Gotham City

TV TOWER, StPetersburg, Russia

I invite you for a ride

Through the Gotham City night...

Not the brightest ditty, sorry! The experience is pretty poignant though! The TV Tower that I'm passing by every other day reminds an eery Christmas tree, with LEDs scintillating and flickering up and down and thus making the tower a focal point in the city as your eye is inevitably drawn to the glowing carcass. 

And at night the beam starts ferreting the skies. Sinister party!

Photo - courtesy: KOBA.

Digi-City

LED ACTION FACADE, Madrid, Spain

The endless debate on urban development cannot leave out the essential part of a modern city - lighting. It's been used for commercial purposes, like advertising, and has recently been more and more applied for social projects. If we can create a shop identity with the help of lighting, why not use it to give some unique local flavour and differentiate on a broader city scale?

Thus, the fantastic project of the digital facade for Medialab Prado in Madrid. The patented device of large LED screen is used for idea sharing and info exchange, the system consists of a regular matrix of nodes of RGB LEDs implemented by means of aluminium cones, the section of which has been designed to reflect the beam of light of emission sources and to improve the screen’s viewing.

Yep, just give a brush to the genuine artist... next post is on other LED application, for a fine contrast!

On Light, Universe and Everything

DUBAI, UAE

Everything is different there: everpresent sun, high high high skies, colours and fragrances, faces and facades... The distance is measured in towers ("Now, you go two towers farther..."). Past meets future and Futurama is diluted by Tradition. Here you can come across traditional "old-fashioned" elements in modernist interiors. Like, musharabija as a decorative pattern and functional Persian blinds at the same time.

Signs attract special attention: they look like strokes (it's called "flourish"in ornamental script and the name is well justified imo). And they demand a somewhat different approach in designing and lighting.

Lighting can indicate the society lifestyle: in the Mall of the Emirates, a mega-shopping mall where you can be walking for hours shopping, watching movies, mountain-skiing or snowboarding, sipping coffee or dining out, you can also participate in social events or go reaaaal clubbing. Well, unlimited indoor opportunities in the Arrakis land. A universe in itself.

Lighthouse Family

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I have an honour to present... another kid from the Family of Lighting Geeks, our dear colleague Carl (apllause)! As if being a lighting designer and a Green Lighting Concept Guru is not enough, Carl can accompany the work process with writing "quick poems" -- and trust me, we are speaking obsession, well, the light form of obsession here!

OK, giving the floor to the poet:

When playing with light

Thinking of what one might

Create or destroy

I get excited with joy

Because lighting is my toy

LED

Luscious like lazer,

Exploding emotions everywhere,

Dramatic disco delirium

All these silly abbreviations…

Columbus

KENT'S STUNNING VIDEO Columbus features two leading "actors":   1) the city  2) the lighting. Urban lighting permeates the scene and oozes from every pore. It enhances movement and somehow creates this feel of loneliness in a crowd. It's very Scandinavian, it's very human. It's universal. 

Personally, I adore this time of day, when the city lights are on and people are rushing somewhere in the darkness lit only by the moon, the stars and the lamps. Everyone has a secret: the faces are not exposed and you can conceal your real self and be a bit of someone else. And your Daddy is holding your hand and telling you of constellations while you're going home from his theatre performance... 

New Light.In Logo

OUR NEW LOGO has been created by one of the most talented graphic designers and our friend, Alexis Dernov. Merci beaucoup, Alexis! Thanks to you, nos cœurs sons toujours à Paris!

Waste Wood, Fuselage Cupboards... and Bestlite

ARTEK SHOWROOM, Helsinki, Finland

Alvar Aalto, the legendary Finnish designer and architect, has created some unsurpassed pieces of furniture, now manufactured by Artek. In the frameworks of Helsinki Design Week 2009, we were lucky to visit the Artek showroom and find there an exhibition of Piet Hein Eek, a Dutch designer, whose work of wood and alluminium challenges the bravest imaginarium. Fantisizing about an aluminium kicker in St. Petersburg (kickers are very popular in this city, we have one at our office. Corporate kicking is stress-releasing, you know :)...

Actually, we never miss an opportunity to drop in there, it's one of our savoured places in this awesome city. The showpieces are objects to die for -- including Bestlite, the favourite Winston Churchill's lamp, he was no amateur, eh? (below, right)

What else? The lighting is quirky and yet it's another "object" to contemplate: first of all it's old, seems that it's purely functional and there's a feeling that different types and kinds of fixtures have been picked up and placed all over the place without any concept or design in mind... Cool hodgepodge!