sustainability renzo piano lighting master plan - Philips Lighting

International Lighting Magazine July 2009/3 

SUSTAINABILITY 

Is it only performance? 

RENZO PIANO 

Closer to Nature 

LIGHTING 

MASTER PLAN

EDITORIAL 

Good lighting design and sustainability 

Today, sustainability is an issue which no company can ignore. At Philips, we 

have been investing in green technologies for quite some time and nowhere 

is this investment better illustrated than in our dedication to new, energyconscious 

lighting technologies. This has, for example, resulted in our flagship 

product, the MasterLed, which provides a direct replacement for incandescent 

lighting, but with energy-savings of up to 80% and a lifetime of 45,000 hours. 

Similar progress has been made in the field of CFLi and Halogen. 

Just as important, perhaps, is our dedication to providing our professional 

lighting partners with assistance, support and guidance during the imminent 

phase-out of incandescent lighting within the European Union, which will begin 

next year. This will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to reducing 

both energy use and carbon emissions. 

Philips believes that by taking into consideration the application and specific 

characteristics of energy-efficient lighting technologies such as LED, CFLi 

and halogen, it is possible to achieve levels of lighting quality equivalent with 

conventional light sources, but with reduced energy consumption. 

To maximise the energy-saving potential of these technologies, Philips 

recommends the application of good lighting design, and the involvement 

of professional lighting designers. We actively support organisations such 

as the PLDA (Professional Lighting Designer’s Association) and the IALD 

(international Association of Lighting Designers), whose members can, 

through the design process, advise on optimum energy efficiency without 

compromising on lighting quality and prove important partners to architects 

and principals. 

This issue of Luminous takes sustainability as a theme. We hope it provides 

you with food for thought about this major social issue. 

Rudy Provoost 

CEO Philips Lighting 

colofon 

published by | Philips Lighting BV – Mathildelaan 1, Eindhoven. 5611 BD, The Netherlands – www.lighting.philips.com 

editor in chief | Vincent Laganier editorial department/Marketing Communications | Marijn Damen, Nils Hansen 

steering committee | Peter Halmans, Fernand Pereira, Annemieke Korff-Prins copywriting & editing | Jonathan Ellis 

translations | Lion Bridge graphic design concept | Philips Design dtp | Relate4u printing | Print Competence 

Center more info | nils.hansen@philips.com T: +31 (0)40 - 2755928 ISSN nr | 1876-2972 12 NC : 3222 63559951 

DIALOGUE 

Challenges in lighting design 

LIGHT SOURCE 4 

Astra Tower, 

Hamburg, Germany 

PLATFORM 8 

Renzo Piano 

Genoa, Italy 

SNAPSHOT 10 

Orquideorama, Colombia 

Monumento del Libertad, Spain 

Al Zahra hospital, UAE 

Anandpur Sahib, India 

CitizenM hotel, The Netherlands 

New Federation Tower, Russia 

Neptune Fountain, Italy 

Moebelhof Ingolstadt, Germany 

DOSSIER 

Sustainability moods 

INTRODUCTION 18 

Sustainability, is it only 

performance? 

PROJECT REPORT 20 

National Assembly of Wales, 

Cardiff, United Kingdom 


Odeon, Bavarian State Ministry 

of the Interior, Munich, Germany 


Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge 

São Paulo, Brazil 


55 Baker street 

London, United Kingdom 

PERCEPTIONS 36 

Passive solar and natural lighting 

24 

28 8 11 

FEEDBACK 

Development and trends in lighting 

BLUE SKY THINKING 38 

Luminance sensation of colored 

LED lighting 

SHOWROOM 40 

OLAC residential area, 

Bressolles, France 

CONCEPT CORNER 42 

Lighting Master Plan 

GALLERY 46 

Verdi innovative workplaces 

Surennes, France 

SPOTLIGHT 50 

Agenda, Books, Websites 

3

4 DIALOGUE 

ASTRA TOWER, HAMBURG, GERMANY 

“ THE SHINE 

FROM WITHIN” 

Interview by Guido Diesing 

The design of the Astra Tower in the port of Hamburg was a stroke 

of luck for Tobias Grau. As a lighting designer, interior designer and 

furniture designer, he was able to develop a uniform form language 

for the office building. 

If you ask anyone from anywhere in the world what they think of first when they 

hear the word Hamburg, they’ll immediately say the port and the Reeperbahn. As 

symbols of the city they attract tourists, offering spectacular and attractive views. 

If you want to stand out in this neighbourhood you have to have something to 

offer. Like the Astra Tower. Located right on the Elbhang opposite huge docks and 

cranes and only a few steps from the amusement and red-light quarter around 

the Reeperbahn, this eighteen-storey office building has been attracting attention 

since 2008. With its rounded corners and the red breastwork strips in the glass 

facade, the 60-metre-high building blends stylishly into its surroundings during the 

day without thrusting itself into the foreground. At night, however, it develops a 

quite particular fascination. Because then the tower, which is topped by a concrete 

crown that seems to float over it, appears to light up mysteriously from within. 

It is no coincidence that light plays a major part in the building’s appearance. Having 

Tobias Grau as the interior designer meant that a renowned lighting manufacturer 

and designer was decisively involved in the design. He was responsible not only for 

the lighting, but also for the office planning and furniture – areas in which he had 

gained plenty of experience before recently concentrating almost exclusively on 

the development and manufacture of lights. 

The office building’s attractive appearance after dark is the direct result of Grau’s 

skilful use of the architectural parameters. “Since the square ground plan of only 

around 630 square metres per storey is very small, so that the depth of the 

offices and the corridor area is also tiny, I decided to do without partition walls 

between the corridors and offices,” he explains the underlying thinking. “The 

corridor area is only separated from the carpet in the office areas by the parquet 

floor. As a result, the white panelled building core is just as visible from the office 

workstations as it is from outside. In addition, the use of glass partition walls rather 

than plasterboard walls for dividing the office area into single and shared offices 

makes for transparency.” 

light 

Source 

5

Carsten Brügmann, Michael Wurzbach 

6 DIALOGUE 

“ They are simply the most effective and most 

economical lamps you can use at the moment.” 

It is this transparency that is the secret of the nocturnal shine. “The corridor area 

around the building core is illuminated by a light band made of pendant fluorescent 

tubes that shine a neutral white light upwards and downwards from the middle 

and also light up the white laminated panelling.” In order to create a uniform 

impression, Grau also fitted the standard and table lamps in the office areas with 

neutral white fluorescent lamps. “Since there is no colour difference with the 

ambient lighting, the desired effect of making the core of the tower visible from 

outside like a white column is produced irrespective of the lighting situation.” 

A column that does not end at the top floor, but only at the crown of the tower, 

which is illuminated by metal vapour lamps on the roof. An effect that was 

important to Tobias Grau: “We tried out several colours for the concrete canvas 

so as to achieve an effect similar to the one in the building interior with indirect 

lighting. The white core is meant to seem to grow out of the building.” 

For Grau the close relationship between inside and outside that characterises the 

Astra Tower represents an ideal that is realised all too rarely. “The opportunity 

to implement a uniform form language here appealed to me, of course. From 

in-house lights, via the interior design to the graphics of the lift markings with 

a joint idea of being able to form a bridge, this was a great commission. When 

everything comes from a single source, the result can also make a superior 

aesthetic impression. Unfortunately, architectural ideas in building interiors are 

often not extended consistently. In addition, the users see a building much more 

often and longer from the inside than from the outside. 

“Modern technology makes for a uniform lighting level indoors. The amount of 

light provided at the workstations is adjusted locally according to the respective 

lighting conditions and requirements using motion detectors and daylight sensors. 

This saves on electricity consumption and is pleasantly comfortable. When it gets 

darker the artificial light portion is automatically increased without anybody having 

to do anything.” 

That he opts for fluorescent lamps is for Grau a logical and pragmatic choice: 

“They are simply the most effective and most economical lamps you can use at the 

moment. If you take into account colour rendering, energy consumption and price, 

in the next two years we will be very heavily geared towards fluorescent lamps. 

Developments in the field of LEDs are moving very fast and it’s fun to get involved 

with them theoretically. It’s a hot topic, but for me, we’re not there yet.” 

Client 

Neunundzwanzigste Verwaltungsgesellschaft 

DWI Grundbesitz mbH 

Owner 

Morgan Stanley 

Architect 

KSP Engel und Zimmermann Architekten, 

Frankfurt, German 

Lighting Design 

Tobias Grau, Rellingen, Germany 

Light sources 

Philips and Osram TC-L 55 W /840, T5 39 

W /840 

Luminaires 

Tobias Grau GmbH GO XT Floor, GO XT 

Ceiling, GO XT Wall 

Lighting controls 

Philips ActiLume 

Websites 

www.ksp-architekten.de 

www.tobias-grau.com 

7

RENZO PIANO 

Architect, RPBW, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genoa, Italy 

Interview by Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi 

“ The more I reduce the material, the closer I get to nature, 

and enter into a relationship with light and the wind” 

Closer to nature 

As far as Renzo Piano is concerned, a successful architect 

must be at the same time a good engineer, a good 

sociologist, a good economist and a good geographer. 

But if he wants to go further than this and create poetry, 

he needs to know how to work with wind and light. 

Why did you decide to become an architect? 

It was the natural thing to do: I came from a family of 

builders. Perhaps I could have chosen to continue my 

father’s job and work in the company, but being an 

architect seemed more interesting to me. And, to tell the 

truth, I did it to get away from home. In Genoa where I 

lived, there was no School of Architecture, so I went to 

Florence, which is a beautiful city. Perhaps too beautiful. 

But I preferred Milan: it attracted me because it was 

more lively and dynamic. While I was a student I trained 

with Franco Albini. I still remember that I designed the 

details of the flooring next to the Rinascente building 

in Rome, then some televisions for Brionvega. 

To begin with you focussed on technology… 

I was fascinated by Jean Prouvé, and sometimes I used 

to go to Paris to hear his lectures. I was also very 

enthusiastic about the work of Frei Otto; his structures 

seemed to defy the law of gravity. I graduated in 1964 

with Giuseppe Ciribini, a professor who was responsible 

for modular co-ordination. In 1969, I had designed 

a building with a light reticulated cover for the Osaka 

Exhibition which was inaugurated the following year. 

In 1970 I started up a design company with Richard 

Rogers, and the year after that we won the competition 

for the Pompidou Centre in Paris. 

Stefano Goldberg 

Were you surprised about that? 

There were many competitors, and it was a prestigious 

job. We were young – I was 33 and Richard was 36 

– and we had little experience. The Jury consisted of 

Jean Prouvé, Oscar Niemeyer and Philip Johnson, who 

admired the innovative nature of our proposal. This was 

a time when people were receptive to innovation. 

It is thought that Ove Arup had put his trust in us 

by financing our participation in the competition. 

He considered us as youngsters with a certain talent 

which ought to be promoted. 

What does sustainability in architecture mean to you? 

I like to associate the word sustainability with elevation. 

The more I remove whatever is excessive, the more I 

economise in materials. The more I reduce the material, 

the closer I get to nature, and enter into a relationship 

with light and the wind. The quality of a building depends 

to a large extent on good lighting and the pleasant 

effects of the ventilation. This is particularly apparent 

in museums. I am thinking for example of the Menil in 

Houston, where the roof allows sunlight to filter through, 

or the Beyeler Foundation in Basle, where I worked on 

the same concepts so as to obtain a building with reduced 

energy consumption. 

I am aware of the fact though that it is not always energy 

efficiency which provides lightness. Sometimes weight 

can be used to achieve good thermal inertia. At the 

recent California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco 

I tried to balance weightiness and lightness. The roof 

was made heavier in order to accommodate 2,000,000 

different species of plants which guarantee that the 

building functions well from a climatic point of view. Light 

is brought into play by means of some porthole-type 

windows: during the day natural light enters, and by night 

artificial light is emitted. 

So the roof became an integral part of the museum? 

In a period of six months the museum has welcomed 

over a million visitors, and they all go onto the roof to see 

a fragment of California’s vegetation. Other factors which 

are less apparent also contribute towards guaranteeing 

the sustainability. For example, the thermal insulation of 

the walls was obtained by filling the cavity with the scrap 

from jeans salvaged from nearby factories. We also used 

recycled iron materials for the masonry and frameworks. 

Can you tell us about the J.M. Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Numea? 

In New Caledonia I tried to create a building which 

breathes by coming into contact with the winds which 

exist there. The wooden bars of the ten hut structures 

we created vibrate when the trade-winds blow, and 

each one of them produces a different sound. We tried 

to interpret the spirit of the place and the culture of the 

Kanachi, a people who have always been in close contact 

with nature. The light filters between the bars and casts 

a landscape of shadows onto the ground which recalls 

that of the forest. 

How do you relate to other lighting specialists when you are 

aiming for sustainability? 

I like working with them. For example, we have carried 

out numerous projects with a lighting manufacturer, some 

of which led to the development of lighting devices which 

were then put into production. The objective is efficiency, 

long-life, and restriction of consumption, and modern 

technologies help us in this respect. Previously a halogen 

lamp would last for 1,000 hours, and a sodium and 

mercury vapour one would last for about 10,000 hours; 

LEDs can now last for as long as 60,000 hours. If the 

service life changes, you can also vary the way in which 

you design the object, in relation to the way in which it 

lasts over a period of time. 

How do you alter the form of the building in relation to the climate? 

Personally, I have a broad view of climate. I consider it 

as the context in which the building will be located, so 

this involves both the atmospheric and cultural climate. 

The worst mistake an architect can make is to create 

a building which is out of place and out of scale, which 

does not capture the light or take into account the spirit 

of the location. However, and I am thinking for example 

of Beaubourg, this does not mean being mimetic and 

imitating the forms of nature. 

What are your plans for the future? 

They involve the students who come to my company 

thanks to a programme we are developing together 

with Harvard University. You don’t need to worry about 

not giving anything to young people, they can take of 

themselves. If the experiment is a success, you know 

from the light in their eyes. 

PLATFORM 

8 DIALOGUE 9 

© Rpbw, Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Sergio Gomez 

ORQUIDEORAMA, THE BOTANICAL 

GARDEN OF MEDELLíN, COLOMBIA 

An astonishing forest of trees in the shape of flowers has sprung up in Medellin, 

“the city of eternal springtime”. Visitors walk beneath elevated foliage in subdued 

lighting, skirting around the gigantic trunks and discovering that they are hollow 

and the orchids are growing inside them. 

Orquideorama is a project brimming with poetry and technical genius designed 

by the young Plan: b arquitectura architects (in association with the jprc 

architects) for the botanic gardens in Medellin. For this project they planted 

ten “flower-trees”, each with a metal trunk and six hexagonal petals made 

from interlaced beams, to form a network through modular increase and tree 

structure. These ten flower trees have grown side by side creating an immense 

canopy with a bee-hive motif snaking its way across the top of the botanic 

gardens. By bringing together structural biological forces, Orquideorama 

produces an elegant synthesis of cellular processes and sculptural shapes, 

a combination destined to continue to evolve and grow. 

10 DIALOGUE 

Client 

Jardín Botánico de Medellín 

Architects 

Felipe Mesa, Alejandro Bernal, Plan: b, 

Camilo Restrepo, J. Paul Restrepo, JPRCE 

Lighting solutions 

Laszlo Yurko, Ecoluz S.A. 

Light sources 

Philips MASTERcolour /830 , TL 5 /830, CFL 42W 

Website 

www.planbarquitectura.com 

MONUMENTO A LA LIBERTAD, 

PLAZA DEL SOL, MOSTOLES, SPAIN 

On 2 May 1808, the Mayor of Móstoles (a city 20 km from Madrid) signed the 

Independence Proclamation following the uprising against Napoleon’s French 

army. To mark the bicentennial of this event, the city of Móstoles has created 

a huge architectural monument, visible throughout the entire city, in the new 

“Plaza del Sol” square. 

The monument is in the shape of a prismatic box and is made of Cor-Ten Steel 

supported by four pillars. Its dimensions are related to the dates of both the 

original event and the bicentennial: 1808 cm wide and 2008 cm long. 

The lighting was a critical issue and had to be aligned in terms of efficiency, 

minimum maintenance, energy saving, colours and dynamics. A computer 

program has been developed to change the dynamics so that the entire 

monument is dressed in colours reflecting the seasons: warm colours in 

summer and spring, and cold colours in autumn and winter. 

Client 

City of Móstoles 

Architect 

Enrique Fombella, Madrid, Spain 


Enriqueta Díaz, Miguel Ángel Álvarez, Jose Luis 

Pavón, Philips Spain 

Light sources 

Philips LED LUXEON®, red, blue and green RGB 

Luminaires 

Philips LEDLine2 RGB 


Pharos LPC 1 Controller 

11 

Luis de Pazos

Missing 

AL ZAHRA HOSPITAL 

SHARGAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

Medical procedures like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can often frighten 

people, especially children, who feel uneasy in a medical setting and are 

anxious about the outcome. 

Al Zahra Hospital, which was established in 1980 by Gulf Medical Projects 

Company and, with 100 beds, is the largest private general hospital in the 

UAE, has recently introduced Philips AmbiScene, an LED-based lighting 

concept with changing light colours and light intensity, which creates a 

comforting and calming atmosphere, reducing patient anxiety. Each patient 

can choose their favourite color. This has a positive effect on the patient during 

the MRI scan and, because patients are at ease, it can speed up procedures 

and improve the quality of test outcomes. Light color variation can also be 

used as a communication tool, for example for instructing hearing-impaired 

patients when to hold their breath. 

12 FOOTER DIALOGUE 

Client 

Al Zahra Hospital 

Lighting design 

Al Ghandi Electronics 


Philips Middle East 

Light sources 

Philips LED LUXEON®, red, blue and green RGB 

Luminaires 

Philips LEDLine 2 RGB 

ANANDPUR SAHIB, BLISS, INDIA 

Gurdwara is the sacred place of worship for the Sikhs. The architecture 

features some elements borrowed from the Mughal architecture and the 

Rajput palaces and forts, but also includes some original concepts reflecting 

the principles of the religion and features a combination of square, rectangular, 

octagonal and cruciform shapes. There is a ‘gumbad’ (dome) on the top of 

the sanctum, which is usually fluted or ribbed and white in colour. The top 

is decorated with an inverted lotus-shaped structure and the base also 

reflects a floral theme. 

The objective of the lighting concept is to portray figuratively the openness 

of the Sikh religion which draws upon influences from around the world, 

while at the same time preserving its central core belief. The topmost part 

of the structure is illuminated in static white with floodlights with ceramic 

discharge metal halide lamps symbolizing the purity of its core belief. The 

central dome is illuminated in a slightly warmer shade of white symbolizing 

the spirit of sacrifice. 

Client 

Government of the State of Punjab, 

Chandigarh, India 


Pavail Gill, Gilton Electricals, Chandigarh, India 


Indranil Goswami, Philips India 

Light sources 

Philips LUXEON® LED, 1W, amber, white and blue 

Philips LUXEON® LED, 1W, red, green and blue 

Philips LUXEON® K2 LED, 4W, warm white 

Philips MASTERColour CDM-TT 150W 

Philips SON-T 250W 

Luminaires 

Philips LedLine2 RGB, LED Line2 AWB, iColor 

Accent PowerCore SWF 330, RVP 339 SNF 114 , 

TCW 097, DGP 652 


Philips Color Chaser Touch DMX Controller 

Website 

www.gilton.in 

13 

Uttam Chand

Missing 

CITIZENM HOTEL, SCHIPHOL, 

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS 

Design award winning citizenM hotel in Amsterdam partnered with Philips to 

create a unique experience for their guests. With a combination of different 

lighting and multimedia solutions, called Integrated Hospitality Experience, the 

hotel chain is able to build a unique intimacy with their guests and remove 

the traditional feeling of anonymity from the hotel experience. The specially 

designed system not only combines a host of various ambient products, 

including dynamic LED lighting, VoIP phone, free Wi-Fi and Hospitality 

TV which contribute to a guest’s overall experience, it also provides a 

unique back-end network design that interfaces with all the hotel’s software 

systems, allowing the hotel to operate at much lower costs. The “Mood Pad” 

controller allows guests to adjust the temperature, operate the curtains, and 

even change the room’s colour thanks to two RGB LED strings above the 

translucent ceilings. As consumer choices are increasingly driven by emotional 

factors - beyond merely the functionality of a product – Integrated Hospitality 

Experience offers guests immersive experiences that go 'beyond the product' 

and engage all the senses. 

14 DIALOGUE 

Client: 

citizenM hotel chain 

Architect 

Concrete architectural associates, Amsterdam, 

The Netherlands 


Philips Netherlands 

Light sources 

Philips LED Superflux RGB red, green and blue 

Luminaires 

Philips LED string 

FEDERATION TOWER TUNNEL 

MOSCOW, RUSSIA 

The Federation business complex, featuring the tallest building in Europe 

(448 m tall with steeple), is being built on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, 

in the capital’s Moscow City international business neighborhood. 

The objective was to deliver a total lighting solution for the tunnel area of 

the Federation Towers on level 01, translating the lighting effect envisioned 

by Yabu Pushelberg. This tunnel goes from the main entrance to the dispatcher 

room with hi-end monitoring system. Within this project the following aspects 

were taken into consideration: possibility to re-programme visual effects, easy 

control, temperature management, air-conditioning and energy efficiency. 

Flexible LED solutions iColor Flex and iColor Cove were applied alongside 

the whole tunnel. Light weight and flexibility ensured freedom of content 

interaction for most complex solutions. 

Client 

Moscow City Business Complex, Moscow 

Developer 

MIRAX Group, Moscow 

Indoor Architect 

Yabu Pushelberg, New York 


Chia-Chun Liu, Bas Hoksbergen, Philips 

Netherlands, Egor Nilov, Philips Russia 

Light sources 

Philips LED SMD RGB red, green, blue 

Luminaires 

Philips iColor Flex SLX, iColor Cove QLX 

15 

Missing

FONTANA DI NETTUNO, 

MESSINA, ITALY 

In Messina, Italy, this wonderful monument stands in the middle of a square 

in the city centre, which is crossed by major roads and marked by a forest of 

disorderly arranged vertical elements (trees, shrubs, traffic lights, road signs 

and, last but not least, the poles of public-lighting with 800W sodium lamps!). 

It was difficult to notice the fountain among all these various forms of pollution 

(visual as well as sound) and in the evening, the subject was batched with 

yellow-orange light that did more to hide its presence than to treat it as what 

it is: a jewel in the city centre. 

It was therefore necessary to extract the structure from its environment. 

This meant re-using the public lighting poles closest to the fountain: no less 

than 30m away and with a height of 10/12m! This challenging geometric 

situation is addressed with an alternative to the traditional way of lighting: 

thanks to sixteen BeamerLED luminaires, distributed in four groups of four 

and equipped with white LED light, the fountain is once again allowed to 

shine with colours and to show its structure. The biggest benefit isn’t 

immediately perceptible: the installation, with an expected life of 50,000 

hours, uses in total only 48W, less than a light bulb! 

16 DIALOGUE 

Client: 

Citz of Messina 


Massimiliano Negri, Philips Italy 

Light sources 

Philips LED LUXEON®, white 

Luminaires 

BeamerLED 

MöBELHOF INGOLSTADT, 

INGOLSTADT, GERMANY 

The Möbelhof in Ingolstadt is currently the largest furniture house in the 

region. The lighting concept sets new standards in lighting design for both 

the indoor and outdoor areas. This was achieved by a detailed planning which 

took into account even the smallest exhibition spaces. Equally important were 

lowering energy costs, the brilliance and life-time of the light sources used. 

The external façade and also the interior are almost completely illuminated 

with Philips MASTERColour CDM-T lamps in warm white with varying beam 

angles and electronic control gears. The result is a very comfortable and 

inviting atmosphere in the sales area. Additionally Lival fixtures in combination 

with CDM-Tm Mini 20W and 35W were used in smaller areas and for specific 

displays combining high-quality, brilliant light and low power consumption. 

A literal ‘high-light’ is the installation of down lights with CDM-T 250W at 

a height of 22 meters: “The sun shines through the ceiling” was the comment 

from many clients. 

Client 

Möebelhof Ingolstadt 


D. Lindner GmbH and D&L Lichtplanung 

Light sources 

Philips CDM-T, 150/830 and 250W/830 

Philips MASTERColour CDM-Tm Mini 20W 

and 35W /930, Philips MASTERColour CDM-T 

70W/930 Elite 

Luminaires 

LIVAL track and downlight fixtures 

17 

Corné Clemens

SUSTAINABILITY 

IS IT ONLY PERFORMANCE? 

18 DOSSIER 

Ever since human-beings have lived on Earth, daylight has been 

important both for and in life. In architecture, sun orientation 

contributes to the delight of working or living in a space. This notion 

of comfort created by light, emotions generated by light is essential 

for the health and well-being in a place. Read Christian Cochy’s 

Perceptions article for a look at the architectural consequences. 

Some people in United Kingdom, but even more in Alaska, Russian 

and the Nordic countries, suffer from seasonal affective disorder 

as a result of the lack of daylight, both in quantity and quality. 

These winter blues can cause dramatic mood swings but can be 

treated by light therapy using high quality light sources with a good 

spectrum. The Chamber of the Wales National Assembly and the 

Baker Street offices in London also allow adjustment of task lighting. 

Sustainability in all senses – daylight, heating, water and controls – is 

taken seriously by the architects concerned. The former project is 

discussed in detail in Dossier. 

Lighting is an actor of sustainability going beyond the implementation 

of environmental and human consumption parameters. Of course, 

energy performance or recycling of lamps and luminaires is important, 

but for architects and lighting designers the quality of light is a far 

greater issue since it makes a major contribution to the pleasure of 

the end-users. For architecture, sustainable lighting is a question of 

mood, brightness and colour. Just as daylight differs in summer and 

winter, so flexible lighting adds meaning according to the use of the 

place or the moment of the night. The Odeon and Octavio dossier 

projects both pay attention to energy saving but also allow colour 

dynamics to play a major role. 

Sustainability has become a buzzword - but Architecture and 

Lighting, designers and manufactures cannot solve all the problems 

alone. It is a long-term concern of society where each actor has his 

responsibility towards climate change. It is up to you to define tone, 

rhythm and saturation that produce the play of light. 

Vincent Laganier 

19 

Redshift Photography

Fernando Baena 

20 DOSSIER 

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF WALES, CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM 

TRANSPARENCY 

Interview by Jonathan Ellis 

The new building for the National Assembly of Wales is a bold and modern statement, 

not only about the transparency of government but also about consideration for the 

environment. Daniel Wright was a member of the project team formed by Richard 

Rogers Partnership (now Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners) to design and create this 

new expression of democracy on the banks of Cardiff. 

“It was very clear from the start that the client wanted to make a strong 

statement about transparency in the political process,” explains Daniel Wright. 

“Our intention was to create a friendly, inviting building which would draw 

people into the process. Visual connectivity between the private and public 

areas ensures transparency while focusing the attention on the central 

Debating Chamber. 

“The site on the edge of Cardiff Bay provided an important cue for our initial 

design response. The building’s primary address is the bay suggesting an 

institution that is outward-looking rather than introspective. The bay provided 

a metaphor for our design: two ‘planes’ – the plane of water and the plane of 

the sky – expressed by the building as a ‘floating’ roof over a stepping plinth. 

We dubbed it the Democratic Roof, because it extends over all the building’s 

activities; everybody involved in the political process coming together under 

one roof. And the central Debating Chamber is formed by the roof folding 

down to meet the plinth, suggesting that here all opinions meet.” 

Throughout the building, extensive use is made of natural light. 

“An environmental brief was developed with BDSP (the environmental and 

MEP consultants for the project) to accompany the design brief and its primary 

aim was to minimise the building’s energy demands and thereafter to pursue 

the most energy efficient building systems as possible. Lighting was a key 

issue in that environmental brief and we felt it essential to maximise the use 

of daylight. With BDSP we developed a large glazed lantern for the Debating 

Chamber with an inverted reflector cone that brings diffuse daylight down 

into the Debating Chamber. But it was impossible to depend exclusively 

on natural light in the Chamber, because many of the plenary sessions are 

televised and so with BDSP we had to create a delicate balance between 

natural-looking lighting and even lighting which did not compromise the 

clarity of the chamber.” 

21

22 DOSSIER 

6 

The energy usage targets were very demanding, but BDSP were able to achieve 

them thanks to the use of high efficiency lamps and luminaires in conjunction 

with an automated building control system. This allows appropriate lighting 

scenes for the various multi-functional areas to be selected at the touch 

of a button, ranging from the lighting of informal meetings to the lighting of 

televised Assembly plenary sessions. 

ARCHITECTURAL CONTEXT 

“Our design made considerable use of exposed concrete frame of the building 

as thermal mass. We wanted it to be honest and unadorned,” says Daniel 

Wright. “For this reason, we developed multi-purpose booms which were 

suspended below the concrete soffit, and these contained not only the 

lighting luminaires for both uplighting and downlighting but also other 

technical equipment which would otherwise accumulate on the soffit such as 

loudspeakers, sounders, smoke detectors and various sensors. There are also 

infra red sensors which shut down the lighting when the room is not in use.” 

A particular challenge was heating and ventilating the enormous public areas, 

which represent two-thirds of the building. 

“BDSP suggested that we could relax the temperature range conventionally 

applicable to internal spaces by re-thinking the main hall more as a semi – 

internal than fully enclosed space. Rather than maintaining a constant 21ºC 

throughout the year, we allow a temperature variation between appx 14ºC 

and 26ºC, significantly reducing heating and cooling demand. The public 

entering the building on a hot summer day are likely to be in shirt-sleeves, while 

those entering in winter will be wearing overcoats. Visitors psychologically 

adjust to the internal temperature meaning that you feel as warm as you think 

you should be in that environment. In fact, the total energy consumption figure 

the building was designed for was 75 kWh/m 2 , well below the best practice 

target of 130 kWh/m 2 . 

“The Assembly now has an open environment which undoubtedly represents 

a change in the political fabric of Wales but also Britain. Welsh people now 

have the symbol of democracy they voted for and, judging by the many 

positive comments from the public, they are delighted with it. 

3 

1 5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

Debating Chamber 

2 

Foyer 

3 

Public Gallery 

4 

Upper Foyer 

5 

Milling space 

6 

Members tea room 

1 Debating Chamber 

2 Foyer 

3 Public Gallery 

4 Upper Foyer 

5 Milling space 

6 Members tea room 

Client 

National Assembly of Wales 

Architect 

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners 

London, United Kingdom 

Environmental Consultant 

Matthew Winter, BDSP Partnership 

Structural Engineer 

Gabriel Hyde, ARUP 

Lighting Consultants 

Matthew Winter, BDSP Partnership 

Barry Hannaford, DPA Lighting Consultant 

Light sources 

Philips MASTERColour CDM-T 70W /942 

Debating Chamber Luminaires 

iGuzzini, CDM recessed floodlight with CTB 

filters to raise 5000K for television broadcasting 

on the first ring, Wila, T5 circular recessed on the 

perimeter acoustic panels 


DALI 

Websites 

www.rsh-p.com 

www.bdsp.com 

www.dpalighting.com 

23 

Missing 

Missing

ODEON, BAVARIAN STATE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR, 

MUNICH, GERMANY 

A STAGE UNDER 

THE STARS 

Interviews by Guido Diesing 

24 DOSSIER 

First it was a concert hall, then an unloved inner courtyard and now, thanks to the addition 

of glass and light, it has been given a new lease of life as a splendid foyer to a Ministry building. 

The history of the Munich Odeon is as varied as it is unusual. 

Built in 1828 for the Bavarian king Ludwig I, on the basis 

of a design by the master builder Leo von Klenze, the 

Odeon in the Bavarian capital city served as a concert 

hall with excellent acoustics. All but the outer walls of this 

classic building were destroyed in the Second World War, 

and it was not until 1951 that a decision was made about 

how to use the part of the building that was still standing. 

It was converted by the architect Josef Wiedemann into 

the head office of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. 

For decades there was not a lot to remind people of the 

building’s original purpose. 

“After the roof had been destroyed, what had once been 

a concert hall became an interior courtyard that was 

never used and gradually fell into disrepair,” said Peter 

Ackermann as he described the situation he confronted 

when in 2004 the architect's office Ackermann und 

Partner was given the assignment to redesign the 400 m 2 

interior courtyard. “There had been repeated calls for the 

Odeon to be rebuilt so that it could once again be used 

as a concert hall, but these requests fell on deaf ears. 

In the end it was decided to put a roof on the interior 

courtyard so that it could be used for events at the 

Ministry. When we received the assignment to continue 

building what had initially been built in 1828 and 1951, 

we felt an immense sense of respect for the important 

architects who had been involved and for the history of 

the building. We didn’t want to convert it, but wanted 

to conserve what was left of it. The original Odeon no 

longer exists, but by covering it with a glass dome we 

were able to make the part of the interior courtyard that 

used to be a concert hall into a useable space again.” 

25 

Andreas J. Focke

LIGHT VISION 

The subtlety apparent in the criss-cross network of glass 

that forms the roof, which now appears to float on small 

pillars above the courtyard, is also evident in Ackermann’s 

ideas for the lighting: “We wanted to bring out the play 

of light and shadow of the pillars in order to give the 

space more depth, but to do this in as subtle a way as 

possible, taking care not to destroy the effect by using 

large luminaires. To enable us to achieve this, we worked 

closely with the lighting designer Erwin Döring. 

“He knew exactly what we meant: ‘It is very important 

to talk about light, and not about luminaires. A lighting 

designer has a vision of light, not a vision of luminaires.’” 

When it came to the Odeon, he saw a way to use 

lighting to link the space with its past: “I had the idea 

to create a sort of stage lighting and to make the entire 

space into the theatre set again. The light needed to be 

a mellow light, but it also had to offer an appropriate 

lighting solution for all kinds of events such as state 

visits, presentations, concerts and lectures. The ideal 

way to achieve this was to use LED-based luminaires.” 

Alexander Weckmer, who had the job of managing the 

project, explained the choice of luminaire: “Even using 

warm-white light we could not manage to really bring out 

the light ochre-coloured walls, so we decided to opt for 

colour-changing luminaires – a revolutionary solution 

for such an historical building as this.” 

ATMOSPHERE IS EMOTION 

Special optics with a broader light distribution were 

made for the floor-level lights, with the result that 

fewer luminaires were required. The positioning of the 

luminaires, which on the second and third levels are 

in some cases hidden behind pillars and under panels, 

makes it possible to illuminate the walls uniformly and in 

an unobtrusive way. “A DMX controller is used so that 

the 120 luminaires can either be controlled individually 

or combined to create lighting scenarios,” explained 

Weckmer. “Pre-programmed scenarios can be called up 

at the press of a button and offer more or less endless 

possibilities. Here you need a careful touch and a sensible 

approach or it could very easily turn a bit kitschy.” Erwin 

Döring added: “Atmosphere is emotion, and emotion is 

light. Today we can transform various emotions into light 

and colour. We wanted to show just what can be done 

using light, without ruining the effect of the building. Now 

we have a stage again, even if it is only a pleasant illusion. 

26 DOSSIER 

When a reception is held here we can bathe the walls in 

a saturated blue or in a dark orange. A good side-effect 

of the upward light is that the light sources are reflected 

in the glass roof. This creates the effect of a starry sky 

and, together with the colour composition it creates a 

wonderful overall effect. Light and colour set the scene 

in this space; they introduce an element of suspense and 

create a theatrical atmosphere in an architectural setting.” 

And the solution is a success not just in terms of 

aesthetics but also in terms of economy. “These days 

sustainability is an important factor,” says Döring. “This 

solution is sustainable not just because of the low energy 

consumption – a total of only 1.5 kW – but also because 

of the lifetime of the luminaires – no less than 50,000 

operating hours. And because we have nowhere near 

exhausted the potential of these luminaires, there will be 

no need to replace them if additional effects are required 

in the future. Now that is what you call sustainability!” 

Peter Ackermann was delighted with the positive 

response to the design concept: “At first a lot of the staff 

at the Ministry were sceptical, but now there is huge 

acceptance for the solution. In the warmer months there 

isn’t a single week goes by without the foyer being used 

for one or more events.” 

Client 

Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Inneren 

(Bavarian Ministry of the Interior) 

Architect 

Peter Ackermann, Ackermann und Partner 

Architekten BDA, Munich, Germany 

Lighting Design 

Erwin Döring, D-LightVision, Munich, Germany 


Alexander Weckmer Licht und Mediensysteme 

GmbH, Königsbrunn, Germany 

Thorsten Cramer, Philips Germany 

Luminaires 

Philips ColorBlast 12 Powercore, ColorCast 


Philips iPlayer 2 

Website 

www.ackermann-partner.com 

www.d-lightvision.de 

27 

Andreas J. Focke

OCTÁVIO FRIAS DE OLIVEIRA BRIDGE, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL 

COLORED ACCENTS 

ON THE RIVER 

Written by Evelise Grunow 

The lighting of the Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge in São Paulo, contrasts white 

and coloured light in order to emphasise the innovative nature of the curved, 

stayed structural system. Paulo Candura and Plinio Godoy, of Luz Urbana, 

created the lighting design. 

28 DOSSIER 

The lighting of the Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge in São Paulo, contrasts 

white and coloured light in order to emphasise the innovative nature of the 

curved, stayed structural system. Paulo Candura and Plinio Godoy, of Luz 

Urbana, created the lighting design. 

The bridge aims to improve the traffic conditions in what is one of Brazil’s 

largest metropolises by creating new links between strategic districts and the 

commercial pole of the port of Santos. Known as the Estaiada bridge (the 

“Stayed bridge”), and opened in May 2008, the bridge has quickly become an 

icon of São Paulo’s landscape. Its dense mesh of stays and the single elevated 

support tower, 138 metres high, stand out between the banks of the Pinheiros 

river, which form one of the structural routes for metropolitan road traffic. 

The aim of the lighting technology was to emphasise the innovative nature 

of the bridge’s engineering and architecture, designed by the architect João 

Valente, of Valente Valente Arquitetos. It is designed in such a way as to 

create a clear distinction between the daytime and night-time views of the 

bridge. Consequently, starting with the assumption that the many yellow stays 

(144 of them altogether) take priority over natural light, it was decided that 

the artificial lighting would serve the purpose of emphasising the form and 

dimensions of the concrete tower. 

29 

Missing

LUMINANCE AS A DESIGN RESOURCE 

“We opted for primary, volumetric lighting of the tower,” commented Plinio 

Godoy with reference to the decision not to allow the night-time lighting effects 

to distort the perception of the real dimensions of the concrete structure. 

For this reason, use was made of ArenaVision floodlights, 1,000 W, installed in 

the vicinity of the bridge so as to focus in parallel on the main surfaces of the 

volume of concrete. “We used luminance as a design element,” Godoy added. 

However, whilst the tower was still being built, it was found that the surrounding 

light would interfere negatively with the mesh of stays, due to the constant 

presence of an unintentional and undesirable linear beam of light. In order 

to ensure that the concept of emphasising the view of the tower remained 

intact, additional ArenaVision floodlights were added, for directional focus 

on strategic points of the stays. The lighting designers were aware that 

public lighting makes a statement, hence the decision to focus each floodlight 

individually, so as to cancel out any interference by lighting from the city. 

In addition, this equipment was oriented in such a way as to create an area of 

shadow on the inner surfaces of the tower, with homogeneous parallel lighting 

of the inner surface, in parallel to the Pinheiros River. 

The aim was to separate the lit areas from other, dark areas, on which the 

coloured light would be projected, as specified by the lighting design. 

In this respect Godoy pointed out that the coloured lighting of the bridge 

is discreet and homogeneous, in line with the particular relationship which 

the residents of São Paulo have with regard to the colour applied to public 

monuments. The lighting designer explained: “This is a very sensitive 

relationship, timid even, and different from the situation in other major cities 

in the country, such as in the North West, for example”. Use was therefore 

made of 146 Colorblast LED floodlights, with varied beam angles so that 

surfaces with different heights would be lit homogeneously. 

LIGHT ON THE DECK 

The lighting of the two traffic lanes was based on two main criteria. Firstly, 

since the bridge is located in a relatively dark area of the banks of the Pinheiros, 

the aim was to create lighting of approximately 70 lux on the traffic lanes, 

compared with 20 lux required in the surrounding environment. Godoy said: 

“People feel safe in these conditions”. 

In addition, the interface of the lighting equipment with the line of stays 

dictated a maximum height of 6 metres for the lighting posts. These use 

Milewide street luminaires with CosmoPolis lamps, and in view of their 

limited height they are arranged bilaterally and asymmetrically, in other 

words interposed every 15 metres on both sides of the lane. The lighting 

of the Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge uses efficient, modern technology 

which is representative of the state of the art in Brazilian lighting design. 

30 DOSSIER 

Client 

Prefeitura Municipal da Cidade de São Paulo 

Construtora OAS 

Architect 

João Valente, Valente Valente Arquitetos, 

São Paulo, Brazil 


Plinio Godoy, Paulo Candura, São Paulo, Brazil 


Alexandre Ferrari, Philips Latin America 

Light sources 

Philips Cosmopolis CPO-TW 140W /728 

MHN-LA 1000W /956 

Cree LED-HB red, blue and green RGB 

Luminaires 

Philips Milewide, SRS421, road optic, 

ArenaVision, MVF403, Cat A1 to A5 reflectors, 

Colorblast 12, BCP470, 8° and 23° beams 


Philips iPlayer 

Websites 

www.valentearquitetos.com.br 

www.luzurbana.com.br 

31 

Missing

Will Pryce 

55 BAKER STREET, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM 

THE ART 

OF LIGHTING 

Written by Paul Haddlesey 

A major refurbishment of 55 Baker Street in central London, creating a modern, 

dynamic building complex, includes the use of LED lighting fixtures, a bespoke 

lighting solution for workspaces and an integrated lighting management system. 

Now owned by London and Regional Properties, the site was formerly the 

headquarters of Marks and Spencer and a well known London landmark. 

Thanks to an innovative lighting scheme by Make Architects and light artists 

Jason Bruges Studio, the building has been transformed at street level to create 

visually dynamic public spaces that combine innovative lighting with public art. 

“From the very beginning of the project we considered light to be just as 

important as any other element of the building,” recalls Make’s Ian Lomas. 

“We were also keen to make the exterior lighting part of the public art 

component rather than simply using ‘trophy’ art. To that end, we involved 

Jason Bruges at an early stage so that his design would inform the way the 

whole building is lit,” he adds. 

COLOUR CHANGING CONCEPT 

The transformation of the building’s exterior features three glass infills or 

'masks' spanning the voids between the existing blocks. Constructed from 

a glazed lattice of stainless steel, these masks create a distinctive sculpture 

that changes with both the viewer’s perspective and the times of day and year. 

Red, green and blue lighting using LED fixtures integrated into the cladding 

are key to creating the colour changes at the heart of the concept. 

“The emphasis is very much on focusing attention on surfaces and textures, 

rather than the lighting fixtures themselves, so it was important that the 

luminaries were positioned discreetly,” notes Ian Lomas. 

“The combination of the structures and the lighting help to create moods 

that reflect the seasons and the activity in the space,” Jason Bruges explains. 

“We have used very tight angles and narrow beams to achieve this and 

went through a number of iterations on a full scale mock-up to create 

the desired effect. 

“All of the lighting in these areas is controlled from a single point to produce 

pre-set scenes of different colours and patterns in relation to the time of day 

and the season, and can also be programmed to produce scenes tailored to 

special events,” he continues. 

32 DOSSIER 33

SMOOTH TRANSITION OF LIGHT 

As well as being visually striking in its own right, the lighting within the masks 

creates a series of thresholds between the exterior and the interior, so there 

is a smooth transition of light rather than an abrupt change. 

Within the workspaces, the design team was faced with another challenge: 

the client wanted to maximise the floor to ceiling height and create a light 

and spacious ambience with high levels of comfort. Consulting engineers Blyth 

and Blyth identified a multi service chilled beam (MSCB) system that combines 

uplighting, downlighting and comfort cooling as offering the best solution. 

Philips worked closely with chilled beam supplier Frenger to ensure that the 

systems were fully integrated in the beam structures. 

“The MSCB enabled us to keep the ceiling height to a maximum while 

delivering the required specification for high quality offices,” explains Mike Pile 

of Blyth and Blyth. “However, because the beams are a fixed shape across the 

office, getting the right profile was vital to achieving uniform light distribution, 

particularly between the beams. The system also needed to be very flexible 

to enable tenants to install partitioning if required.” 

Architectural lighting designer Light Bureau and Blyth and Blyth worked 

closely together to achieve the best solution. The lighting on the beams is 

divided into groups of four on the outside edges and two groups of two 

on the inside edges so that a partition can be placed across the beam. Each 

beam also includes two multi-sensors with a photocell and passive infra-red 

(PIR) presence detector so that the lighting can be demand-controlled in 

relation to both occupancy and daylight levels. 

MAxIMUM FLExIBILITY 

Fully addressable for maximum flexibility, the DALI network interfaces to a 

Light Master Modular lighting management system, creating what is believed 

to be the largest LON DALI control project in the UK so far. 

Each lighting control module was commissioned to link four chilled beams per 

unit. In turn, each of the chilled beams housed six light fittings representing 

in total some 22,000 luminaires across 16 floors within the building complex. 

“We know that we have got not only an advanced lighting management 

system but one that can accommodate any changes in the future, while 

minimising any reconfiguration of the system,” Mike Pile concludes. 

Client 

London & Regional 

Architect 

Make Architects, London, United Kingdom 

Façade lighting design 

Jason Bruges Studio, London, United Kingdom 

Services Engineers 

Blyth & Blyth, London, United Kingdom 


Light Bureau, London, United Kingdom 


Craig Stead, Mike Simpson, Philips United Kingdom 

Light sources 

Philips MASTER TL5 14-28W /840, 

Philips MASTER PL-L 26W /840, 

LUXEON K2 red, blue and green 

Cree LED-HB red, blue and green 

Multi Service Chilled Beam 

Frenger MSCB including air-conditioning, control 

sensors and lighting in offices 

Luminaires 

Mike Stoane Lighting LED floodlight for façade 

Philips LEDline2 RGB in the hall, Fugato, Celino, 

Savio in offices 


Philips LMM, Light Master Modular 

LON DALI 

Websites 

www.makearchitects.com 

www.blythandblyth.co.uk 

www.jasonbruges.com 

www.lightbureau.com 

34 DOSSIER 35 

Missing

PASSIVE SOLAR AND NATURAL LIGHTING: 

ARCHITECTURAL ATMOSPHERES 

Christian Cochy, Architect in Saint Nazaire, Loire Estuary, France 

36 DOSSIER 

Since he discovered the concept of solar architecture, in both summer and winter, in the United 

States in the 1970s, Christian Cochy has been expounding the essential part played by the sun in 

architecture and its teachings. 

“ I was immediately beguiled 

by the thermal form-function 

suitability of this pueblo 

village, Cliff Palace, built in a 

cave in Colorado. Sensitive 

too to the compatibility 

between the seasonal cycles 

of vegetation and the solar 

trajectories and to that 

between the thermal inertia 

capacity of a building and 

the day-night cycle of the 

solar inputs.” 

LA BOSSE COLLECTIVE 

ACCOMMODATION – 1980 

“When I finished my first building using passive solar design 

in grouped housing, my interest in bioclimatic architecture 

was initially sparked by research into the economics of 

energy and heating. At the end of the first winter several 

occupants told me that they had found that the winter 

had seemed shorter to them. They benefited more from 

the sun indoors and on the huge terraces than in their 

previous dwellings, relegating the expected economies of 

50% of heating to a secondary level. This was a revelation 

to me and the realisation of a new compatibility between 

bioclimatic architecture and natural lighting.” 

ELISA LEMONNIER INFANT SCHOOL – 1984 

“The order for a bioclimatic infant school with three 

classes was the opportunity to deepen, more consciously 

this time, those complementary qualities. I imagined a 

building in which the sun would provide heat and light 

in winter without bothering its occupants. The classes 

have windows facing south. They are low down at the 

children’s level. The window in the central passageway 

is fitted with mobile insulating panels to give protection 

from the north in winter and to provide shade and 

coolness in summer. The need for transparency between 

classrooms is combined naturally with indirect lighting 

in them. Light wells facing south and north and oculi 

let the children feel the different atmospheres and the 

movements of the sun during the year.” 

ANNE FRANCK LIBRARY – 1987 

“In order to comply with the request to protect the 

façades in a “sensitive” area, I decided to light the round 

book room using a transparent pyramid on the roof. 

Each section of the pyramid is protected by independent 

outdoor sun-breaks. This enables the users to manage the 

protection of the sides exposed to the sun as it moves 

during the day, while keeping good natural brightness and 

excellent summer comfort.” 

South façade with passive sun light Individual residence from M. Foucré, Architect: Christian Cochy 

LES PINS LONG-TERM CARE UNIT – 1990 

“Invited to design hospice accommodation for elderly 

poly-dependent people, I attempted to respect their 

extreme sensitivity to light and to heat in summer 

without depriving them of the contribution that is 

essential for their morale during that phase of revival in 

the summer cycle. In the “Les Pins” living unit I suggested 

living-rooms broadly glazed and looking onto the nature 

outside. In summer they are protected by very wide 

canopies, while the existing trees protect the rooms 

to the west. It was possible to combine the important 

requirements of air renewal, due to incontinence, with 

the building’s strong inertia, thus making for nocturnal 

refreshment. Linked to a central patio garden, the 

need for transparency between areas so as to facilitate 

surveillance has helped to enrich the natural lighting of 

all the living-rooms.” 

INDIVIDUAL RESIDENCES – 1982 TO 2009 

Traditional European rural housing used to perform a 

bioclimatic function of sheltering people who mostly 

spent their days doing outdoor physical activities. Today’s 

shelters are mainly aimed at urban sedentary people who 

have become more sensitive to the cold and are often 

insulated from the natural cycles. 

“In my individual housing projects I attempted to make 

passive use of the sun’s direct inputs in most of the 

spaces, both during the day and at night. I link them to 

their indispensable complements, such as compactness, 

inertia, protection against the cold from the north, natural 

and mobile protection against the heat of summer and 

now the use of healthy materials.” 

The resulting spaces are therefore very directional and 

full of contrasts. Inundated with light in winter and open 

to the south, they are shaded to the north, with views 

and “emotional” lights to the east and west. Windows or 

zenithal light wells punctually provide the more “spiritual” 

atmospheric complements during the day in the areas 

facing south. Pergolas with vegetation or mobile fabrics 

protect outdoor terraces and south-facing windows in 

summer. The night lighting is largely provided by energysaving 

lamps, also positioned according to daylight entry. 

For their occupants this suggests living in harmony 

with the sun, adapting to its constraints. For example, 

accepting the day-night brightness and temperature 

variations in winter. Accepting that the sun, the winds and 

the location’s characteristics are finally recovering their 

place in the organisation of the rooms in a building. 

“My last few projects resulted in my optimising the full and 

glazed surfaces and fitting my buildings with solar panels to 

produce electricity and sanitary hot water. Aim: to move 

towards energy-saving structures and in the long term 

towards positive energy, in which the night lighting would 

be provided by the solar energy stored during the day.” 

37 

Christian Cochy

THE LUMINANCE SENSATION 

OF COLOURED LED LIGHTING 

Peter Kort, Luc van der Poel 

Coloured LED lighting is becoming increasingly important 

in lighting concepts. It is used not only in the theatre 

and for city beautification, but also in shops, reception 

areas and even in office environments. The luminance 

effects of spotlighting using white light are well known 

and are described in terms of the accent factor; coloured 

lighting is not yet described in this way. The attraction 

value of coloured light is expected to be higher than that 

of white light due to the colour contrast. The following 

experiments shed some light on the behaviour of 

coloured lighting in relation to white lighting. 

THE EXPERIMENT 

The experiment defines the relative luminance sensation 

generated by the primary colours of a LED spot. The 

method uses a pattern created by two LED spots on a 

highly reflective wall. The wall is divided into two equal 

parts. On one half you see a spot in one of the primary 

colours, on the other a white LED spot with a preset 

intensity. The test patterns are red-white, green-white, 

and blue-white. The observer changes the intensity 

of the coloured spot until they feel the luminance 

sensation generated by the two spots is equal. This test 

is performed for each combination, once in complete 

darkness and once with 350 lux on the wall. 

RESULT 

The results reflect the luminosity function: green light 

contributes the most to the intensity perceived by the 

human eye, and blue light contributes the least. When the 

white light was set at 100, we found the ratio for red to 

be 33, for green 50, and for blue 17. 

Another, secondary outcome of the test shows that the 

sum of the red/green/blue ratios found (additive colour 

mixing of RGB gives white light) is equal to the intensity of 

the white spot. 

Finally, two primary colours were combined to create 

yellow, magenta and cyan. The outcome showed that the 

relative luminance of secondary colours could be found 

by adding together the relative luminance of two primary 

colours. In this way we can predict for every colour the 

relative luminance compared to white light. 

Test scene 

The observer changes the intensity of the coloured spot until they feel the 

luminance sensation generated by the two spots is equal. This test is performed 

for each of the three combinations, red-white, green-white, blue-white, once in 

complete darkness and with 350 lux on the wall. 

RELATIVE LUMINANCE 

38 FEEDBACK 39 

100% 

0% 

33% 

50% 

Additive colour mixing: 

Light is perceived as white if all the three types of receptors in our eye are 

stimulated simultaneously. The colours red, green and blue (RGB) all activate 

one type of receptor 

17% 

50% 

67% 

83% 

Relative luminance: 

The graph shows the different relative luminance for all colours with the same luminance sensation as white 

light. One can see, for example, that green light (525 nm) generates the same visual attraction with only 50 

per cent of the luminance of white light. The relative luminance for cyan (490 nm) is 70 per cent.

SHOWROOM 

Pierre Crouzet 

40 FEEDBACK 

NEW OLAC RESIDENTIAL 

DEMONSTRATION AREA 

Sustainability, creativity and human needs central 

City streets now have to be lit with 

greater subtlety than ever, taking into 

account the often conflicting needs 

of residents, motorists, pedestrians 

and even cyclists. Lighting in such 

areas is no longer purely functional; 

it has to adapt to the needs of 

people, providing not only safety 

and visibility, but also ambiance 

and orientation. In addition, lighting 

schemes must be energy-conscious 

and prevent light nuisance and 

pollution. 

With this in mind, the Outdoor 

Lighting Application Center – OLAC 

– has completely transformed its 

demonstration area. The original 

intimate street with family homes 

has been replaced by a modern, 

contemporary urban street, with 

residential buildings on two floors, 

a restaurant, nursery school and 

private houses. The new area also 

illustrates the increasing urbanisation 

and densification of urban areas 

– apartments instead of individual 

houses. This provides the backdrop 

for showing how lighting can be 

improved with modern technology, 

while at the same time taking into 

account the changing demands 

people and urban authorities make 

on residential environments. 

The demonstration starts with an 

“old” installation and then shows 

a number of different scenarios. It 

is an “eye-opener” to explain and 

visualise how to improve lighting 

of public spaces in terms of energy 

consumption and beam control, but 

also in terms of atmosphere and 

safety by the creative application 

of decorative lighting. The lighting 

solutions chosen are state-of-the-art, 

and concentrate on a variety of light 

sources, luminaires, optics, design, 

power, lighting control and dimming 

mode. Particular attention is given to 

the fast growing penetration of LEDs 

into residential areas with UrbanLine, 

CitySpirit Street Color, CitySoul, 

Multipole, LightTube and LED, 

LEDline² asymmetric, as well as to 

tailor-made and dedicated solutions 

such as LightTube or Multipole. 

What’s more, the installation 

includes HID lighting solutions such 

as Cosmopolis lamps with perfect 

energy saving and high quality white 

light. 

This new residential demonstration 

area once again underlines Philips 

commitment to lighting professionals 

and the architectural community. It 

provides a unique opportunity to 

view the latest application trends 

in urban lighting in a customised, 

modern environment and offers 

professionals the opportunity to 

assess lighting plans in terms of 

sustainability, creativity, and, most 

importantly, the needs of the 

people who live in and make use of 

residential areas. 

Architect 

Frédéric Agnesa, SAA, Lyon, France 


Isabelle Huaman Gontard, 

Christian Ferouelle, Philips Lighting 

Electrical installer 

ACEA 

Light sources 

Philips Cosmopolis 45-60W, 

LUXEON I red, green and blue, 

LUXEON K2 warm white 

Luminaires 

Philips CitySoul, UrbanLine, 

Milewide, CitySpirit Street Color, 

Metronomis, Marker LED, LEDline² 

asymmetric, LEDflood, Multipole, LightTube, 

Underwater LED, Decoflood, PROflood 


Martin LightJokey 

41

STAGE 1: RESEARCH 

42 FEEDBACK 

IDENTITY 

− City users 

− History 

− Architecture 

− Landmarks 

− Atmosphere 

− Nature 

− Special events 

STRUCTURE OF THE CITY 

− Topography 

− Districts analysis 

− Traffic analysis (network grading plan) 

− Viewing points and distances 

EXISTING LIGHTING 

− Functional lighting 

− Architectural lighting 

− Luminaires 

− Light sources 

SUSTAINABLE CITY 

− Functional lighting 

− Inventory of light nuisances 

(sky glow, glare) 

LIGHTING MASTER PLAN 

By Mujgan Serefhanoglu Sozen 

concept corner 

Mujgan Serefhanoglu Sozen (Prof., M.Arch) lectures at the Yildiz Technical 

University, Faculty of Architecture, in Istanbul, Turkey. She is chairwoman of CIE 

(Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage) Division 5, TC 21 Master Planning of 

Urban Lighting and TC 24 Guide for Architectural and Decorative Lighting. 

Mujgan Serefhanoglu Sozen (Prof., M.Arch) lectures at the Yildiz Technical University, Faculty 

of Architecture, in Istanbul, Turkey. She is chairwoman of CIE (Commission Internationale de 

L’Eclairage) Division 5, TC 21 Master Planning of Urban Lighting and TC 24 Guide for Architectural 

and Decorative Lighting. 

Today, it is inevitable for cities to be alive at night as well as during the day. People working during 

the day are deprived of social, artistic, sports and entertainment activities. By facilitating these 

activities at night, using urban spaces with safety and security, and by carefully selecting historical, 

artistic and architectural elements that have social value, you make cities more attractive and 

promote life quality. But if you are to do this positively and with an efficient use of energy you 

require a comprehensive planning. 

A Lighting Master Plan can provide direct and indirect advantages by bringing a new point of view 

and identity to the city. It can introduce basic principles with an overall approach to both utility and 

architectural lighting, control of night life and the night image of the city. 

The development of a Lighting Master Plan will typically pass through three stages. During the 

research stage, a detailed analysis of the city is performed. This will include usage, users, natural 

characteristics, existing utility and architectural lighting, and light coming from buildings. It will also 

deal with the city’s image, identity, silhouette, road characteristics, the hierarchy between roads 

and between buildings and elements symbolizing the city. Then a lighting strategy is developed, 

taking into account light pollution, energy usage, sustainability and environmental factors. And 

third, the implementation stage should include planning and capital costs, operating costs, budget 

and maintenance systems. 

Urban lighting gets old after about ten years, and changes to lamps and lighting elements become 

necessary. New products become available with continuously improving technologies and subjects 

such as energy efficient usage also play a role in such changes. In this renewal process, in the 

renovation of old cities or in urban transformation plans, lighting master plans must be made with 

respect for the overall approach. The CIE guide Master Planning of Urban Lighting (D5 TC 21), 

which is yet unpublished, shows the need of undertaking utility and architectural lighting objects 

with an overall systematic planning. 

. 

43

STAGE 2: LIGHTING STRATEGY 

9 

44 FEEDBACK 

12 

6 

3 

Light 18:00PM-24:00AM linked to activities 

24:00AM-07:00AM 

and time: 

working day, shopping, 

going-out, special events 

9 

12 

6 

3 

Scenarios 

Themes 

THEMES 

− Unique identity 

− Connecting people 

− Safety 

− Orientation 

− Atmosphere 

-Unique identity 

-Connecting people 

-Safety 

-Orientation 

SCENARIOS 

Light linked to activities and time: 

− Working day 

− Shopping 

− Going out 

− Special events 

DETAILED MAPS 

AND ILLUSTRATIONS 

− Illuminations 

− Tonality (colours of lamps) 

− Typology (scale) 

− Composition (typical configurations) 

− Lighting specifications 

18-24 

STAGE 3: IMPLEMENTATION 

TYPICAL INSTALLATIONS 

− Recommendations for lighting 

solutions and alternatives 

− Standard implantation in cross section 

− Visualisations and sketches 

PLANNING 

− Planning of implementation 

− Definition of phases 

− Timing 

REFERENCE PROJECTS: 

SUZHOU SCIENCE AND 

CULTURE ART CENTER, CHINA 

Architect: Paul Andreu; Paris, France 

Lighting design: Mr. Y. Nakamura; 

Tokyo Shomei 

Consultant Co., Ltd., Tokyo Japan 

Magazine : Luminous 2008/1, 

page 20-23 

PLAZA DE INDAUTXU, 

BILBAO, SPAIN 

Architect: Ander Marquet Ryan, 

JAAM architecture partnership 

Review: ILR 2007, page 88-91 

24-7 

-Recomm 

and sour 

-Implant 

-Visualiz 

sections 

45 Internationa

VERDI INNOVATIVE WORKPLACES 

By Carine Legoux 

Verdi’s site represents a veritable technological and wellness showcase, 

bringing together all the operations of the Philips France group since last year. 

What was the objective? To apply its know-how to improve everyone’s lives. 

Selected partners, such as AXA, COGEDIM, the firm of architects Boisseson- 

Dumas-Vilmorin & Associés (BDVA) and the engineering firm SETEC, got 

together to study and construct this ambitious project. 

“It’s this respect for integration with the environment, this relationship 

between humanity and quality of life that we have favoured since the 

conception of the project,” says Jean-Michel Dumas, associate architect at 

BDVA, in charge of the Verdi project, and Gilles Engelmann, architect for the 

construction phase. 

As the leader in the field of lighting, Philips is constantly endeavouring to 

improve artificial light sources. The Dynamic Lighting concept marks an 

important step that allows all the richness of natural light to be introduced into 

the working environment. It is very logical that Philips has opted to fit 23,000 

m² with this lighting concept. This operation, on an unprecedented scale, 

illustrates perfectly what the lighting in a modern building should be like, taking 

into account the users’ needs and the concern with saving energy. 

As the day progresses, the 2200 luminaires are perfectly integrated into the 

false ceiling. They are fitted with two T5 28 W fluorescent tubes using 2700 

K and 6500 K colour temperatures. They vary the luminous intensity and the 

light colour temperature, recreating the dynamic that 

is peculiar to natural light. 

The use of MLO micro-lens optics makes it possible to achieve a 

homogeneous and very comfortable light distribution. In addition, Dynamic 

Lighting is linked to a centralised management system that takes into account 

the incidence of daylight and the presence of staff in the offices, thus enabling 

electricity consumption to be optimised. 

Project 

Head office of Philips France, VERDI, 

Suresnes, France 

Investor 

AXA 

Delegated project owner 

COGEDIM 

Architect 

Boisseson-Dumas-Vilmorin & Associés, Paris, 

France 

Engineering firm 

SETEC 

Architect-decorator 

Juan Trindade 

Lighting designer 

Philippe Almon, PHA 

Space planning 

DEGW 

Civil engineering 

PETIT 

Electrical installer 

SPIE – PHIBOR (Vinci Energies) 

Philips Lighting solutions 

Alexia Lemonnier, Laurent Poitevin, Pierre 

Bonduelle, Nadine Ravarini, Philips France 

Lamps 

Philips TL5 28W 827/ and 865, PL-C/4P 18W 

/830, Philips MASTERColor CDM-Tm 20W /830, 

LUXEON K2 white 

Luminaires 

Philips Savio TBS760 2x28W with ballast HFD 

in offices for Dynamic Ambience, Fugato FBS261 

2x18W in circulation areas, Fugato MBS244 with 

black cone MASTERColor CDM-Tm 20W in the 

hallway and floors, specially designed LEDline2 for 

lift areas 


Philips Light Master Modular 

Websites 

www.bdva.com 


Missing

Mere Words Photography 


Missing

BOOKS WHERE TO GO 

Light & Communication 

- Nature as a reference in 

lighting design 

Author: Henrik Clausen 

Publisher: Meldorf:Hansen, 

(Denmark), January 2009 

ISBN-13: 9788792154026 120 pages, 

colour illustrations, hardcover 

Language: English 

www.meldorfhansen.dk 

“Light & Communication - Nature as a reference in 

lighting design" solves. After reading it, you will be able to 

communicate about lighting design in a way everybody 

understands, using nature as a common reference. 

Green Architecture Now! 

Philip JodidioFlexicover with flaps, 

Publisher: Taschen 

ISBN-13: 978-3-8365-0372-3, 416 pages 

Colour images 

Language: English, French, German 

www.taschen.com 

The ecological impact of new construction, once a 

secondary concern, has become a crucial issue. Badly 

designed buildings guzzle natural resources and pollute 

their surroundings; in an era of rocketing energy costs and 

environmental degradation, the need for a sustainable, 

energy-efficient architecture is paramount. This book 

features the architects, artists and firms pioneering a new 

green architecture, and examines the emergent esthetics. 

Yann Kersalé 

Authors: Yann Kersalé, Jean-Louis 

Pradel, Henri-François Debailleux, 

Anne de Vandière 

Publisher: Editions Gallimard (France) 

October 2008 

ISBN-13: 978-2070122806 

215 pages, colour illustrations, 

hardcover 

Language: French 

www.gallimard.fr 

Yann Kersalé graduated from the Quimper School of 

Fine Arts in 1978 with the Diplôme National Supérieur 

d’Expression Plastique. Using light as others may use clay 

or paint, he chooses night time – the most sensitive of all 

backgrounds -as his area of experimentation. 

Green architecture 

Author: James Wines, Philip Jodidio 

Publisher: Taschen, LLC (Germany), 

August 2008, 25th Anniversary edition 

ISBN-13: 978-3836503211 

240 pages, colour illustrations, 

hardcover 

Language: English, French, German 

www.taschen.com 

Wines (dean of architecture, Univ. of Pennsylvania) 

proposes to steer the architecture profession away from 

the "vacuous shape-making" of "academic Modernism" 

towards an ecology-centered aesthetic. This generously 

illustrated alternative history spotlights an eclectic 

assortment of lesser-known architects (including Wines 

himself) who in widely varying degrees incorporate 

ecological awareness into their designs. 

Lighting Design: 

Office for Visual Interaction 

Author: Enrique Peiniger, 

Jean M. Sudin 

Publisher: Birkhäuser (Switzerland), 

July 2009 

ISBN-13: 978-3764399573, 144 pages, 

255 colour illustrations, softcover 

Language: English 

www.spinger.com/birkhauser/ 

More than any building material, light influences our 

well being, effects architectural qualities and stages 

architectural designs and surfaces. The New York-based 

Office for Visual Interaction (OVI) goes beyond simply 

illuminating buildings – the firm sees lighting as a way to 

actively shape space, complement architecture, integrate 

technology and save energy. Featured projects include 

illumination for contemporary landmarks such as Renzo 

Piano’s New York Times skyscraper, Zaha Hadid’s 

Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, a prototype 

LED streetlight for New York City, and the lighting design 

for Enric Miralles’ Scottish Parliament complex. 

19 May - 6 September Exhibition 

Andrea Palladio 

500 anos de consciencia 

arquitectonica 

www.fundacio.lacaixa.es 

Caixaforum, Barcelona, Spain 

1 - 9 August Youth Architectural Festival 

Towns: Construction of 

Eco-Town 

by your own hands 

www.asadov.ru/goroda/2009_ 

greentown(eng).htm 

Altai, Russia 

Until 9 August DDC Exhibition 

See the Light 

Light sources today and future 

www.ddc.dk 

Danish Design Centre 

Copenhagen, Denmark 

Until 13 September MCA Exhibition 

Olafur Eliasson 

Take your time 

www.mcachicago.org 

Museum Contemporary Art 

Chicago, United States of America 

Until 4th October Exhibition 

Green Architecture for the 

Future 

www.louisiana.dk 

Louisiana Museum of Modern 

ArtHumlebæk, Denmark 

6 October - 17 January, 

2010 

Copyright 

Exhibition 

Andrea Palladio 

500 anos de consciencia 

arquitectonica 

www.fundacio.lacaixa.es 

Caixaforum, Madrid, Spain 

© 2009 Koninklijke Philips Electronics B.V. 

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited 

without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. The 

information presented in this document does not form part of any 

quotation or contract, is believed to be accurate and reliable and 

may be changed without notice . No liability will be accepted by the 

publisher for any consequences of its use. Publication thereof does 

not convey nor imply any license under patent - or other industrial or 

intellectual property rights. 

Until 18 October CIVA Exhibition 

The Shops Time / Le Temps 

des Boutiques 

From the small workshop to 

eBay / De l’échoppe à eBay 

www.civa.be/sub/00.asp 

Fondation for Architecture 

Brussels, Belgium 

19 - 22 October 

LUCI Association Annual 

Meeting 

Lighting Urban Community 

International 2009 

World Photonics Expo 

Gwangju, South Korea 

29 - 31 October VIA & PLDA Congress 

Professional Lighting Design 

Convention 2009 

www.pld-c.com 

Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof Hotel 

Berlin, Germany 

29 October - 

10 January, 2010 

Exhibition 

Frank Lloyd Wright 

www.guggenheim-bilbao.es 

Guggenheim Museum 

Bilbao, Spain 

15 - 17 November IES Association Annual 

Conference 

Illuminating Engineering 

Society 2009 

Realizing the Future – 

Research to Application 

www.iesna.org 

Sheraton Seattle Hotel 

Seattle, United States of America 

10 - 12 December CERMA International 

symposium 

Luminous architecture in the 

20th century (1907-1977) 

www.cerma.archi.fr 

Ecole nationale supérieure 

d'architecture 

Nantes, France 

50 FEEDBACK 51

city.people.light 

award 2009 


1ST PRIZE 2008 

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA 

Ko, Kyung-Ju, Ha, Mee-jung, Kwoon Hyung Joon, Lee Yeon So Seoul Jung-gu Cheonggye 

Plaza to Seongdong-gu Sindapcheolgyo Railroad Bridge (5.84 km) 

“This is an impressive project to rehumanize this urban area. This effort to bring nature 

back to the city combined with an harmonious and almost entertaining landscape design 

gives this previously lost and forgotten place an almost fairytale night-time image. The 

lighting design plays with light and dark as well as with the transparency of the water. 

The subtle use of color adds to the overall quality of this relaxing and recreational urban 

environment, thus clearly improving the quality of life for those living here.”

sustainability renzo piano lighting master plan - Philips Lighting

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