Signify. Playing with light: how architects use lighting solutions

After the appearance of such objects as the digital media sculpture "Cube" in the capital's residential complex CHICAGO Central House, the illumination of the pedestrian bridge on Volodymyrska Hill, a permanent interactive laser projection show on Khortytsya, the topic of light design of urban space is becoming more relevant. Together with the leading architects of Ukraine, they understood how the professional audience uses lighting solutions in their practice and how to find a common language with lighting specialists.

The meeting of professionals from the presentation of the company Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) has begun. Today, this company is the world leader in the production of lighting equipment. Oleksiy Shershen, director of Signify Ukraine LLC, shared the opinion that, despite the company's vast experience (over 130 years), for the development of architectural light in Ukraine, it is important to have an open dialogue with Ukrainian architects and designers, since they are the source of ideas and concepts.

Oleksiy shared examples of projects implemented by the company so that those present could appreciate both the diversity of Signify's capabilities and the specifics of approaches to architectural light in different countries. Did you know that most UEFA-certified stadiums are lit by Philips fixtures? There are no areas in which the concern would not show interest.

"With the help of light, you can improve the appearance of any city. It can influence the perception of any object. Let's make the world brighter," Oleksiy Shershen concluded

The facilities in Shanghai, China, South Korea with amazing light design created with Philips equipment were demonstrated during the presentation that this can be done.

The baton was accepted by the leading specialist in architectural light and intelligent solutions of Signify Yuriy Beregovskyi. He introduced the guests to the unique development of Philips - a virtual laboratory of architectural lighting. In essence, it is a digital platform that reproduces various types of spaces and premises, including streets, parks, buildings, roads, HoReCa facilities, residential interiors, halls and lobbies, facades, engineering and technical structures, etc. You can take a virtual walk through them, simulating various lighting scenarios, assessing how accurately the model correlates with the real object.

"Light is not only what makes us perceive the same object differently depending on its intensity, direction and color content. Light is what our brain reacts to," Yuriy emphasized

Moving on to the discussion, the editor-in-chief of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA Kostyantyn Kovshevatsky asked the participants to share, first of all, what the use of light means to them in their professional activities and to what extent, in fact, each of the speakers uses light in their practice.

Here are some key points:

"Light for me is primarily a function in space. And I want it to work for us, and work properly.", is an architect Mykola Morozov, head of the creative department and Junior Partner of the archimatika company.

"Light is a dangerous road, if you step on it incorrectly, you can leave a bright mark in history." In this aspect, you should always resort to the help of professionals: with this function, they work beautifully and do not make mistakes." — Anna Izquierdo, AIMM Group.

"For us, light is definitely important. At the same time, form and function too. We try to approach work with this tool very carefully, so as not to make mistakes, not to cause harm", is an architect Dmytro Aranchiy, Dmytro Aranchii Architects.

"Without light, there will be no architecture and nothing at all. Therefore, when designing something, I think about it first of all. I believe that light can both improve the project and correct it. I treat him as a certain primary thing. And since lighting design is a product of human activity, it should be approached with the same tendency as the hygiene of silence, that is, there should be hygiene of light as well.", is an architect Zhanna Kiselyova, JK Lab.

The peculiarities of the national perception of lighting design were also touched upon. Based on their professional experience, the participants of the discussion agreed that if earlier Ukrainians liked bright solutions completely flooded with light, now the focus is gradually shifting towards camera accent scenarios.

"I saw a similar design for the first time in Japan, and I really liked it," she recalls Anna Izquierdo. — Light is one of the tools that allows you to identify an architectural object in the dark. We do not have enough competent lighting. It's good that the bright light is going away."

Mykola Morozov answered this in the words of his foreign colleague: "Everything that happens in you is a reflection of your society." And he added: "We need to look at the West, but this does not mean blindly following their experience, we need to adopt what suits us. I think we are going in the right direction."

Zhanna Kiselyova, recalling the work on the Greek Park in Odesa together with the Expolight company, noted the following: "It's cool to see how things are changing. When we first started designing the lighting of the park seven years ago, I had no idea what a kelvin was. Since that time, I have noticeably gained knowledge. I will say that, of course, the lighting technical side of the project can be outsourced, but it is also important to understand the issue yourself in order to properly communicate with the lighting designer and ultimately get the desired result."

Summing up the meeting, Oleksiy Shershen said that he found solid ground for a dialogue between light specialists and architects, and Signify, as a manufacturer that technologically understands the challenges ahead, is ready to help in the implementation of any function that light carries.

 

Text: Hope is rich