Lighting in Design Q2 2018

them. Fortune favours the bold, but people are so uncertain of doing something and being criticised that they stay subtle. So subtle, ultimately, that it makes no difference – and they might as well not have done it. That’s the balancing act as well – to do it in such a way that it is tasteful. Our architects are brilliant, but in terms of light- ing, we do things tastefully and not quite bold enough. Even though it is possible to be bold and tasteful at the same time. OH: We lit up the Sultan of Oman’s palace with 500 in-ground LED lights. This was when LEDs were about to take off and people were suspicious about whether they were reliable. I convinced my client that they were, on one proviso – they must never operate during the day because in Oman it gets to 46° C in the shade. After aweek or twowewere sent photographs showing that the lenseswe placed over the LEDs hadmelted. My immediate response was, “Whywere they on during the day?”My instructions did not reach the guy doing the maintenance. He obviously didn’t work at night, so he switched the lights on during the day for maintenance and the fittings cooked. I had to replace 500 innards ... but in doing so, I added a thermal trip switcher. When it reaches 60° C, the copper coil becomes hot and expands, opening up and breaking the connection. It was an expensive lesson. LiD: Can you tell us about a project where you overcame some interesting challenges? LiD: Have you used that technology in other products? OH: I don’t supply an external product without a thermal trip switch anymore. It’s a R20 device that can save a R5 000 light fitting. It goes into every external product we make. For centuries, humble façades have stood proud in the overall aesthetic as well as the technical perfor- mance of a building.While façade engineering has evolved, placing an impetus on solving aesthetic, environmental and structural issues of construction, the industry is exploring new directions in terms of lighting up these spaces as well. From the humble incandescent lamp to state-of- the-art LED lighting, to laser lighting, the evolution of the light sources themselves is fascinating.With rapid urbanisation and spaces getting denser, fa- çade lighting has received a much needed face-lift, and with continuing innovations and experimenta- tion, this area of the industry is one worth keeping a close eye on.

LiD: What new innovations have you come across in recent years? OH: Animation and control.The ability to put colour, and not just white light, onto a building. White light is often not differentiated; drive past a big carpark and you can see all the fuorescent tubes or LED tubes inside or you look at the façade of the build- ing and they’ve delineated the top, but in white.You don’t automatically see it as something different. The Leonardo project we are currently working on is going to employ colour changing lights. This can be viewed as kitsch, so you have to be very careful – it should not change every few seconds, and you have to be selective of your colours. Choose taste- ful colours with a slow morphing period from one colour to the next so the installation does not look like a traffic light.The colours should bleed into each other, so set a fade-up time and a fade-down time and ensure the two morph into each other slowly. Depending on how the electronics and controls are digitised, you can mix colours that are not primary. Primary red and primary blue and green are very harsh – they are monochromatic and look artificial. The trick is to try for pastel colours. LED has effectively made other light sources extinct. They are tiny. In the past fittings were bulky, so there is greater control these days. A light fitting the size of a thumb placed on the side of a building will shoot a pencil beam of light. But, this means someone has to get in a gondola and go down the side of the building, with all the safety issues involved. We try and stay away from ‘on façade’ lighting. It is better, it is more effective, but it never gets maintained. When light fittings fail, they tend not to get repaired until half the façade is not working – this makes the façade unsightly. If the installation is on the ground, someone can use a ladder for maintenance and there is no need for the services of someone with Level 1 mountain rigger certification from the Department of Labour who charges R4500 per day for his time. LiD: How does SouthAfrica fare against the rest of the world when it comes to façade lighting? OH: We suffer from an, “I don’t want to stand- out” complex in this country. Clients want to do something brash and loud, but they’re scared of the repercussions or the criticism. I worked in Dubai for two years and there was no limit there. The brasher and louder, the better. I try to ask an architect or a property developer, “What do you think was said about the Eiffel Tower when they put that up? Or the Sydney Opera House?" They were originally slated but now people fock to

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LiD Q2 - 2018