Light for Cities: Lighting Design for Urban Spaces. A Handbook PDF
Preview Light for Cities: Lighting Design for Urban Spaces. A Handbook
Light for Cities Ulrike Brandi, Christoph Geissmar-Brandi Lighting Design for Urban Spaces. A Handbook Birkhauser - Publishers for Architecture Basel· Boston· Berlin Contents Foreword New light for urban spaces? 6 Introduction Trip to the city 8 Process Concept Development Players and objectives 25 Survey, analysis and concept 26 Feasibility study and financing 27 Committees and public relations 28 Lighting tests 29 Concept implementation in stages 30 Lighting and design guide 30 Efficiency and Performance Profiles Efficiency of new lighting systems: Prerequisites 32 "Lighting rnasterplan": Performance profile of a lighting designer 35 Implementation From concept to design 38 Production information 38 Standard award of contract: Specification and invitation to tender 40 Alternatives to standard award of contract: Staggered contracts 41 Post installation: Alignment of luminaires and control 43 Standards and recommendations: Possibilities and limitations 45 "Light pollution": Avoidance strategies 46 Lamps and Luminaires The right lamps for exterior lighting: Selection criteria 48 Luminaires, poles and attachment points: Requirements 50 Family of luminaires: Advantages 50 Luminaires as design elements: Prospects and potentials 52 Controlling urban light: Future prospects 53 2 Typology Travelling byCar Main roads and side streets 56 Bridges 59 Roundabouts 60 Traffic signs 63 Multi-storey car parks 64 Car parks 67 Petrol stations 68 Stop and go 71 On Foot Squares 72 Footpaths and sidewalks 75 Trees 76 Facades and illuminated advertising 79 Shop windows 80 Underground stations 83 Boulevards 84 Design Principles and Techniques 86 Lighting paths and facades: Design techniques 90 3 Completed Schemes Boulevard: "BUrger" Bremerhaven 94 Historical Facade: Hamburg Town Hall 98 Shopping Centre: London - White City 102 Airport: Terminal II, Munich 106 Historical Town: Einbeck 110 Riverside Walk: Jungfernstieg, Hamburg 112 Fountains and Monuments: Schonbrunn, Vienna 116 Park: Negara Bank, Kuala Lumpur 118 Square: Thomaskirchhof, Leipzig 120 Temporary Light Installation: Gasometer, Oberhausen 122 Urban District: Zurich Affoltern 124 Small Town: Lemgo 128 Large City: Bremen 132 Large City: Luxembourg 138 New District: HafenCity Hamburg 142 4 Developments Light and Shadowin the Public Realm: Past and Present 150 Appendix Selective Bibliography 158 Imprint 168 New light for urban spaces? Electric light has, since the beginning ofthe 20th century (in London around 1880) driven back the dark, and considerably changed the meaning ofthe night in our cities. The daytime world was extended into an emerging nightlife that held an inner attraction while being alluringly "dangerous". The illuminated night breathed a new beauty into the cities with a special aura. Now, at the beginning ofthe 21st century, we wonder about the character offuture public light. We need to analyse the existing light at the end ofthe 20th century as part of the process ofdeveloping an appropriate concept. This essentially comprises functional lighting and effect lighting - just as at the beginning of the century. Street lighting and pedestrian lighting are mainly functional in design and pro- duce most public light. For a long time, outdoor lighting systems were designed by continually adding to the existing; new streets and buildings were con- structed with more light. Technological progress ofthe networks, as well as luminaires and lamps, has been going on for decades. More or less tightly knit networks of"street lights" have developed over many years, their light now vis- ible from space satellites. And conversely, "light pollution" prevents us from seeing a truly dark sky in many places. Effect lighting and event lighting is generally short-lived. It is most typically found on lit facades, monuments or other "stages" that obviously could, and still can, attract a lot ofpopular attention. The modern term for this type of lighting is light installation, unintentionally describing the temporary and the- atrical nature oflight. It is closely related to the illuminated advertising boards that are an integral part ofall large cities. Because we take street lighting at night for granted we tend to forget the extent of the development with light that has taken place in the past 150 years. The function ofinner cities on the one hand, and the sprawl ofcities into the periphery or their conglomeration into regions, on the other hand, has been controversially discussed in recent years - and continues to be a topic ofdiscus- sion. In Europe, city dwellers are putting a lot ofeffort into the restoration of their once very attractive centres. The refurbishment oflighting systems and the design ofnew light, mostly taking place in central urban areas, will always play an important part. The various reasons for this will be discussed. There are many prime examples, and a proportionately large number ofattempts to emu- late these. An even larger number ofproposals are in the minds ofresponsible investors, marketing people, advertising groups, public authorities, power sup- pliers, supply industries and designers, residents and customers in the city. All this can culminate in masterplans for public lighting which, apart from defining general concepts, often put forward designs for specific urban districts. Alterna- tively, a number ofseparate initiatives for good lighting are formed. 6 In the above context, this book serves as an actual guideline for better lighting in urban streets, gardens, squares and buildings. Firstly, the design process lead- ing to new lighting must be discussed. Technical knowledge about lighting sys- tems for external areas and their control is the second aspect. Good solutions for urban lighting require a creative imagination in order to rethink the medio- cre and commonplace look oflight in the daytime and at night. At first it seems banal. But it is precisely the everyday occurrence ofartificial light that requires a small phenomenology with practical examples, and so the third field. Our fourth approach attempts to enhance further the wealth ofideas. How to set out on a new lighting design task is described as a narrative; our progress into the city entering an every-increasing density. The bird's eye view from the plane interchanges with the perspective of the pedestrian. A good design is not possi- ble without looking in particular at the historical perspectives ofurban lighting, and at artificial light in a cultural context; we briefly touch on this subject. The appendix will entice the reader to delve deeper into the subject matter. Ulrike Brandi Christoph Geissmar-Brandi September 2006 Introduction: Tr ip to the city 8 It is only with the benefit of light, after all, that urban spaces become accessible at night. The symbiosis of light and its surroundings plays an essential role in architecture, as well as in landscape design and urban planning. In order to accurately connect different light situations with where they occur in urban spaces, we will follow a fictional lighting designer who, after having arrived on an airplane in the evening, drives into a city centre in the dark. This thought model or design scenario is not related to any specific European city, but is broadly transferable - in search of local equivalents. 9 lntrcd uction: Trip to the City From the plane the passenger observes the city's sea oflights. He catches a glimpse ofthe structure of the city passing from a bird's eye perspective: a river around which the dense centre huddles, the transversals, sports fields and petrol stations bright as daylight, dark parks and industrial areas. The trav- eller sees the existing lights in the city laid out beneath him, in the configura- tion ofa lighting masterplan. He recognises the light gradations and local light hierarchies ofthe city he is now approaching. 10
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