Archinect - News

Snøhetta designs hemp-based lighting product inspired by 1970s ateljé Lyktan line

2024-03-13T12:02:00-04:00

Snøhetta has designed a line of lighting products for Swedish lighting manufacturer ateljé Lyktan.

The line, named Superdupertube, sees a revision of the manufacturer’s 1970s Supertube product, which was given a “contemporary makeover through extensive material research.”

Image credit: ateljé Lyktan

Image credit: Jonas Lindstrom

“When ateljé Lyktan challenged us to create a new technical office luminaire, we rediscovered their iconic Supertube from the 1970s,” said Snøhetta Partner Jenny B. Osuldsen about the project. “Our joint decision was clear — let's update and elevate the Supertube to a 2.0 version, guided by our commitment to sustainability and cradle-to-cradle thinking.”

Image credit: ateljé Lyktan

The project began as an exploration into how ateljé Lyktan’s products could be reimagined using locally sourced materials with a smaller ecological footprint. Initial experiments with pine cones and coffee grounds led to the choice of hemp fiber, which the...

Take a look inside the Las Vegas Sphere's interior and lighting designs

2023-12-22T14:05:00-05:00

New York-based design studio ICRAVE has shared a special look inside its interior, wayfinding, and lighting design work on the headline-grabbing new Sphere entertainment venue in Las Vegas.

Besides its 580,000-square-foot fully programmable exterior LED facade and the 160,000-square interior display for 17,500 guests, Sphere features another 300,000 square feet of interior space spread across eight levels.

Cross section rendering of Sphere. Image courtesy Sphere Entertainment

The lighting strategy for its lobby, VIP clubs, food and beverage spaces, and other hospitality suites was designed to mimic the geometry of the venue (now the world’s largest spherical structure) and insists on stage lighting to further communicate its purpose to the world.

Photo: Rich Fury, courtesy Sphere Entertainment

“We needed the surrounding spaces to live up to the promise of what’s inside the bowl and to ensure...

Iconic Parisian cathedral transformed into ‘sensory nighttime exploration’ by multimedia company Moment Factory

2023-10-26T12:53:00-04:00

Montreal-based Moment Factory has completed an immersive multimedia experience inside the iconic Dôme des Invalides in Paris. The project, titled 'AURA Invalides,' consists of a 50-minute experience combining video mapping, lighting, special effects, orchestral music, and sound design to celebrate the building’s architectural and historical heritage.

Image credit: Moment Factory

Conceived in 2019 by cultural operator Cultival in collaboration with Musée de l’Armée, the project seeks to create a “sensory nighttime exploration” in which visitors wander through the Dôme des Invalides and its six chapels guided by light. The experience is divided into three acts, each portraying a distinct facet of the site: “its construction, the memories it harbors, and its power to inspire one and all.”

Image credit: Moment Factory

To project an experience onto the main dome, which measures 295 feet high and 98 feet at its smallest diameter, the t...

A solar-powered media façade that ‘consumes only as much energy as it produces’

2023-07-06T11:32:00-04:00

A team comprising iart, AMDL CIRCLE, and Michele De Lucchi has created a ‘zero-energy media façade’ for the Novartis Pavilion in Basel, Switzerland. Combining PV panels and LEDs, the façade is described by the team as “illustrating the potential of organic photovoltaics in architecture.”

Photo credit: iart – studio for media architectures

Photo credit: Laurids Jensen

The façade features 10,000 diamond-shaped solar modules with LED lights embedded within that shine outwards as well as inwards onto the pavilion’s metal shell. The reflection of the metal shell creates a shimmer through the semi-transparent solar modules, resulting in a multi-layered membrane for displaying content.

Photo credit: iart – studio for media architectures

The display only consumes as much electrical energy as it is capable of producing through carbon-based organic solar modules that were custom-made for the project. The modules were ideal for the pavilion’s dom...

25+ interior & lighting design jobs in New York City

2023-04-07T08:00:00-04:00

Interior and lighting design services continue to be in high demand in the greater New York City region, as the amount of current related career opportunities on Archinect Jobs shows. For this week's curated employment highlight, dig into our selection of newly-posted opportunities for Interior Designers, Interior Architects, and Lighting Designers in NYC from our industry-leading job board.

To look up specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, interviewing skills, and increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Interior Design Jobs

Foster + Partners seeks a Senior Interior Designer
"We have excellent opportunities for Senior Interior Designers, or senior level Architects with a focus on interiors, to join our office in New York. Previous experience in a similar position, Interior Design/Interior Architecture degree, excellent Revit skills ...

From lighting design to custom millwork, a background in architecture creates room for alternative job opportunities

2022-02-08T16:22:00-05:00

Following January's look at architecture's relationship with furniture and product design, we're taking another look at alternative career paths an architecture education can provide. This week, we highlight a selection of exciting job opportunities listed on Archinect Jobs involving wood floor/millwork and architectural lighting at MADERA and L'Observatoire International.

The new Editions de Parfums boutique in Paris. Image credits: Roland Halbe and Maxime Hibon/Courtesy of L'Observatoire International.

When designing any building or structure, several factors come into play, however, an often-overlooked element when designing a space is the power of lighting. While we aren't negating the importance and value of natural lighting, indoor lighting setups play essential factors when illuminating an area and creating an overall mood and tone. For the New York-based L'Observatoire, the firm's passion and expertise started in 1993 with French lighting designer Hervé Descottes.

Since its ...

UNStudio and Delta Light partner to create hybrid light and soundscape system focused on human wellbeing

2021-01-29T08:54:00-05:00

UNStudio and Delta Light have partnered to create Soliscape, a flexible system that allows for the personalization and customization of light and acoustic conditions in the workplace.

"The way we work, live, and relax is changing," said Ben van Berkel, founder of UNStudio. "This new hybrid world is causing architects and designers to rethink how we design our cities and buildings so that we can create places that encourage health and wellbeing. Lighting is a very crucial element in helping us to create such places."

In addition to the workplace, the system has a broad range of applications and can be used in hotels, hospitality, retail, and public spaces.

"Looking at lighting as just a basic necessity is an outdated approach," said Peter Ameloot of Delta Light, in a statement. "Work environments, in particular, require extra attention, where user-centric lighting has proven to considerably boost productivity and wellbeing. With Soliscape we even take it to the next level, not just ...

SUPERBLOOM is LA's first new streetlamp in almost 70 years

2020-09-04T13:32:00-04:00

In 2019, the L.A. Lights the Way competition invited designers to reimagine and redesign the future of Los Angeles street lamps. Initiated by the City of L.A. and led by the Mayor's Office in conjunction with the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL), the civic competition winner is Project Room and their winning design SUPERBLOOM. The design brief asked designers to create a lighting system that would not only incorporate new lighting technology but also provide shade and have enough room for text on each pole.

"Project Room’s winning design reimagines the traditional lamp post as a bundle of tubes where each service — roadway light, pedestrian light, and telecommunications equipment — is assigned a dedicated tube fabricated of steel or aluminum. The design allows for additional features, such as 5G equipment, shade fixtures, and even a bench, to be added as needed." Text by L.A. Lights the Way. Image courtesy of Project Room.

Image courtesy of Project Room

According to Project Room co-fou...

Incandescent light bulbs live on as Trump Administration rolls back more energy efficiency guidelines

2019-12-23T15:22:00-05:00

The Trump administration announced Friday that it would block a rule designed to phase out older incandescent bulbs and require Americans to use energy-efficient light bulbs. In announcing the move, the secretary of energy, Dan Brouillette, who is a former auto lobbyist, said the administration had chosen “to protect consumer choice by ensuring that the American people do not pay the price for unnecessary overregulation from the federal government.”

The rule in question was set to phase out the use of inefficient incandescent light bulbs on January 1, 2020 through the imposition of stringent energy efficiency standards initially crafted in 2007 under the administration of President George W. Bush.

Regarding the measure, The New York Times quotes President Donald Trump as saying, “The new bulb is many times more expensive, and I hate to say it, it doesn’t make you look as good,” adding, “We’re bringing back the old light bulb.”

How lighting design in hotels is becoming less gender binary

2019-12-23T15:17:00-05:00

Brian Orter has always understood the importance of setting the mood and the power of lighting to transform a space or a moment. [...] Today, Mr. Orter runs Bold LLC, a company that provides architectural lighting design for private homes, restaurants, bars and hotels. With a team of 30 people split between New York City and Los Angeles, Mr. Orter has worked with architecture and design firms [...].

The New York Times in conversation with Brian Orter of NYC/LA-based architectural lighting design firm BOLD. The short interview covers the many ways to do it wrong (and the few to do it right) and how hotels are slowly ditching masculine and feminine design for a less binary experience.

Jeff Schnabel to direct School of Architecture at Portland State University

2019-07-22T09:00:00-04:00

Architecture professor and light specialist Jeff Schnabel has been tapped to direct the School of Architecture at Portland State University.

Schnabel is currently a professor at PSU and has engaged with various initiatives at the university for over a decade, including the creation of the Shattuck Hall Ecological Learning Plaza at the school. The experimental space is used to prototype material explorations and other design-build projects, according to a press release from the university.

Schnabel is also a major force behind the Portland Winter Light Festival that brings nighttime installations to the city's urban core. In addition, Schnabel is a member of the Willamette Light Brigade, a group that works to bring improved lighting to Portland's bridges and other public spaces.

Schnabel takes over for current dean, Clive Knights, who has led the school for 12 years. Under Knights's tenure, PSU established and accredited a professional Master of Architecture program and began offer...

The Arc de Triomphe is getting an Olafur Eliasson-designed light installation

2019-06-24T13:26:00-04:00

Olafur Eliasson has been commissioned to make a permanent lighting installation for the Arc de Triomphe, which is due to be inaugurated in 2020. Costing €3m, the project is being financed by the Fonds pour Paris, a foundation set up in 2015 by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to restore Parisian heritage and support contemporary art.

Eliasson's proposal is still under wraps, and details won't be available until later this summer or early fall, reports The Art Newspaper.

It will be a busy year for the iconic landmark on the Champs-Élysées, as artist Christo also announced to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in 2020.

How to Determine How Many LED Lumens You'll Need to Properly Light Your Space

2019-05-06T12:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Alcon Lighting

Here’s how to determine how many LED Lumens you’ll need to properly light your space.

How much light is enough light? The question is difficult enough but when faced with having to calculate how much LED lighting you need to create a well lit space, it can become a bit more complicated.

Key Terms

Lumens
A measurement of light emitted by a source, whether it’s LED, Fluorescent, Halogen, or Incandescent. This is also known as “brightness” or “light output.” Your reference point: A standard 100-watt incandescent light bulb produces about 1,500 – 1,700 lumens.

Watts
Not a measure of brightness; instead, it’s a measure of how much electricity (or energy) a bulb consumes to reach its claimed brightness. Each type of light source, LED, Fluorescent, Halogen, or Incandescent has a different lumen-per-watt ratio. Below we’re going to use lumens as a measurement to make sure we have enough light for a space.

Wattage Equivalence
Since we’ve conf...

What color are your office walls? How color and lighting shapes mood and productivity in the office

2019-01-10T15:27:00-05:00

The office is where the general public will spend 1/3 of their life. Unless you've jumped on the "working remotely" craze, many work in office buildings/complexes that haven't changed since 1999. The common color palette of an office is usually a mixture of neutral tones like beige and subdued grays. Although, with the appearance of trending communal workspaces and open floor office concepts, the general public still identifies office settings to resemble sets seen in The Office or Office Space. However, an office's color palette and lighting may be more important than you think. Architects and designers are designing offices that not only look better but interact with the senses to evoke happier and more productive staff.

Office Space (1999) Image © Twentieth Century Fox

Cubical Hallway Image © Great Beyond

Now don't get me wrong, many companies have given their office spaces a facelift over the years by implementing an assortment of "trending" office interior upgrades. Glass wall di...

Singapore's Marina Bay Sands gets a spiffy state-of-the-art laser and water show

2017-06-01T14:05:00-04:00

Marina Bay Sands is set to unveil ‘Spectra’, a new entertainment experience with state-of-the-art light and water show in June. The city skyline will glimmer with a kaleidoscope of colours and lights each night with Spectra’s free-to-public outdoor light and water show displayed over the water at the Event Plaza along the promenade. Combining an array of state-of-the-art lasers, lighting, water effects and projections, the show promises to be a multimedia extravaganza [...].

"The show will also boast specially developed underwater LED fixtures that allow lights to show perfect whites and richer colour hues. Other state-of-the-art technology used in Spectra include a synchronisation software called timecode, which enables the soundtrack to trigger, down to the millisecond, all of the lasers, lighting, projections and water effects in harmony each time."

h/t CTBUH

The new Richard Meier Light collection captures elements of the architect's iconic buildings

2017-03-28T20:33:00-04:00

It was only a matter of time until Richard Meier would come out with a lighting collection. Earlier this month, the architect launched a series of stylish indoor lighting fixtures simply named Richard Meier Light at the Ralph Pucci New York showroom. Industrial designer Ana Meier, who is Richard's daughter, developed the collection with her father and L'Observatoire International founder Hervé Descottes. “They’re Ana’s — she did the drawings. My role was to comment when asked,” Meier said in the Architectural Record.

“I was moved to take recurring themes and forms in Richard’s work, and translate them into sculptural objects that are interacted with everyday,” Ana Meier said in a statement about the 12-piece collection, which includes sconces, floor and table lamps, and hanging pendants — all in white, of course. WonderGlass also manufactured some of the pieces.

Some lights depict simple geometric forms while others resemble Richard Meier's buildings like the Barcelona Museum of Cont...

Getting down with the LED grow lights to be used in NYC's Lowline

2017-03-02T19:51:00-05:00

Although still just a mock-up in the Lowline Lab, the LED grow lights designed by Lighting Science for use in the real Lowline are a promising iteration.

Combining everything that's great about glowing hexagons with three different settings ("soft-white light, one that mimics daylight, and one that includes Lighting Science’s patented VividGroTM LED indoor grow light spectrum technology") the grow lights are about 2 feet in diameter each, and will be coupled with solar installations designed to direct sunlight into the depths of the pioneering subterranean park.

Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands + Leo Villareal to light London's bridges anew

2016-12-13T18:56:00-05:00

The team led by artist Leo Villareal and architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands had the winning proposal in the Illuminated River design competition, which will redesign the lighting scheme for central London's bridges across the River Thames. The winners were one of six shortlisted schemes created by notable contenders such as Adjaye Associates, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Amanda Levete Architects, who all led multi-disciplinary teams with famous artists.

Learn more on Bustler.

For more about bridges on Archinect:

If London Garden Bridge is cancelled, NAO report says taxpayers could lose £20m

NEXT Architects design a swooping "Mobius strip" bridge for Changsha, China

Calatrava's Peace Bridge in Calgary keeps getting vandalized and the repair costs are adding up

"designjunction has always been a place for visitors to discover the latest trends" - Managing Director Deborah Spencer tells us what to expect at this year's designjunction

2016-08-11T11:51:00-04:00

designjunction is now in its sixth year – what did you originally set out to achieve with the exhibition? Has that changed?

At the time (back in 2011) when we launched designjunction, we felt London was missing a commercial show with more creative energy and a greater relevance to the A&D community. A place where you could business but in a more relaxed environment.

Our mission was simple, we wanted to break the mould of the traditional trade show by taking over ambitious locations on the brink of transformation in central London.

We wanted to present the best cutting-edge design within a carefully curated space, striking the perfect balance between creative and commercial.

Over the course of six years, we have built up a reputation for occupying some of the most ambitious and challenging spaces in London from a 40,000 sq ft disused sorting office to a derelict design school last year.

The move to King’s Cross is an important step in our nomadic evolution, as we continue to raise the ba...

Steven Holl designs "concave response" lighting for new visual arts building

2016-05-11T13:01:00-04:00

"We don't have a single 'style,'" Steven Holl explained in reference to his firm's new four level, 35,000 square foot Visual Arts Building commissioned for the Franklin & Marshall College. "We always try to shape a unique experience, and our approach is the same with this project. We look to create something of this place, to inspire future students."

Influenced heavily by the numerous hundred-year-old-plus trees that occupy the site, the Visual Arts Building is conceived as rising like a kite into the arboreal canopy and features a glass-enclosed forum on the ground floor that allows a clear view from the building's campus side of Buchanan Park.

A variety of faculty and advanced student studios, as well as a lecture hall/film screening auditorium and dedicated film labs, will compliment the project's classroom space.

In addition to geothermal heating and cooling, the project features an inventive, noteworthy take on lighting. In this case, the "building’s light profile is a concave r...

Melbourne tower to display weather data via LED animations on its façade

2015-03-29T09:00:00-04:00

The 40-storey building at 888 Collins Street, in Victoria Harbour, will interpret real-time weather data from the Bureau of Meteorology and will transmit the next day's forecast every half-hour. However, rather than showing the weather report in numbers and with a temperature display [lighting designer] Canadian-born Bruce Ramus said it would be more of an abstract representation and reflection of the environment of Docklands.

Checking the weather forecast on your smartphone is so passé. The Woods Bagot-designed apartment tower will show off a flashy accessory that gives real-time weather data, conceived by lighting designer Bruce Ramus. Completion of the 40-story building is scheduled for 2017.

These "Stalaclights" are a witty tribute to the forever-growing skyscraper

2015-01-28T14:06:00-05:00

Dutch designer David Graas playfully reimagines the natural forms of cave stalactites and the perpetually increasing height -- and number -- of skyscrapers in a collection of 3D-printed bulb shades called Stalaclights.

The Stalaclights are characteristic of Graas' eccentric yet sophisticated approach in his product designs: "Nowadays every major city is dominated by high rise buildings. Their height steadily increasing in time...If you would imagine these cities turned upside down it would look just like stalactites growing from the ceiling of a limestone cave." The shades were also inspired by Art Deco-era styles, when the first skyscrapers forever changed the cityscapes of major metropolises like New York and Chicago.

The Stalaclights are available online for about $210 each (€185.00) on Graas' 3D-printing label LAYERS.

Choi + Shine's BIT Light lets you create a multitude of illuminated sculptures

2014-12-19T16:33:00-05:00

Choi + Shine Architects, who envisioned the beautiful Land of Giants in 2010, developed a new lighting system called the BIT Light™. BIT's name is primarily derived from the Korean word for light (빛) which is somewhat pronounced like "bit" in English. It also stands for Bulb with Integrated Technology and describes its fun modular design.

Each BIT light consists of a low-voltage LED light source encased in a translucent polycarbonate shell. Magnetic connectors enable multiple BITs to be physically and electrically linked to each other and to a power source, while letting users get creative and arrange the lights in literally hundreds of forms. BIT's user-friendly design also makes it easier to adjust the amount of illumination inside a space without needing advanced technical skills or professional assistance.

Choi + Shine is currently working on adding more colors, forms, materials, and connectors to the mix.

Learn more about the BIT Light here.

.PSLAB's "lion fish" chandelier adds the finishing touch to The Jane Antwerp

2014-04-24T17:10:00-04:00

The Jane restaurant in the Groen Kwartier of Antwerp still brandishes the now-trendy artisanal interior of the military hospital chapel it once was. Throughout the entire design process, Michelin Star Chef Sergio Herman and Nick Bril closely collaborated with Dutch practice Piet Boon Architects, who then brought in .PSLAB, a site-specific Beirut studio whose work specializes in creating sensory experiences.

Complementing the brass, stone, leather, and oak, the focal point of the restaurant is .PSLAB's handcrafted chandelier that the studio nicknamed the "Lion Fish". The chandelier boasts a radius of 12 x 9 m and a weight of 800 kilograms. Its black-finished tubes are accented with over 150 glass light bulbs that disperse upward toward the vaulted ceiling. The studio also describes that at 2.75 m above the ground, "the chandelier communicates a very human scale."

Check out .PSLAB's video below to see the making of the chandelier.

Luminous Talks

2013-11-01T16:36:00-04:00

On November 8, Philips and Parsons The New School for Design will bring together architects, lighting designers and researchers for a symposium on the dualistic relationship between natural light and the latest electric lighting technologies, and the influence these systems have on human well being. The event is part of Luminous Talks, a programming series now in its second year, which was developed by Philips and Parsons to inspire dialogue around relevant topics in the field. This year’s theme, Nature and Man-Made, builds on last year’s focus on human health and well being to consider the human presence amidst these forces and their psychological and physiological impact.

The November 8 event will feature presentations by:

George Craford, a research scientist and lighting fellow at Philips, whose work focuses on LED technology, who will discuss the history, evolution and future trends of LED technology the design possibilities they enable for architects and lighting designe...

Isotopes v.02 Is An Audiovisual Cage

2013-05-14T20:01:00-04:00

Design studio Nonotak—Noémi Schipfer and Takami Nakamoto—have created an installation, called Isotopes v.02, which is a reaction to the Fukushima nuclear meltdown that happened back in 2011. The piece featured at Geneva's 2013 Mapping Festival and consists of projected light which entices the viewer to investigate further. But, once the unsuspecting visitor has headed towards the light like a moth to the flame, they become trapped in this beguiling maze...

Jonathan Speirs, lighting designer, dead at 54

2012-07-02T13:11:00-04:00

When, in 2005, he was asked to propose a long-term lighting strategy for the city of Durham, the architect Jonathan Speirs, who has died of stomach cancer aged 54, insisted that what the council really needed was a light and darkness strategy

IluminAction by UrbanoActivo Selected for Venice Architecture Biennale

2012-06-19T13:45:00-04:00

The project IlluminAction by UrbanoActivo, an open design collective from Puerto Rico, has been selected to represent the island in the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale in Italy this fall (August 29 – November 25). The selection was narrowed from 450 project submissions nationwide and will be presented as part of the Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good exhibition by The Institute for Urban Design.

This exhibit will be part of an archive of actionable strategies around U.S. cities to improve the public urban realm.

Click here to see more Archinect News posts related to the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.

Many hands will make lights work

2012-05-09T17:08:00-04:00

IN THE hands of Urbanscreen, buildings become toys in a surreal world in which Salvador Dali or Lewis Carroll's Alice would feel at home. Structures get torn apart, turned to ice or covered with ants and are made to disintegrate, pulsate, morph into strange shapes or become a gigantic pinball machine.

Rafmögnuð Náttúra By Marcos Zotes

2012-04-06T14:49:00-04:00

Marcos Zotes has shared with us his winning light installation for the Reykjavik Winter Lights Festival 2012.

Photo by Ragnar Th Sigurdsson

Marcos Zotes, winner of the Reykjavik Winter Lights Festival 2012, and Chris Jordan presented Rafmögnuð Náttúra in Reykjavik, Iceland, as the main event for the festival in February. The work consists of a temporary, site-specific installation that appropriates the facade of Hallgrímskirkja church with a large video-mapping projection. The aim is to transform the static condition of this iconic landmark into a dynamic, engaging and participatory visual experience, and to intervene by socially activating its surrounding public space.

Photo by Pétur Már Gunnarsson

Marcos explains: “I am fascinated with finding new ways to interact with the existing urban environment. I feel the city is there for us at our entire disposal, and we must reclaim its public spaces and urban structures in ways that exceed the limited uses for which they were o...