colours that reflect and enhance your narrative, then your exact choice of colours becomes less relevant, he argues.

And final thoughts? ‘One of the biggest challenges on this project was creating, within a tight budget, something that was going to be visually appealing, decorative and popular in an environment that had previously been synonymous with antisocial behaviour,’ Michael says.

‘We were sensitive that we needed to create something that was not going to give Royal Terrace Gardens a new lease of life, but which was also not going to get smashed to pieces in six months.

‘To that end, the columns are essentially industrial, galvanized-steel boxes that you can take a sledgehammer to and they are not going anywhere. Even with the artwork and cut-outs, we made sure you couldn’t push or bend them. There is even a little tray and a drain at the bottom so if anyone does put a cigarette butt into them it just filters out.

‘We tried to think everything through. Ultimately, coming up with something that is beautiful but also robust is always a challenge,’ Michael adds in conclusion.

PROJECT CREDITS

Client: Torbay Council Lighting designer: Michael Grubb Studio Visual artist: Anouk Mercier Lighting installer: Drew and Co Curator and producer: Ginkgo Projects

Light School 2022

After being postponed last year because of the pandemic, the ILP-supported Light School at the Surface Design Show finally returned as a face-to-face event in February. Here is some of what happened over its two and a half days

By Nic Paton

In our previous article, Michael Grubb has told the story of ‘Lightplay’, his new scheme for Royal Terrace Gardens in Torquay.

It was a discussion, and narrative, that in part grew out of a presentation Michael gave to Light School in February.

The ILP, once again, partnered with the Surface Design Show to run a series of ‘Light Talks’ CPD presentations across the two-and-a-half days of the show, which was held at Islington’s Business Design Centre from 8-10 February.

It was the first time the show had returned as a physical, face-to-face event since 2020, with last year’s event postponed because of the pandemic.

More than 160 exhibitors exhibited their wares, with the show being attended by an estimated 5,000 architects, designers and specifiers.

Michael was just one of a number of leading lighting designers to showcase the expertise of the lighting community to architects, surfaces and materials specialists, students, among others.

The Light Talks presentations, held in partnership with iGuzzini, this year all took place on the Surface Design Show’s main stage rather than, as in previous years, in a separate venue.

The underlying theme across the show was sustainability within design, especially how the industry can, must and should respond to climate change, the drive to net zero and embracing circular economy approaches.

Sally Storey, founding director of Lighting Design International, spoke to Theresa Dowling, editor of FX Magazine, about her approach to lighting design.

This echoed Lighting Journal’s own discussion with Sally earlier this year, when she unpicked the secret to a successful residential lighting project with the YLP’s Sunny Sribanditmongkol (‘Learning and playing with light is very important’, January 2022, vol 87 no 1).

ROLE OF URBAN SPACES

Joseph di Pasquale, founder and chief executive of JDP Architects, gave a presentation on why it is important to consider ‘the space in between’ – or the urban spaces around and between buildings – when designing buildings.

He made the case that architectural surfaces are not simply the external envelope of a building. It is imperative for the urban space around a building, and the social and relational value a building brings to the space, to be considered as well, especially when projects are about public and/or spatial regeneration.

A panel discussion on the role of natural and synthetic materials within a circular economy approach, while not specifically about lighting, made some important points that could be applied to the challenges facing lighting as an industry when it comes to this agenda.

For example, design journalist Roddy Clarke’s comments (if about materials rather than lighting per se) chimed with current circular economy discussions within the industry.

‘It is about helping people to look at materials in a new light; it is about changing perceptions. It has been drilled into us for years and years how things, how materials, should look,’ he said.

‘It is imperative to think with that second life in mind. A lot of people don’t do it because it requires logistics, because it has a financial implication; it is hassle. But it is about doing the right thing, right?’

Paul Monaghan (left) and Phil Coffey in discussion. Below left: Michael Grubb giving his presentation

Light School 2022

SUSTAINABILITY LESSONS

Emily Skinner, of Evan James Design, highlighted how it is important designers work to combat the amount of waste found in our interiors.

‘It is learning what materials will give you the functionality results that you are looking for. All the time encapsulated in a sustainable mindset beyond just where it is sourced but also how it is used, how it is maintained? What happens when people want to replace, they want something new – what are you doing with it as the responsibility of the designer?’ she pointed out.

The experience of the past two years of the pandemic play into this, she argued. ‘We have had time to reflect and think about what we’re using, maybe because we’ve been more static in our location. What we have surrounded ourselves with has become more of a consideration, whether it’s wiping down our shopping (if we can even remember now doing that) to what we’re touching.

‘The beauty of natural materials and biophilia in all of this within our environment can’t be denied,’ she said, adding that the key was learning to share your knowledge and inspire your clients and specifiers.

Architectural legend Paul Monaghan of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, in conversation with Phil Coffey of Coffey Architects, enthused about the role of both colour and light and shade within architecture.

Colour, he argued, was now being used more as accents within architecture. Asked which he preferred, shadow or light, he answered: ‘I think I like light best. Thinking about how light comes into buildings in unusual ways is what we enjoy [as architects].’

Lauren Lever (left) and Sally Storey at the show LIGHT AND WELLBEING

The show concluded with Lauren Lever, founder of Minoux Lighting Design, discussing the importance lighting can have on the wellbeing of users within a space.

Watch out in a future edition of Lighting Journal for more on this but, in effect, Lauren discussed how lighting can be used as a design tool to colour how we respond to a space, how that can, in turn, affect or interplay with our wellbeing, and the powerful role that lighting has to affect each environment it is designed for.

Finally, the ILP had a stand at the show and saw brisk interest from attendees in both the contribution lighting could bring to the design table and the role and leadership the ILP plays within the industry.

As Jess Gallacher, the ILP’s Engagement and Communications Manager, put it: ‘It was great to be back at the Surface Design Show, and to hear so many inspiring talks from industry leaders.

‘The show, once again, highlighted the important role that lighting has, and needs, to play with design and architectural conversations, especially when it comes to making the transition to more sustainable, circular economy approaches.

‘On a side note, the copies of Lighting Journal we had on the stand – the February and October editions – proved immensely popular with visitors. It shows what a valuable contribution Lighting Journal makes to promoting excellence both within and beyond the industry.’

WRITE FOR LIGHTING JOURNAL!

Martina Alagna, marketing and business development manager at Linea Light Group and former lighting designer at Nulty, was one of the many ILP members who dropped by the ILP stand over the two-and-a-half days of the Surface Design Show.

Her Lighting Journal article, with Philip Copland, on Nulty’s innovative lighting scheme for London retailer Browns was one of the two visually striking cover articles on display for visitors to the show (‘Purchase history’, October 2021, vol 86, no 9).

Martina told Lighting Journal: ‘I found it very rewarding to write on Browns for Lighting Journal, both in terms of raising the profile of the project but also because it allowed us to reflect on the work we had done, and what we had learnt from that.

‘It was also really inspiring to see it on display at Light School, and the fact so many people were stopping to pick up the journal and read it,’ she added.

If you are interested in writing for Lighting Journal – maybe you have a project you are particularly proud of being involved in or there is an industry issue or conversation you feel strongly about – please do get in touch, as we’re always open to suggestions.

Simply email the editor Nic Paton on nic@cormorantmedia. co.uk or Jess Gallacher on jess@theilp.org.uk

CLEANING UP

OUR ACT

Within all the talk about circular economy models and net zero, the reality is the lighting industry still has a long way to go to achieve ‘deep green’ sustainability. Genuine, transformational change is going to mean embracing six key changes

By Brad Koerner

Lighting and sustainability

As lighting professionals are becoming increasingly aware, not least through the pages of Lighting Journal, the circular economy is a movement to stop the industrialised world’s lethal habit of ‘take, make, waste’ and instead to create profitable flows of products, parts, and materials in endless loops.

To achieve this vision, it takes coordinated effort to rethink product design, supply chains and business models.

Right now, however, the lighting industry seems frozen, continuing to churn out products with high-embodied carbon emissions, toxic materials, with product designs and service models that prevent even basic repair or reusability.

Want proof? Simply ask any lighting manufacturer: ‘If in ten years you received your products back to your loading docks, would they be considered financial assets or liabilities?’

The reality is that most contemporary LED lighting fixtures might cost more to properly dispose of as they originally did to produce, especially as more and more supply chains are held fully accountable for their externalised environmental costs.

So how will – how can – the lighting industry embrace a cleaner future? Let’s make the case for six key ways:

1. EMBRACE BIO-FRIENDLY MATERIALS

LEDs are now available on the market offering ultra-high efficacies well over 200 lumens/watt. With such low power and negligible thermal demands, new opportunities emerge for the radical redesign of traditional fixture paradigms and material selections.

There are many lighting applications where basic LED technology outlives the application life, with countless perfectly good LED lighting fixtures doomed to be scrapped before their actual end of life.

So, why do lighting specifiers continue to choose aerospace-grade materials for basic architectural lighting? Why can’t the bulk of light fixtures simply compost into dirt at end of life?

We will see a growing trend for lighting systems that use innovative bio-based materials to dramatically reduce the embodied energy, reduce toxicity and reduce both production and end-of-life (EOL) disassembly costs to create fixtures that tread lightly on our natural resources.

2. SOURCE FROM BEAUTIFUL FACTORIES

When designers specify a product, they are also specifying the entire supply chain used to produce that product. Designers should challenge themselves: would they be personally willing to live next to any stage of that supply chain?

Let’s consider aluminium, a common material in LED light fixtures. Would you want your family living next to a massive open-pit mining operation? Next door to a smelting plant? Downstream from a toxic anodization facility? Or how about downwind of the refinery making the feedstock or the powder-coat paint finish?

Designers need to embrace materials and components made via processes and facilities that they would gladly live next door to themselves, beautiful factories that contribute to a healthy neighbourhood.

In the end, specifiers and manufacturers alike will realise that bio-materials are sexy – that there is a glorious world of creative potential awaiting once we move beyond steel and aluminium.

3. HASTEN THE RETURN OF COMMON

SENSE

The current and environmentally destructive trend in the lighting industry for producing disposable fixtures simply cannot be sustained. Customers cannot bear the long-term maintenance headaches of such

Lighting and sustainability

short-term, wretched product management, nor can the environment.

Common sense product design and industry-wide hardware standards programmes, such as the Zhaga Consortium, remain critical to enabling the repair and reuse of durable fixtures long into the future.

And guess what? Repairing and maintaining commercial devices is also known as a revenue stream. Something that penny-wise and pound-foolish lighting product managers might want to consider.

4. EXPLORE SMART MAINTENANCE

PROGRAMMES

IP-connected lighting systems greatly expand the range of data available from our lighting systems, data that can be used for a variety of purposes. Unfortunately, companies launching IoT systems using the infrastructure offered by architectural lighting immediately tried to jump to exotic business cases focused on high-concept business/facility optimisation, in the process skipping over essential needs of the actual lighting hardware.

Imagine a future where networked controls and lighting fixtures can broadcast their component serial numbers, feature sets, run-time counters, and even realtime photometric light measurement?

Talk about big data: a project team, lighting manufacturer or facility operator could remotely check in on their systems anytime, anywhere.

For example, a manufacturer that sold a project a long-term service contract might automatically see that a fixture is over temp and losing light output, and they will automatically query the exact set of parts that need to be replaced.

A service agent will show up with the right parts and immediately take care of the problem – potentially before an end user even recognises there is a problem. The commodity PC industry has done this for decades.

Such data drastically reduces the cost of lighting maintenance. The lighting industry has the opportunity to offer much higher levels of customer service at lower costs than ever before… but who in the industry captures this value?

5. SUPPORT THE REVOLUTION IN

ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

As we move towards greater numbers of net-zero energy buildings and demand more localised energy resiliency in ever more turbulent times, a most interesting revolution is poised to transform our electrical infrastructure.

Already, almost every device in a modern building uses DC (direct-current) electricity, including LED lighting, sensors, computers, IT networking and even large mechanical services.

Yet, since our ancient electric utility grids are AC (alternating current), every one of these devices requires wasteful power converters. Those all add up: Researchers estimate that commercial buildings could save 15% of their total power by skipping wasteful DC-AC-DC conversions.

Compounding this disconnect between our AC electrical grids and our DC building infrastructures, we are now adding huge quantities of DC-generating solar panels and DC-based battery storage to make our buildings self-sufficient, islanded nanogrids.

In the very near future, we are going to see a tipping point as commercial buildings switch from AC-powered backbones to DC-powered backbones, converting DC to AC only for diminishing legacy technologies.

6. DRASTICALLY SIMPLIFY LIGHTING

ELECTRONICS

Advanced DC-based power technologies, such as solid-state switching and solid-state fault interruption, promise to channel, manage and measure power with more precision than ever before.

As DC-based nanogrids replace the AC-infrastructure in commercial buildings, the fundamental design of lighting infrastructure will be forced to adapt: AC-powered LED drivers will no longer be needed at each and every fixture, leaving tremendous opportunities to consolidate lighting electronics.

When the building infrastructure is supplying current-limited DC power with millisecond fault protection, LED drivers can be simplified to a few tiny chips or perhaps even removed or centralised completely.

In summary, we may see a stark reversal of the IoT-driven trend of adding more and more electronics to each fixture. We may see all driver and control electronics removed entirely from most basic fixtures.

Removing all the electronics except for the essential LED sources themselves saves an enormous amount of copper wire, metal enclosures, plastic connectors and circuit boards with hundreds of toxic electronic components from each fixture. Such simplification will make light fixtures far easier to certify to meet the growing cadre of sustainability certifications and labelling programmes.

CONCLUSION – SPECIFYING A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Designers specify the future. The lighting industry needs to take responsibility for the future it is sowing today.

Designers need to think holistically about their projects. Are they proud of the supply chains that support their product selections?

Brad Koerner is innovation and product development lead for LUXTECH and creative director and innovation consultant for Koerner Design.

Examplary running head

To help support their active mobility strategy, Galway City needed to provide lighting to a new walkway along the seafront near Salthill. The challenge was how to improve accessibility and safety through the provision of lighting with minimal ecological impact whilst also protecting the panoramic sea views and visual amenity of this key public space.

Because every luminaire has PureWhite and Flexiwhite technology connected through Schréder’s Exedra platform, Galway City can remotely adjust lighting colour and intensity to deliver the right level, quality and type of light to balance both human and ecological needs.

This is just one example of how Exedra can help provide a solution to deliver cities people love to live in.

Exedra, the solution to deliver cities people love to live in.