For: Insite Magazine – Issued by the IIID (Indian Institute of Interior Designers)

VALUE CREATION THROUGH LIGHTING DESIGN

- the challenge of today’s lighting designers –

Prepared by Martin Klaasen,

Founder and Principal of Klaasen Lighting Design
www.kldesign.co

Lighting design is a very valuable discipline for any project. It allows to create that
added value, that magical wow by very simple means. Lighting is vey visual and
therefore demands highly experienced designers to maximise the benefits of good
lighting design.
Illustrated with some of my latest projects I would like to share some of the typical
lighting design challenges we have, set against the background of the fast developing
and evolving LED technologies. Today’s LED lighting systems are smart and intelligent,
adding an extra dimension to lighting design. Let’s have a look at some key principles
that impacts on any lighting design approach:
Lighting design is for people: Regardless of the type of project, the focus is always on
people. We design for people not for lux meters. This means that aspects such as
visual comfort, validation of the space, cultural background, the ease of way finding
and other human design factors are our number one priority in lighting design. The
design approach considers both the end user’s as well as the owner’s or operators
perspective.
Validate the architecture and heritage; Key to new, renovation and heritage projects is
to validate the character of the building, finding the architectural features that defines
the building or space and bring them out with the lighting. This means however that the
focus is always on the architectural space and the appreciation of its features.
Therefore the actual lighting should be as invisible as possible allowing the lighting
effects to speak and reinforce the architectural story and features. It is not about the
lighting itself, it is about what the lighting lights up for us, the visual effects, the mood
and ambiance it creates.
Value creation: This brings us to value creation, as well-designed lighting creates a
brand identity, a corporate image that identifies the property to the general public and
represents the owner’s identity strategy. As lighting designers, we look for the “money
shot”, views of the property that will later instantly be linked and recognised as “the
property”. There are always special views, certain features, magical spaces that have
that wow factor. Bringing them out with the lighting is part of the value creation
process. Value creation also includes the “invisible” aspects of lighting design such as
energy saving, ease of maintenance and the lowest possible cost of operation.
Sustainability; Energy saving is an inherent part of lighting design, but what not many
people realise is that the biggest energy saving is not achieved by point for point
energy saving, but through zoning and programmed lighting controls. This allows to
switch of lights that are not needed and adapt to day light situation and artificial lighting
needs over time. Today’s availability of smart and intelligent lighting systems will sense
the presence of people in a space and control the lighting accordingly adding another
layer of valuable savings to the bottom line.
Lighting as a host for Big Data infra-structure; there is no doubt that today the new
digital LED technology opens up a whole new world for lighting designers. The
digitalisation of lighting now offers wireless Bluetooth control and communication
between lights, connecting every lighting point to other “things” via the “cloud” allowing
lighting points to become the host point for space management and data analytics.
The world of IoT means that the lighting designer of today gradually becomes a LDoT
(Lighting Design of Things). KLD is one of the very first to take the lead by integrating
LDoT in our services and in our conceptual approach of lighting in spaces…clients
interested in creating a Big Data infra-structure using light as a host can now talk to
lighting designers.

Money shot pictures:

Please select from below and indicate the number for the High Definition pics

2
Alila Meziwan, Anji – China
Alila Yangshuo – China (Clockwise from top left 3,4,5,6)

7 -Grand Hyatt – Goa, India

Cape Welligama Resort – Sri Lanka (8 & 9)

Atlas Bar, Parkview Square – Singapore (10 & 11)

Raffles Hotel – Jakarta (12,13 & 14)

His Majesty’s Theatre – Perth, Australia (15,16)

Sheraton XiXi Wetland Park, Hangzhou – China (17,18)

Alila Perfume Bay – Hainan, China (19)

20 Alila Yangshuo – ceiling shot