Tartan, UK
Celebrating the history of Scotland’s most famous fabric, Tartan, at V&A Dundee, features a dynamic lighting scheme, created by DHA Designs.
Opened in April this year, the latest exhibition at Dundee’s beautiful V&A Museum is a celebration of one of Scotland’s most iconic fabrics. Tartan, which will run until January 2024, is an in-depth exploration of the textile that aims to celebrate the story of the traditions, fashions, and creativity that it has inspired in communities worldwide.
Showcasing more than 300 objects from over 100 international lenders, the exhibition features a dynamic lighting design, courtesy of lighting consultancy DHA Designs. The studio was brought on to the project by exhibition designers – the aptly named PLAID Studio – to create the lighting scheme for the exhibition, returning to V&A Dundee after having previously collaborated on the VideoGames, Night Fever and Michael Clark exhibitions in the past.
However, despite working on previous exhibitions in the space, David Robertson, Director at DHA Designs, explained how Tartan differentiated from their earlier works. He told arc: “The most unusual element [about Tartan] was that this was the first show that originated at, and was curated by, V&A Dundee; all previous shows there had started elsewhere and therefore already had a lighting design in place.
“The brief for this exhibition was quite open, but there was definitely a desire to make sure it felt like a celebration of tartan in all of its forms. It was also important that the exhibition is by topic (innovation, identity, power, etc), not chronological, so the lighting wanted to change from area to area to suit the subject.”
Working to replicate the symbolism of tartan, and complement the design produced by PLAID Studio, DHA used horizontal and vertical linear light sources to reflect the warp and weft of the material.
Indeed, creating a lighting scheme that would allow the exhibitions to pop was one of the core parameters for the design concept. Robertson continued: “It was important that the space felt light and bright, especially at the start – the external lobby is daylit. Many of the exhibits were 50 lux, and as a material gives very little light back and can look flat, balancing the object against the ambient and architectural lighting would be crucial to the visitor experience.”
An example of this can be seen in the first display, entitled The Grid, which is a large framework of cases and walls in a regular pattern. As well as integrating light into the cases, DHA Designs concealed linear light above and below them to match the location of the voile panels to make the space feel inviting and light, segmenting it to reflect the warp and weft of the tartan. “We considered coloured light for this, but felt that with many dark coloured objects, this might upstage the content, and that warm white light was a more elegant solution,” Robertson added.
While the decision to use linear lighting was due to its ability to “both appropriately and softly light the exhibits to light both object and labels”, the move also serves to highlight the unique architecture of the building itself.
Robertson continued: “The structure of the grid encourages the visitor to look up immediately, so the ceiling was going to be seen. The next areas are unusually open plan; we chose to use the existing architectural detail of linear lighting that is really designed for house lighting and hasn’t been used in an exhibition before. We dimmed it right down but were pleased that it highlights the architecture, while the linear source is in keeping with the case and setworks lighting below. We matched the colour temperatures, so it felt like one cohesive solution.
“The gallery is split in two by a low bulkhead, and for a second part where the exhibition gets darker – including a film on slavery and dramatic Alexander MacQueen pieces – we chose not to use this architectural lighting, which complemented the exhibition design and paced the exhibition.
“The routing of any exhibition means that you move between the two spaces – choosing exhibits and lighting that go beneath the bulkhead is an opportunity, and we were able to use more uplighting to some dynamic fashion and artworks here to emphasise the change, rather than trying to hide it.
“The gallery is challenging due to the angle of the track that is flush with a pitched ceiling, and the roof lights, but we are working with the V&A on a new detail that moves the track out of the ceiling into a more user-friendly horizontal location without spoiling the line of the architecture. This is necessary given the scale and scope of the ambitious exhibitions the V&A now mounts.”
This intimate knowledge of V&A Dundee and its exhibition spaces served DHA Designs well, as the team already knew what would and wouldn’t work within the wider context of the building.
Robertson added: “This is our fourth collaboration since the museum opened five years ago. Knowing the space definitely helped – especially knowing which areas could not be lit from the track.
“The sawtooth ceiling and (closed) roof lights restrict track locations, and we knew where we needed to supplement this with new hanging track to best light the exhibits. Previous exhibitions (VideoGames; Night Fever; Michael Clarke), suited a much darker, more dramatic environment of individuated spaces, and there was more coloured light and AV. This exhibition was a chance to do something different.”
One new element, which brings a sense of dynamism to the exhibition was the introduction of gridded gobos to the floor – a late addition from the design team. “Although the objects were all glowing and the ambience welcoming, I felt it needed a little sparkle,” Robertson said. “Using two overlapping gobos at 45°, I tried to mesh a custom tartan pattern on a large expanse of empty floor in the area that spoke about the warp and weft of the pattern. In an exhibition that showcases many artists’ responses to tartan, I thought ‘why shouldn’t lighting have a go’.”
Across the Tartan exhibition, more than 300 objects are on display, but one of the key messages for the exhibition was to showcase the “democratic nature” or the material. Robertson explained how the lighting helped to democratise the displays. “There were more than 100 international lenders, including some contemporary artists and commissioned pieces, but the exhibition is non-hierarchical. Tartan in all its forms is more important than any one exhibit or person – used by rich and poor, nationalist and unionist. So, the biggest challenge was to make sure every object was well-lit and had a value; whether a faded piece of historic tartan or a sparkling outfit work on RuPaul’s Drag Race; whether a tartan-covered car, or a tartan-covered Xbox controller.”
Since the exhibition opened on 1 April, it has gained widespread plaudits and positive reviews. Looking back on the project, Robertson hopes that the lighting contributes to a positive overall experience for visitors.
“I was most pleased that the initial idea of a bright space has worked, and the visitor feels welcome; and then once their eyes have adjusted and the mood of the exhibition changes, we switch that into a more focused and dramatic lighting scheme. I hope the visitor, thanks to the lighting and more open-plan exhibition design, gets to appreciate the ceiling and architecture, as this would not suit all exhibitions.”
Robertson concluded though that, due to his own personal experience with tartan, he found working on the project as rewarding as a guest visiting the exhibition would. He said: “As someone who comes from the North East of Scotland and was forced to wear kilts as a child, it was a great experience to return to my roots and learn much more about this fascinating and versatile subject.”
LIA offers guidance on lamp energy, extends relabelling enforcement deadline
(UK) – A change in regulation to the energy labelling of lamps will come into force on 1 October 2023, enforcing that any lamps with the current energy labelling must be sold before this date. The Lighting Industry Association (LIA) are offering guidance for the industry on how to prepare for the deadline and ensure that products are sold before that date.
The new regulations by the GB Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Lighting Products) Regulations 2021, SI 2021 No. 1095, required that by 1 April 2023 dealers replace any old light source (lamp) energy labels (A++ to E rating) with the new, rescaled label (A to G rating). The same requirement applies in the EU/NI from 1 March 2023.
The LIA and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have been working closely together on this topic, assessing the size and scale of the problem and briefing DESNZ that disruptions to supply chains, reduced retail demand and staff shortages would result in a significant volume of lighting products being still on the UK market with the old A-D Energy Label after the deadline of 1 April 2023.
The LIA, and the BRC, were therefore very pleased to secure a six-month delay to this GB relabelling date from DESNZ/OPSS until 1 October 2023.
Ayça Donaghy, CEO of the LIA, commented: “We would like to thank Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Security and Green Finance at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and the team for listening to our concerns and subsequently granting the needed extension. As well as talking directly to DESNZ, the LIA helped its members lobby their local MPs – both showing the value of an effective industry association to its members, doing their job of supporting and representing their membership. This extension will grant those in the industry valuable time to prepare their products for the new market regulations in October.”
Firstly, companies should now ensure they contact supply chain partners and make them aware of the extension. Following this, the LIA have put together a helpful guide, available to the entire lighting industry, with strategies to reduce stocks featuring the old energy label. Tips to reduce stock already in place include stock rotation, promotions, and donation.
The LIA’s full guidance can be found here.
Bob Bohannon, Head of Policy and Sustainability at the LIA, added: “It is our responsibility as an industry to use the six-month extension granted by DESNZ. The LIA are proud to spread awareness and guidance for those in the industry, encouraging companies to work with up and downstream supply chains, rotate stock on shelves to ensure any old labelled stock is at the front, sell stock through and ultimately relabel any remaining stock with the new A-G label. We are hopeful that with our support, companies will be in a better position to prepare themselves for October and reduce any losses by ensuring stock can be sold.”
Erco & Zaha Hadid Architects collaborate at Clerkenwell Design Week
(UK) – Last month, Erco and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) held a collaborative event during Clerkenwell Design Week. The event ran from 23-25 May as a special exhibition, which featured responsive lighting design with a bespoke material showcase and a series of inspiring talks from leading industry experts.
The event looked to showcase ZHA and Erco’s approach to design within the ZHA Gallery on Goswell Road, which has recently been illuminated by Erco.
Building on their collaboration, ZHA and Erco welcomed guests across the design industry to their exhibition during Clerkenwell Design Week, which showcased lighting as an integral element of ZHA’s architecture.
Part of this was an evening event on Tuesday 23 May entitled Responsive Design for a Sustainable Future. The evening was dedicated to exploring the future of design, sustainability, and human-centric technology, within the workspace. This was a panel discussion with Jim Ashley-Down, Managing Director of Erco UK & Ireland, Ulrich Blum, Senior Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects, Paul Traynor, Head of Light Bureau UK and Imogen Privett, Associate Director and Workplace Innovation at UnWork. The talk explored the future of workplace strategies and the user experience. Each expert brought their knowledge and experience from lighting design, manufacturing, architectural design to workplace innovation.
The panel discussed the important role lighting plays in employee experience to create sustainable and responsive spaces, which provide visual comfort and wellness. This holistic approach moves away from facility centric to people centric design, seeing buildings as experiences and not objects. The discussion evolved to the need for neurodivergent spaces, curating rooms that are easily adaptable and interchangeable, giving the user control over their environment with Bluetooth control for temperature and lighting.
The workplace is evolving and there is a drive to personalise the workspace for occupants to create desirable office environments that promote wellness, productivity, and creativity. Through the discussions, it was deemed imperative to incorporate responsive design and future-proof technology from the very beginning of projects, this approach should be built into the fabric of the design not added on at the end as an afterthought.
Additionally, the two brands hosted a lunchtime talk on Thursday 25 May, Illuminating Desire: Lighting for Retail & Exhibition Design. The talk was chaired by ZHA’s Head of Interior Architecture, Kar Hwa-Ho, alongside Jim Ashley-Down, Gerardo Olvera, Design Director of Light.IQ and Giulio Antonutto, Associate Director at Arup.
The psychology of longing and wanting, attaining and then craving more, is to a greater or lesser extent, the starting point of the conceptual narrative for retail and exhibition design.
In addition to solving the functional requirements in a design brief, the panel discussed the need to address the experiential journey and how lighting can make this better. Drawing on their knowledge and experiences, the panel explained how to tell a story using light; what comes first, the technical or experiential aspect of lighting; and what tools can be used to create a mood and a desirable atmosphere.
Each panellist conveyed a considered approach to illuminating spaces, drawing on the Richard Kelly principles of lighting design, as well as drawing on the similarities between lighting artwork for a gallery and a product in retail. Light draws the gaze to textures, colours and forms in a space and enhances the way we perceive our environment, creating a visual experience.
The collaborative event between Erco and ZHA, was inspiring and educational, championing the need for responsive design and future proofing client strategies.
Registration opens for IALD Enlighten Americas 2023
(Canada) – The IALD has opened registration for its Enlighten Americas conference, taking place in Banff, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies on 2-4 November.
Lighting professionals from around the world are invited to the Fairmont Banff Springs resort in the province of Alberta to participate in a schedule of events developed to educate, inspire, innovate, and celebrate the IALD community.
A popular event across the lighting sphere, the Enlighten agenda includes dozens of speaking sessions from architectural lighting leaders, roundtable and panel discussions that forge and advance communication between specifiers and manufacturers, social receptions, and activities that allow the lighting design community to be encouraged and exhilarated by their collective accolades and awards. Networking opportunities are integrated into the three-day schedule to bolster the interaction and collaboration that the IALD global community exemplifies.
IALD CEO Christopher Knowlton is excited for the coming event. He said: “The industry has every reason to celebrate its accomplishments in 2023: from those emerging designers making a bold name for themselves; to the designers and firms earning international praise. The Enlighten conferences are a unique convergence of achievement and advancement; we celebrate how far we have come just as we eagerly look to where we can progress.
“At this picturesque castle set in the Rocky Mountains, our global community can breathe deeply, feel revitalised by both the grandeur of nature and the positivity of our peers, open our eyes to new ideas and artistry, and actively pursue even greater things in the year to come.”
All interested parties can learn more about the IALD Enlighten Americas conference, its schedule of events, its roster of speakers and sponsors, online here. Early Bird registration pricing will remain available until 16 June, and conference registration will remain open until the event in November.
PUK - Terra
Terra is the new ground-recessed luminaire by PUK, with highly technical features and with possibility – in a single product family – to have an infinite range of configurations. Three sizes, multiple light beams, very wide lumen package, full dimming options and anti-glare accessories make Terra a real revolution of its kind.
HLB Lighting Design announces Spring promotions
(USA) – HLB Lighting Design has announced the promotion of three team members; Brandon Thrasher, Robyn Goldstein, and Abigail Iorio have been promoted to Senior Principal, Principal, and Associate Director, Marketing and Business Development respectively.
Thrasher has more than 18 years of lighting design experience, and has been with HLB for 11 years. During his time with the firm, he has made significant contributions to the growth of the San Francisco studio as Managing Principal and has been recognised for his impact on the lighting design industry as a whole. He currently sits on HLB’s Board of Directors and helps guide the firm’s vision and strategy. Regarding his promotion to Senior Principal, he said: “This is a milestone that underscores my passion for lighting design, contributions to our firm’s leadership, and commitment to building the legacy of HLB Lighting Design.”
Goldstein, Managing Principal for HLB’s Boston studio, joined the firm in 2007 and has spent the entirety of her career at HLB. She has led large-scale projects such as Mass General Brigham Administrative Campus and Akamai Technologies Global Headquarters and has been recognised for her design excellence as well as her commitment to educating others within the lighting design industry.
“I believe deeply in HLB and am excited and honoured to be a part of an incredible group of leaders. I look forward to taking on the challenges of my enhanced role, fostering the continued and future success of HLB, and lighting the way for a brighter tomorrow”, she said of her promotion to Principal.
Iorio, also part of the HLB Boston studio, has been with the firm for 12 years. She directs a growing team of marketing professionals at HLB and leads strategic marketing, business development, and communications efforts for the firm. Of her new role as Associate Director, she said: “I’m honoured to be brought into the leadership team at HLB and look forward to contributing to the firm’s goals of achieving great heights in the business of design.”
HLB continues to maintain a growth mindset and believes each of these strategic promotions will directly benefit the everyday functions within the firm and the long-term plans the firm has set in place. This supports the firm’s mission to continue to provide the most exceptional client experiences in the architectural lighting design industry.
The Lighting Police launches online campaign
(Worldwide) – The Lighting Police, alongside light research centre Ciluz, has launched an online campaign to coincide with the International Day of Light on 16 May.
Entitled Say it with Light, the social media campaign will seek to bring a strong message to the whole world, while celebrating the International Day of Light.
The global community is invited to play a creative part in this initiative, which seeks to raise awareness about the importance of adequate light in our lives and the spaces that surround us.
The Lighting Police is an education-driven platform supported by a global multidisciplinary network with the goal of raising awareness, sparking transparent conversations, and speaking to the public about the importance of the “right” light. TLP has endorsed the mission that each person, no matter who they are, can understand, detect, and experience the value of the correct, designed, and considered the quality of light.
For its part, Ciluz is a Light Research Centre that seeks to raise awareness and promote actions on the role of light in the quality of life and wellbeing. This organisation fulfils its mission through the generation of content and educational instances, reaching a large community in Latin America made up of professionals, lovers, and curious about light.
To participate in the Say It With Light Challenge consists of three steps:
1. Choose a local landmark or building, think of it as a canvas, and project a light message, whether in the form of colours, patterns, or simple text. Thinking of light as a messenger to the world, what would you like to convey?
2. Share the message as a sketch; an image, a gif, or a text. Be simple but creative and quick using Instagram drawing/painting tools like a collage (not programmes like Photoshop or Canva).
3. Upload the story, nominate two friends to take up the challenge, and tag @_ciluz and @thelightingpolice with the hashtags #diloconluz #sayitwithlight
Participants will be able to share their creations on Instagram, Linkedin, or via email from the 16th of May until the end of the month.
Focus SB achieves King’s Award for Enterprise
(UK) – [d]arc award winner Focus SB has been honoured with the first ever King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade.
One of 148 organisations across the UK to be recognised with the King’s Award for Enterprise, Focus SB has been honoured for its excellence in international trade.
Gary Stevens, Managing Director, said: “Winning the King’s Award for Enterprise is not only an endorsement of the hard work that we have done in building our export market, but it is also one of the highest accolades that a business can achieve.
“To provide some perspective, only two companies from East Sussex were awarded the Queen’s Award title in 2022, and only one of those was for International Trade. I’m thrilled that this year sees us flying the flag for East Sussex. For an SME like Focus SB, this award could potentially help to support our strategy for global reach and accelerate our growth in overseas markets.”
The King’s Awards for Enterprise was previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, and the new name reflects King Charles III’s desire to continue the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognising outstanding UK businesses. The awards programme, now in its 57th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the King’s Award emblem for the next five years.
GLA: Do the right thing
In this column, various members of the GreenLight Alliance explain the steps that their companies are taking as part of their broader environmental and social responsibility programmes.
“Integrity gives you real freedom because you have nothing to fear since you have nothing to hide.” - Zig Ziglar
In recent issues we have dived deep into metrics, legislation, and regulations. In this issue we ease back and take a broader overview to look at the emerging trend for examination and verification of a corporation’s broader environmental and social impact. Whether you are familiar with the acronym CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), we are talking about largely the same thing; the values and responsibilities that a company proclaims to live by. Increasingly companies are choosing, or being obliged, to publish these and to verify them, by means of independent organisations.
This can be to lock-in mission focus, satisfy commercial prequalification criteria, aid recruitment, impress (potential) shareholders, customers or simply to drive internal behavioural changes. Whatever the reason, we are seeing a growing number of new icons appearing in PR output from companies, including across the lighting industry. Primarily manufacturers, but the design and specification community too. The GreenLight Alliance see this trend as encouraging, as more and more companies mobilise, not a moment too soon, to engage with the mammoth challenges we face. While specific approaches vary, the direction of travel is encouraging.
With the recent proposals around the world for legal consequences of making unsubstantiated green claims, we expect to see even more rigour and independent verification.
Whether coaxed or instinctive, we at the GreenLight Alliance welcome the progress. Here follows a brief tour through some of the most prominent examples in our industry, along with words by some of their proponents.
We leave you with this observation from someone who has demonstrated that business success can go hand in hand with integrity, in the broadest sense of the word:
“…it’s always been difficult for us to lead an examined life as a corporation. I’ve always felt like a company has the responsibility to not wait for the government to tell it what to do or to wait for the consumer to tell it what to do, but as soon as it finds out it’s doing something wrong, stop doing it.” - Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia Founder, environmentalist, philanthropist.
Employee Ownership
Arfon Davies, UK Lighting Design Director, Arup
Arup has been employee-owned since 1977 and is currently the third largest employee-owned firm in the UK. Our ownership structure gives us the freedom to decide where we can make a difference – investing in the research, products, partnerships, and skills we believe in. Rather than staying focused on immediate shareholder returns, it gives us more ability to plan for the long-term benefit of the firm and our members, making decisions that keep us resilient and support our members’ passions.
It’s also a model that removes barriers to progress as we work with others to create a more sustainable future for people and planet. It gave us the flexibility to become one of the first organisations to commit to UN Sustainable Development Goals, allows us to carry out pro bono work that benefits communities, and makes it easier for us to fund and develop solutions that accelerate the transition to net zero.
ISO 14001
Colin Ball, Lighting Director, BDP
In accordance with ISO 14001, data has been collected for our studios since 2010, and has increased in accuracy and robustness across this period as problems have been overcome, particularly in our regional studios. Our energy and water reduction targets were, up to 2018, based upon an improvement on the 2013 baseline year. 2018 concluded our five-year reporting period from our 2013 baseline, where we exceeded each of our targets – keeping our Scope 1 and 2 emissions below 1000kgCO2e/capita, implementing measures to encourage sustainable travel decisions, and reducing water consumption by 5% per capita.
In 2020, we made significant updates to our Sustainability Policy to protect and enhance the five capitals (natural, human, manufactured and financial) across all aspects of our operation. This included setting Science Based Targets for our business operations. We have also committed to achieving net-zero operational carbon of our studios by 2025 and reducing waste. We are in the process of developing and integrating minimum environmental performance standards for our projects.
We review the performance targets every three years to ensure performance remains valid and suitably ambitious. Where targets are achieved at or prior to this review, new targets are developed.
Sustainable Development Goals
Alexia Gkika, Associate Lighting Designer, Buro Happold
Buro Happold is committed to the promotion of equitable and sustainable development that ensures the wellbeing of people and the enhancement and protection of the environment, in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We recognise that the work we do as engineers and consultants has long-lasting implications for the ability of our clients to meet their own net zero goals and to realise long-term value from their assets.
In March 2021, Buro Happold set validated 1.5°C aligned science-based targets to reduce absolute (total) scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emission 21% by financial year (FY) 2025 from FY 2020 base year. This year we have carried out detailed calculations of our carbon emissions (Scope 3) related to purchased goods and services by applying the Greenhouse Gas Protocol spend-method.
The above is a succinct extract from Buro Happold’s annual Global Sustainability Report 2022 – please refer to the extended document for more information.
Living Wage
Kevan Shaw, Design Director, KSLD
We chose to become accredited Living Wage employers as part of our CSR policy a few years ago. While we know Lighting Design is not among the higher paid professions, there is no way we would expect to even pay interns anything as low as the living wage. As a part of CSR and the requirements of accreditation we need to ensure our suppliers are also paying the Living Wage. Doing this created a re-think from our cleaning contractor, who did agree to up the wages of their staff for a very minimal increase in our contract price. The idea of the living wage goes far beyond this and forces us to look at all our suppliers, for example courier companies that we use, online suppliers for stationary, and contractors we employ are all chosen from accredited Living Wage Employers. Making these enquiries certainly opens your eyes to the corporate behaviour of the people we do business with.
Social Value UK
Lauren Bailey, Head of Social Value, Ridge and Partners
We are proud that Ridge has become an organisational member of Social Value UK. We understand the importance of being a responsible business, ensuring that local economies, people, and the environment receive a positive benefit from the delivery of our services. As we look to further unlock social value in our construction projects, we will work with clients and supply chains to deliver added social, economic and environmental value.
By partnering with Social Value UK, we are committing to implementing the eight principles of social value. This will see us improve our social value accounting practices and strengthen the impact we have on our clients, our people, and communities. We will also be implementing new accounting methodology to measure and report on activity in line with BS 8950 – the British Standard for social value.
1% for the Planet
Chris Miller, Co-Founder and Director, skinflint
For skinflint, charitable giving, and sustainability have always been important to our CRS strategy. This commitment was formalised in 2021 when we partnered with 1% For The Planet. Meaning, each year, 1% of skinflint’s gross sales are donated to a range of approved environmental partners. Employees voted on a range of NGOs that are mission aligned; that have the same goals and purposes as the brand, but that also mean a lot to them personally. Supporting our local community as well as thinking nationally and globally, we eventually settled on Cool Earth, The River’s Trust and Surfers Against Sewage. As champions of the circular economy, elsewhere skinflint chose to eschew Black Friday by instead matching sales over a five-day period and donating the same amount to these charities. The hope is to inspire other businesses and individuals to do the same.
www.onepercentfortheplanet.org
B Corp
Dave Hollingsbee, Managing Director, Stoane Lighting
Looking back, B Corp certification was as important a milestone in the company’s journey to becoming employee owned. Only a little while after certifying did we realise that we had gone a long way to satisfying a niggling existential question of what it’s all about. Formally altering our articles of association to give stakeholders primacy over shareholders, as we became a benefit corporation, seemed logical and felt good.
Whether the “B” appealed to clients or recruits was not the main point, though anecdotally it seems to be increasingly positively recognised. The holistic validation across five pillars: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers, was rigorous and extensive. The team wear the B proudly. It’s becoming a regular touchstone against which decisions are gauged. It drives better internal practices and forces a cruel level of transparency. We are hungry to build on our score during our three-year recertification later this year.
Cradle to Cradle
Tim Bowes, Head of Lighting Application, Whitecroft
With the development of circular lighting solutions, we were keen look for third party verification to support our actions. The reason for this was twofold. Firstly, it was to provide transparency of our design choices to support our customers in making circular and sustainable product choices. Secondly, and as importantly, it was to provide a roadmap to help our business make the right choices and support future business model innovation.
The implementation of the Cradle to Cradle Product standard into our ‘Whitecroft Vitality’ range of products, means an alignment with “the global standard for materials, products and systems that positively impact people and planet.” The standard looks at five key areas of design and business actions: Material Health, Product Circularity, Water and Soil Stewardship, Clean Air & Climate Protection and Social Fairness. To date we have eight product families as part of ‘Whitecroft Vitality’ certified to bronze level.
EcoVadis
Sebastian Gann, Sustainability Director, Zumtobel Group
The Zumtobel Group has a long history of working towards a sustainable future – from developing the first Environmental Product Declaration in 2011 to its technology brand Tridonic being one of the first manufacturers of electronic lighting components to receive a Cradle to Cradle certification for some of their LED modules. By following 12 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, along with ensuring that all our European production sites are ISO 14001 certified, the Zumtobel Group were honoured to achieve the EcoVadis Gold medal in 2021, with Tridonic separately achieving Silver this year. EcoVadis is a sustainability rating platform that looks at a company’s performance in four key categories: environmental responsibility; labour and human rights policy; sustainable procurement; and ethical business practices. In this way EcoVadis doesn’t just look at how a product is made but what the business that produces it stands for. Given the Zumtobel Group’s continuously evolving sustainability agenda, we of course hope to achieve an improved EcoVadis score when the rankings are next updated.
LEED Certification
Xander Cadisch, Sustainability Director and Senior Project Manager, Phos
For Phos, LEED compliance is a vital part of what we do. Along with our B Corp accreditation, the LEED certification has cemented our commitment to offering efficient and cost-effective lighting solutions. Phos chose LEED accreditation to help reduce the environmental impact of our operations and buildings, and align further with our company’s values and mission. It also helps us appeal to customers, who are becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of the products and services they purchase.
Finally, LEED accreditation can lead to cost savings over time. By implementing sustainable building practices and technologies, we have been able to reduce our energy consumption and lower our operating costs.
Overall, there are many reasons why we chose to pursue LEED accreditation but there really are no downsides.
All of the contributors above would be glad to tell you more if you have questions. Also on the radar and perhaps some topics we will see more of in the near future include:
Social Enterprise UK (www.socialenterprise.org.uk)
Make my money matter(www.makemymoneymatter.co.uk)
Better Business Act (www.betterbusinessact.org)
Architects Declare (www.architectsdeclare.com)
Race to Zero (www.unfccc.int/climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign)
[d]arc thoughts to return at Clerkenwell Design Week
(UK) – During Clerkenwell Design Week, the [d]arc media editorial team will take to the stage to host a series of light-focussed [d]arc thoughts talks and discussions. The talks will take place from 23-25 May at Clerkenwell Design Week’s exhibition, Light.
Held within the subterranean House of Detention, the former Victorian prison will showcase an array of leading international lighting brands and spectacular standalone installations.
Over the course of three days, [d]arc media will host nine talks covering various aspects of the lighting industry, from discussions on wider themes such as sustainable specification, equitable design and residential lighting, to deeper insights into projects such as Harrods, London, Yotel Vega, Glasgow, and arc’s latest cover story, Battesea Power Station.
The full line-up is as follows:
Tuesday 23 May
11:00 | Working with Residential Lighting
Speakers: Marcus Steffen, MSLD; Susie Rumbold, Tessuto Interiors; Lizzie Webster, Fraher and Findley; Raminder Virdi, Lutron
The panel of experts will look at what exceptional lighting looks like within the home; how residential projects differ to working on commercial projects and what designers should be aiming for when it comes to the 'right light' within a residential environment.
13:30 | Quiz Time - Spot the difference: Illuminated thinking or kept in the dark
Speakers: Gary Thornton, Nulty; Inessa Lomas, Arup; James Poore, JPLD; Kael Gillam, Hoare Lea
The educational international platform The Lighting Police invites everyone to participate in an interactive fun session focusing on designed and not designed light, highlighting important elements that we take for granted in our daily life and not noticing how they are affecting our health and wellbeing. The session will be moderated by four members of the advisory board of the project and at the end of the session, we are certain that everyone will leave empowered to start observing more and aiming for better lighting conditions in their lives!
15:00 | Project Focus - Yotel Vega Hotel, Glasgow
Speaker: Luke Artingstall, Artin Light
Lighting designer and founder of Artin Light, Luke Artingstall sits down with [d]arc media to discuss the intricacies of his lighting design for the Yotel Vega Hotel project in Glasgow; from brief, to concept, to challenges and the end result - we uncover it all.
Wednesday 24 May
11:00 | Sustainable Specification - 5 Questions to ask when Specifying
Speakers: Lisa Hinderdael, HagenHinderdael; Mike Cascarino, Michael Grubb Studio; Sophie O’Rourke, AECOM / Green Light Alliance
We are all trying to be “more sustainable” in both our personal lives and in business, but when it comes to commercial projects what does this look like?
Through this session, our experts will leave audiences with key pointers, or ‘questions’ to consider when working on a project for it to be as green as is realistic.
13:00 | Women in Lighting panel - Are public spaces in the UK designed for equity?
Speakers: Kimberly Bartlett, Introba; Alison Gallagher, Arup
As part of [d]arc media’s commitment to supporting the Women in Lighting initiative, we hand the floor over to an expert panel to discuss whether UK cities are truly designed for equity, highlighting good and bad examples of urban planning and lighting.
15:00 | Project Focus – Harrods, London
Speakers: Simon Rawlings, David Collins Studio; Graham Rollins, Lighting Design International
Leading design studios David Collins Studios and Lighting Design International regularly work together on projects. In this Q&A the two designers will discuss their work together on various Harrods projects. We'll get to grips with how the interior design schemes work together with the intricacies and technicalities of the lighting design.
Thursday 25 May
11:00 | Project Focus – Battersea Power Station, London
Speakers: Clementine Fletcher-Smith & Philip Rose, Speirs Major
After opening to great fanfare in late 2022, [d]arc media steps inside the newly renovated Battersea Power Station and speaks to Speirs Major about the landmark’s monumental new lighting design.
13:30 | In Conversation – The Wave Collection
Speaker: Speaker: Esther Patterson, Curiousa Studio
Having been awarded ‘Best Decorative Lighting Product’ at this year’s [d]arc awards for the Wave Collection, [d]arc media sits down with designer and founder Esther Patterson to delve deeper into the collection’s design process, her inspiration, and how an ethical approach to production and manufacturing is key to her ethos.
15:00 | How to be Brilliant from the Institute of Lighting Professionals and BEGA The Animal Kingdom
Speakers: Farhad Rahim and Carolina Florian from Buro Happold
Does it bug you that lighting affects different species in so many conflicting ways? Considering the impact of lighting on animals could drive you batty, but help is at hand. Carolina Florian and Farhad Rahim have squirrelled away many surprising facts and are literally becoming experts in the field. They have guided clients with motivations ranging from genuine ecological care to developers wanting to ‘get through planning’, and now they will share these experiences with you.
The talks are free to attend, visitors just need to register for Clerkenwell Design Week here.
Lighting Industry gears for growth in remanufacturing
(UK) - Experts gathered in London on 27 April to discuss the opportunities and the challenges of remanufacturing lighting equipment.
More and more lighting manufacturers are adding reconditioning to their business model. A new standard is being published, and regulations are likely to change to incentivise remanufacture. Now is the time for all to embrace the drive to truly sustainable lighting.
At the one-day special conference hosted by Recolight, attendees learnt how to sell the concept of reconditioned lights, develop best practice sustainable policies and procedures, comply with the relevant standards, and set up a testing and compliance regime for reused luminaires.
Simon Fisher of F Mark explored the ways we can sell the concept to our clients; Natalia Duffy of Cundall looked at lighting design using reconditioned luminaires; Kevin Stubbs of Llumarlite took visitors through BS8887; Tom Ruddell of Egg Lighting showed what a testing and compliance regime looks like; Francesca Cameron of Recolight offered a first glimpse of Circular Place, a portal to connect organisations that have used or surplus product to organisations that can make use of them. David Clements of Future Design examined how to remanufacture at scale; Andrew Nixon of Gamma Illumination and Darrell West of Eco Fix UK Energy Solutions walked attendees through some successful remanufacturing projects.
A panel discussion with both manufacturers and specifiers looked at the barriers to the adoption of a reuse culture in the lighting sector and discussed ways in which those barriers could be overcome. Panelists included Alison Gallagher of Arup, Tom Ruddell of EGG Lighting, Martin Thompson of Tridonic, Antonina Crino, of Signify, and Howard Lawrence of Commercial Lighting Systems.
Several attendees commented on the event. Martin Thompson, Tridonic, said: “In an ever-confusing overload of environmental and sustainable information, the Recolight events bring clarity to the issues affecting all players in the lighting industry. Importantly, much of the focus comes from those that are already 'doing' so is based on the reality of being able to achieve future goals.”
Simon Fisher, F Mark and founder of the Regen Initiative, added: “Remanufacturing is now a defined and suitable alternative to simply purchasing new products. The appetite and will to engage in remanufactured solutions is evident, and regulations and standards are in the final phase of development to help deliver the confidence and certainty that a remanufactured product is safe, compliant and credible.”
Tom Ruddell, Egg Lighting, said: “The Remanufacturing Lighting Conference was a fantastic event that really underlined the benefits of the approach, with inspirational case studies to evidence the merits and processes in action. Incredible to have such a wealth of expertise and innovative thinking in one room – the event left me with excitement and optimism for our sustainability journey.”
Delegates shared challenges they face with remanufacturing. Getting the message across about remanufacture, that it is not just about retrofit. Associated costs in striving for a net zero business. Acceptance from end users to renew rather than replace lighting.
There were many positives with delegates saying:
- Remanufacture is not just about cheap retrofits but the more important aspect is to stop taking natural resources from the planet and then putting them back into landfill at end of life.
- This is a developing segment and while at source it is about modifying habits for the greater global and environmental good, there are commercial opportunities to be explored. The increase in attendees demonstrates the significance of sustainability in both cases.
- The remanufacturing sector is quickly becoming formal and picking up pace. Leading lighting design professionals are on board with the concepts, message, and key terms.
Summing up the event, Recolight CEO Nigel Harvey said: “It was fantastic to witness more than 70 lighting leaders really engaging on the challenges and opportunities that lighting remanufacture now presents. The room was buzzing with energy. The scene is now set for material growth in this sector, as more manufacturers get involved, and more end users demand reuse as an option.”
Zumtobel continues support for Serpentine Pavilion
(UK) – Zumtobel has announced that it is sponsoring this year’s Serpentine Pavilion – the fourth time that it has done so.
Zumtobel, and its sister brand Thorn, will provide all of the lighting on a complimentary basis, for À table – the 2023 Serpentine Pavilion, designed by architect Lina Ghotmeh.
Inspired by the architect's Mediterranean heritage and fervent discussions around the table over current affairs, politics, personal lives, and dreams, the title À table comes from a French call to sit down together at a table to enter into dialogue and to share a meal. As such, the interior of the Pavilion features a circular table along the perimeter, inviting visitors to convene, sit down, think, share, and celebrate exchanges that enable new relationships to form.
Zumtobel's Supersystem Bollards installed around the exterior, will greet visitors as they approach the Pavilion’s exterior, while 70 Thorn Contrast 3 architectural floodlights will illuminate the grooves of the interior ceiling structure and the area above the bar.
Paul Kilburn, Managing Director UK & Ireland at Zumtobel Group, said: "We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Serpentine Pavilion again this year. Our continued support for this amazing event is a testament to Zumtobel's commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation and sustainable design. We are excited to work with Lina Ghotmeh and the Serpentine team to create an unforgettable experience for visitors."
The Serpentine Pavilion is an annual architectural commission presenting new and innovative designs by international architects. Built predominantly from bio-sourced and low-carbon materials, the Serpentine Pavilion 2023 continues Ghotmeh's focus on sustainability and designing spaces conceived in dialogue with the natural environment surrounding them.
The Serpentine Pavilion 2023 will open in June and be on view through October in Kensington Gardens. Zumtobel is excited to participate in this unique event and looks forward to the opening of the Pavilion.
www.serpentinegalleries.org
www.z.lighting
