27th Annual IALD Design Awards

The 27th annual IALD International Lighting Design Awards have been unveiled. The winner of The Radiance Award for their third consecutive year is Speirs and Major Associates for their exterior lighting of the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The project has been featured in numerous lighting design blogs and magazines for the complexity of the concept and, ultimately, the high production value with which it was achieved.

The concept of the project was to light the mosque via projection towers strategically placed throughout the exterior of the facade. The projection work mimics the Islamic calendar which follows the lunar calendar, and is illustrated onto the structure via varying shades of deep hued blues to smoky grays, depending on the phase of the moon, new moon or full moon, respectively.

Architecturally, the project is almost laughable for it's over-the-top Disney theme that only the UAE and, perhaps, mid-western Americans who love Las Vegas, can appreciate. However, as a lighting concept that coordinates itself well with the large, lunar shapes of the domes and the following of Islamic prayer, it's a grand success.

The Utah State Capitol Restoration project received the Award of Excellence. The Beaux Arts-influenced capitol building experienced a lighting overhaul by Randy Burkett Lighting Design Inc. which resulted in reducing the energy by over 60%. Architecturally, the lighting of the structure enhanced the lines of the building. Internally, luminaires which were only known through archival photography were recreated, bringing a new old life to the interiors.

An Award of Merit went to the jewelery shop, Joyeria D in Pamplona, Spain. The lighting design firm associated with the retail shop is Architectural Lighting Solutions from the UK. Architecturally, the shop is such a whimsical play on the motif that it's foolish not to love. Like something from a James Bond movie, the architectural cladding of the interior is made to represent that of a foam-padded jewelery briefcase. All of the indirect lighting in the floor and mill work coves provides a sleek, hospitality-like environment, which I find to be very intimate. Whereas all of the direct lighting is smartly configured above the show counters to provide maximum bling for your bling, while minimizing the squint factor you might experience in many jewelery retail scenarios.

The World's Biggest LED Project to Date

The YAS Hotel in Abu Dhabi has created the world's largest LED project to date. Created by the lighting design department at Arup based out of New York City, the project used e:cue's lighting application suite 5.1 in order to integrate and program close to 5000 RGBW LEDs by Enfis and Cooper lighting products.

 
Below are some behind the scenes views of the modeling and the wiring involved in order to program these LEDs. This new technology allows for easier color-changing light sequences to be developed as well as low-resolution video to be played upon the grid shell exterior.
And someone posted a video on youtube of the first test-run.

If you're into lighting, this probably isn't the first time you've heard about this feat. And it also won't be the last.

Mondo Magazine's 50th Issue

Mondo magazine, specializing in architectural, retail and commercial lighting, is celebrating their 50th issue. Within the issue, I found an article especially interesting to me at my point in my early career in the field of architectural lighting design. The issue had a featured article surveying 50 international lighting design practices, explaining briefly their location, amount of employees, annual turnover and their scope of projects past and present. Quite useful!

Peltz Theater at the Museum of Tolerance

The Peltz Theater within Simon Wiesenthal's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California received a needed face lift.
The lighting designers associated with the project are the notable Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design (HLB). One of HLB's more famous projects is the award winning relighting of the famous Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles seen on the right. HLB have received a Special Citation award for the Peltz theater in this month's issue of Architectural Lighting magazine noted for their "exquisite uniform illumination and the sensitive use of color in a lighting scheme."
The real gem is the collaborative design of a coil drape metal scrim that runs along either side of the theater's wall seen here to the right. The scrim addresses both acoustic issues and creates a soothing moiré effect, enhanced by grazing color changing LED covelights. The intensity of the light cast along the scrim can be altered easily by coordination within the control system, alternating between ambient front lighting, or dramatic back lighting.

Promenade Samuel-de Champlain

The first phase of the Promenade Samuel-de Champlain, completed in June 2008, is a public parkway that runs along the riverside in Quebec, Canada. The whimsical yet direct landscape lighting for the project was designed by Éclairage Public of Canada, who have an extensive portfolio.

The firm utilized various lights from Cooper Lighting, Lumascape, Sistemalux and WE-EF. The bollards by what I believe to be Sistemalux used to light the pathway I found especially intriguing. I appreciated the approach that was taken to graze the pathway, while spike the grass with a strip of light. After reviewing the company's website, I found that they also make a wall mounted version with the same aesthetic, and offer various versions of patterning of light emission.

The minimalist fountain and the equally minimalist lighting approach with its abstract paving pattern, is said to represent thawing river ice floes. And with six more miles of the Promenade yet to be completed, I'll be looking forward to their result.

Limerick House Spa

When I first saw these photos of the Limerick House Spa in Ireland, I realized the potential light can have in creating a dynamic environment. It would seem all too often that lighting is an afterthought, especially when it comes to pools. Within this underground retreat, however, it is made immediately clear that there had to be some clever coordination between architect and lighting designer. In order to create the ambient space, most of the light sources are concealed within architectural elements, while color changing capabilities provide versatility in mood.

The project is a 2009 International Association of Lighting Design (IALD) award winner within the residential category. Graham Rollins of Lighting Design International based out of London was the senior lighting designer. This was the press release from IALD regarding the project, offering insight and perspective.