What moved you to go into lighting design
JONATHAN ASHMORE
I have an architectural background. At the
beginning of my architectural career I got
the assignment to do the site supervision
of a prestigious, large renovation project.
Everything in the project had been taken
care up to the smallest details. The historical
building had been renovated with a lot of
attention, all the frescos and the statues had
been redone by professional conservators
using the original stones. To my greatest
surprise no lighting designer was involved
in the project. The more I insisted on the
need of hiring one, the more friction and
incomprehension raised with the clients. I
ended up hiring a lighting designer myself,
but not being able to bring the designer to
the site I ended up studying and learning
so much in those years. When the projected
ended I sort of got “enlightened”. I left the
architectural practice and concentrated on
architectural lighting design. I actually went
to work for that lighting designer - at that
time studying lighting design was almost
impossible - and so this is how it all started.
Do you have a design or a lighting philosophy?
Our practice believes that the less the users
of the architecture notice the
function of the light, while enjoying it in full,
the better the design.
The designed light in architecture is
supposed to induce a mood adapted to
the space’s function, allow the qualified
perception of space and special
architectural features, give the viewers and
users a sense of safety and security while
facilitating their orientation and facilitate the
adequate visual tasks required in that space.
And all of this while being sustainable. So,
the philosophy is that the lighting intervention
should be perceived and not seen.
Is all architecture as important at night as it is
during the day?
Yes and no: If the architecture retains its
functions around the clock, then there is
no doubt that its nocturnal importance
doesn’t change and sometimes actually
may increase. Many times, architecture that
doesn’t retain its daytime functions after
dark, but might become an important part in
the nocturnal definition of the public space,
so the “importance” changes but it is still
there. In very few cases, some architectural
items, usually badly designed, lose all
importance at night and regain it during the
day.
How do you view the relationship between
architecture, lighting and landscape?
As previously mentioned, lighting is an
essential building block in architecture
and landscape is an inherent part of
architecture. The relationship is symbiotic:
the architecture allows the integration of
the lighting in such a way that the lighting
allows the architecture to impact its users
in the way intended by the architects (and
the clients).
What elements are essential to come up with a good
exterior lighting plan? Which parameters are taken
into account to select the right light effects?
Practically every project is unique in its
elements and that is true for interior projects
as much as for exterior ones. Because of our
approach to lighting, the permanent and/
or temporary functions of the illuminated
space; the permanent or seasonal climatic
conditions in the space’s area; the geometry
of the space; the vertical surfaces defining
the perimeter of the space; the salient
objects in the space and their purpose; the
materials of the space; its defining perimeter
items, and its salient objects, their texture
and colours; the definition of the space’s
expected permanent or temporary users and
finally the laws, regulations, standards and
norms that can impact lighting choices, are
all essential for the success of the design of
the lighting and will all impact the choices
of intensities, distribution, correlated colour,
colour rendering, lighting direction, location
and type of mounting and the equipment
needed to deliver all above.
The specificities of the project will determine
an importance-hierarchy between all these
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