STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC REALM LIGHTING

What qualities differentiate a strategic proposal from a standard design and can users really tell the

difference? Strategic design is a central tenet to Light Bureau’s work. Whether exterior, interior,

private or public, we regard a lighting strategy as our starting point and work from there.

A strategy is closely aligned with a Master-plan. Both terms imply that objectives & expectations

have been set, even if not explicitly stated. Specific outcomes are therefore envisioned meaning that

a number of important factors have been considered, including a user’s needs. The focus is long-

term; the design is not a single activity but a succession of decisions needed to achieve the overall

goals.

What a strategy is not, in the sense of lighting design and the built environment, is a set of standard

solutions. We all understand basic principles like area lighting and how to achieve this, but this is

just a technique and not a solution. Strategy is not a collection of applications, nor product types

and it definitely isn’t a calculation exercise. A strategy is also not a concept. Before we sit down to

consider a new project, our designers first try to clear their minds of pre-conceptions and ideas. One

of the reasons for engaging junior designers to work alongside experienced designers at the outset is

that they are more open-minded and often identify the main principle before the senior designer.

Do we really need a strategy for everything or are we over-intellectualising the process? A favourite

quote of mine from L.J. Peter is “If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up

somewhere else”. In our experience, it might be a difference of investing another 10% in the

planning, but this difference could be what is needed to elevate something from the ordinary to the

exceptional.

Strategies are common in all aspects of life. Maybe it’s an individual’s decision that they want to

become a vegetarian, or a major corporation determining what it’s customer’s experience should be

with regard to its offering. The opposing strategies of Apple & Microsoft are well documented. In

the early days, when the race was on to create an operating system, Bill Gates came up with

MS/DOS which became the standard OS for IBM and then an infinite number of clones. Microsoft

made the strategic decision to offer an “open” system. They have stuck to this strategy and it has

served them well. In direct contrast, Apple’s first OS ‘System’ was graphical and designed to run

only on a Macintosh. I.E. the strategy was to offer only “closed” systems in order to control every

aspect of the user experience. When Apple deviated from that strategy in the nineties, licencing

their system to other hardware manufacturers, they immediately lost the central component of their

brand and, by many accounts, flirted with extinction. A key component of their unprecedented

success over the last 15 years or so, has been their decision to switch the strategy back, starting with

their comeback product, the iMac. Their philosophy remains one of seeking to control every aspect

of the user experience. Returning to the first individual, becoming a vegetarian involves a decision,

but then there are more: where to shop; where to eat-out; whether fish really counts. The stream of

decisions makes a life-style choice into a long-term strategy.

If we regard strategy as important in the smallest of projects (and we do), then it must follow that a

significant project, such as a public space is particularly important. Key factors we consider include

where the project is located; standard aspects would be whether the project is city-centre or rural,

but more than this, cultural differences inform our decisions, such as historical context and civic

identity. There may be a hierarchical imperative, something central to a project that affects all other

aspects. Obvious issues include climatic & thermal differences (extreme cold will affect fluorescent

sources; extreme heat will limit life of solid state sources) and demographics (will the installation

most likely be valued or vandalised)? These aspects, and more, concern users but their needs must

be balanced with other stakeholders, in particular the investor (how much to buy it?) and the

operator (how much to service it?). Only when all factors are weighed can we start a valid strategy.

The paper will discuss all of these issues and will expand on Light Bureau’s approach by presenting

case-studies. These examples will show how we build a strategy from scratch and develop our

proposals to a cohesive end. Projects discussed include the Aldgate Public Realm scheme currently

in progress, the Royal Academy Façade and South Yard and a substantial Masterplan for an ongoing

project in the Balkans – Porto Montenegro. By example, at the end of the presentation, it’s hoped

that the delegate will have a good understanding of the importance of a strategic approach to

lighting design.