DESIGN CONCEPTS IN ARCHITECTURAL OUTDOOR LIGHTING DESIGN Based on Metaphors ...

294 Pages·2017·41.16 MB·English

DESIGN CONCEPTS IN ARCHITECTURAL
OUTDOOR LIGHTING DESIGN
Based on Metaphors as a Heuristic Tool
SHADOW THE IDEAL DIRECTION
OF THE NEW PARADIGM
Lighting and shadow
composition
Perception
“The law of the
psychology
pragmatic truth”
Lighting design
concepts
Lighting research
results
New
metaphors
STATIC CREATIVE
Approaching
in dark
Richard Kelly
Hopkinson’s
ladders
New
Solar paradigm
energy
Technical lighting
research
LIGHT
Julle Oksanen

Design Concepts in Architectural Outdoor Lighting Design
Based on Metaphors as a Heuristic Tool
Aalto University publication series
DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 73/2017
Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Department of Architecture
Aalto ARTS Books, Helsinki, Finland
shop.aalto.fi
© Julle Oksanen
Graphic design:
Cover and starting pages Tytti Halonen,
content Julle Oksanen
Cover photo: The diagram of design elements
and tools in the architectural lighting design field.
The original diagram (page 28) made by Julle Oksanen.
DESIGN CONCEPTS IN ARCHITECTURAL
OUTDOOR LIGHTING DESIGN
Based on Metaphors as a Heuristic Tool
ISBN 978-952-60-7392-7 (printed)
ISBN 978-952-60-7391-0 (pdf)
ISSN-L 1799-4934
ISSN 1799-4934 (printed)
ISSN 1799-4942 (pdf)
Printed by Unigrafia
Helsinki, Finland
2017
Julle Oksanen
DESIGN CONCEPTS IN ARCHITECTURAL
OUTDOOR LIGHTING DESIGN
Based on Metaphors as a Heuristic Tool
Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Department of Architecture
1 INTRODUCTION 8
1.1 Dissertation content 8
1.1.1 The status quo in architectural lighting 8
1.1.2 The status quo in technical lighting 8
1.1.3 Time as a guiding factor 9
1.1.4 The architectural lighting design context 9
1.2 Main sources of information 9
1.2.1 Research methodology and methods used 10
1.2.2 Structure of the dissertation 10
1.3 Research questions 11
2 ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING HISTORY 13
2.1 General 13
2.2 Light before electricity 13
2.3 Electric light (1810) 13
2.4 Quantitative lighting design (1885) 14
2.5 Experimental era (1900–1913) 15
2.6 The early days of lighting design (1913–1930) 15
2.7 The era of lost shadows (1931–1940) 16
2.8 A “One man show” (1940–1969) 17
2.9 The era of architectural reawakening and LED technology (1969–2014) 18
2.10 Masters of architectural lighting 20
2.10.1 Howard Brandston (Modified from http://concerninglight.com/projects) 20
and personal discussion at his home in Troy, New York
2.10.2 Le Corbusier (Modified from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier) 21
2.10.3 Frank Lloyd Wright 22
2.10.4 Louis Kahn 23
3 MODERN ARCHITECTURAL OUTDOOR LIGHTING 24
DESIGN ELEMENTS AND TOOLS
3.1 The heuristic approach 24
3.1.1 Strict methodical professionalism in the fields of lighting research and design 24
3.1.2 Heuristic approach 25
3.1.3 Heuristics in the architectural lighting design process 27
3.2 Metaphor, creativity and architectural lighting identity 29
3.2.1 Baseline 29
3.2.2 Metaphor in architecture 30
3.2.3 Heuristic metaphor in architectural lighting design 35
3.3 Energy and architectural outdoor lighting 45
3.3.1 Energy strategies from the perspective of lighting design 46
3.3.2 Paris lighting strategy (City lights off) 47
3.4 “Solar energy & LED & dimming” methods in outdoor lighting design 48
3.4.1 Solar energy by unit-bases 48
3.4.2 Solar energy on a project-basis 67
3.5 Richard Kelly’s design process 71
3.5.1 Perception psychology 71
3.5.2 Ambient Luminescence 72
3.5.3 Focal Glow 73
3.5.4 Play of Brilliants 74
3.5.5 A real life example 74
3.6 Shadow and darkness design 76
3.6.1 General 76
3.6.2 Human beings and darkness 78
3.6.3 Japanese shadow design 89
3.6.4 Poetic light & shadow in Western culture 93
3.6.5 Modified use of “Contrast Ladders” 103
3.6.6 Darkness in New York City 119
3.6.7 Darkness in Fiskars Village area 121
3.6.8 Lighting composition 128
3.6.9 Meeting in the dark / recognition distance and light / 137
Minimum darkness in outdoor lighting composition / contrast
3.6.10 The similarity between music and light 147
3.6.11 Architectural lighting calculations / The Lumen Method 150
3.7 City lighting master plan strategies 165
3.7.1 General 165
3.7.2 Lighting Master Strategy for City of North Vancouver 165
3.7.3 Development in the automotive lighting sector in 2000–2015 175
3.7.4 Lighting Master Strategy for a hypothetical future dream 182
Large Surface Lighting City called “City 2030"
3.7.5 Futuristic “City 2030” 182
3.7.6 Structure of “City 2030” 183
3.7.7 Lighting calculations 184
4 ARCHITECTURAL OUTDOOR LIGHTING DESIGN CONCEPTS 198
4.1 General 198
4.2 Different conceptual design approaches: Five levels of comprehensiveness 198
4.2.1 Level 1: Thought free 198
4.2.2 Level 2: Ideas from past 199
4.2.3 Level 3: Analytic approach 200
4.2.4 Level 4: The Gestalt approach 200
4.2.5 Level 5: The intuitive unconscious / super-conscious approach 201
4.3 Introduction of different conceptual examples 202
4.3.1 Mariehamn West Harbor, Mariehamn, (“Lighting composition concept”) 204
4.3.2 Statue of Liberty, New York, (“Intuitive-unconscious concept”) 207
4.3.3 The Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, (“Color concept”) 209
4.3.4 Amphitheatre, Ankara, (“Concept of shadow & light”) 213
4.3.5 Pedestrian Bridge, Knoxville, (“Sustainable concept”) 215
5 ARCHITECTURAL OUTDOOR LIGHTING DESIGN METHODS 219
5.1 General 219
5.2 Pragmatic lighting design method example: Telenor 219
5.2.1 The lighting design concept 221
5.2.2 Lighting design master plan 224
5.2.3 Lighting design details 235
5.2.4 Demonstrations and implementation 236
5.3 Pragmatic lighting design method example: Mariehamn West harbour 237
5.3.1 Site analysis 238
5.3.2 Sketching 238
5.3.3 The lighting design concept 239
5.3.4 Physiology, Function and Luminaire Selection 241
5.3.5 Lighting composition 242
5.3.6 Maintaining the right technical tools 243
5.3.7 The right kind of collaboration 243
6 CONCLUSIONS 245
7 BIBLIOGRAPHY 250
8 APPENDIXES 253
To Philip Gabriel
The late architect and lighting designer Philip Gabriel was my lifelong lighting design men-
tor and soulmate. It was my frequent privilege to visit him in Ottawa, spending unforgetta-
ble moments at his home and office. Phil also visited Finland many times. After a decade of
mentoring we also started to give lectures together at universities and light fairs in Helsinki,
Paris, New York, Las Vegas and Tennessee, to mention just a few. We continuously creat-
ed architectural lighting design philosophies and concepts. We were 10- year members of
CIE, Div. 3, TC 3.22 doing research on “Museum Lighting and Protection against Radiation
Damage” in early 2000. We sometimes were like little boys while studying light. Once we
drove overnight in Finland and measured moon luminance values with a luminance meter
in order to study darkness. I drove the car and Phil measured from an open window and
shouted the results to me. Phil’s great philosophical and professional contribution and
impact can be seen throughout this dissertation.
I miss him
To Hannu Tikka
Professor and Architect Hannu Tikka is more than just a good friend to me. He is my heart-
felt soulmate, friend, and professional partner. It has been my privilege to know and work
with him for many decades. In 2003 we founded our common “Light & Space Academy,
The Finnish Mobile University” in New York. Since then we have traveled in all over the
world together giving pro bono lectures and workshops in over 20 universities. As an out-
come of that we also have common professorships in the USA and our “Mobile University”
has been associated with Aalto University Architect Department Group-X. Hannu guided
and introduced me to the University world. Without him my master’s degree in landscape
architecture and this doctoral dissertation would have been mere dreams.
I love him
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervising Professors, Vice
President and Prof. Antti Ahlava and Docent and Prof. Anssi Joutsiniemi for their continu-
ous support for my D.Sc.(Arch.) study and related research, for their patience, motivation,
and immense knowledge. Their guidance helped me throughout the research and writing
of this thesis. I could not have imagined having better advisors and mentors for my D.Sc.
(Arch.) study.

Besides my advisors, I would like to thank my Thesis Instructors Prof. Antti Ahlava and
Prof. Virginia Cartwright for their insightful comments and encouragement, but also for their
tough requirements which incentivized me to widen my research from various perspectives.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my family: my mother Linda, my wife Leila, my chil-
dren Olli Pekka, Pauliina Päivikki, Karoliina Kaunokki and Petteri Johannes, my brothers
and Leila’s sisters for supporting me spiritually throughout the writing of this thesis and my
life in general.
Author
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Dissertation content
Architectural outdoor lighting design is currently based on strictly rule and system oriented
technical lighting design. This method is totally impervious to external feedback and creative
aesthetic development. The focus of my dissertation is on achieving change in the existing
architectural outdoor lighting design paradigm by introducing the use of heuristic metaphors,
modern- and also forgotten lighting design tools in practical architectural lighting design projects.
These new elements are exemplified in the image on the front cover of the dissertation. Most of the
concepts chosen are unknown among architects and other designers, who think, want, claim,
imagine, wish or assume that light is part of their profession. The development of these concepts is
presented in the following chapters.
Basic, but at the same time also partly unknown practical architectural lighting design tools are
introduced in my Master’s Thesis “Lost Shadows”. (Oksanen 2012). This dissertation delves
deeper into the principle structures of the design core and its elements. It opens the doors for
creative aesthetic architectural outdoor lighting design world and can change its paradigm.
1.1.1. The status quo in architectural lighting
The status quo in architectural lighting design is distracting. In my own professional estimation,
more than 95% of those designing lighting projects are self-taught lighting design individuals. Most
universities throughout the world offer only a 2-hour course not even within the framework of any
design, but rather of “building systems”. (Giladi 1987). According to my subjective knowledge and
over 30 years of continual international activities in the field of lighting education and design, the
global situation is still the same as it was in 1987, with some decidedly rare exceptions. For years
the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) has worked hard with universities to
make lighting design a notable and integral part of their degree programs in architecture. (http://
www.iald.org/trust/OutreachtoStudentsofArchitecture.asp). Unfortunately in the USA, for example
lighting design is still integrated into the courses on environment Control Systems (ECS I + II) in
the schools of architecture. Such ECS courses also include electricity and acoustics.
1.1.2. The status quo in technical lighting
Thousands of pages have been written. Much ink has been expended on technical argumentation
on lighting. We could say that there is already a legacy of technical lighting and this is an outcome
of hard efforts of technically oriented people. In 1900, the Commission Internationale de
L’eclairage (CIE, i.e. International Commission on Illumination) was founded to research oil socks
and their properties. Standardization took a major step forward in 1931 when the CIE introduced
an international trichromatic colorimetry system known as the “CIE System”. Engineers became
active in illumination engineering societies. Sadly, the more visual skills of the lighting designer
declined. The lighting design work shifted from the hands of visually oriented people to the hands
of technically oriented people. Engineers have accomplished much as far as the quantity and
distribution of light are concerned, but lighting design is at the same time unbalanced and skewed.
Because of this, projects also look technical and often suffer from a lack of aesthetic merit. It is
useful to look at and study lighting with open eyes, and to not judge earlier activities, solutions,
norms or recommendations. The study of lighting requires an open mind unfettered by the
judgments of earlier actions, solutions or recommendations.
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