dbell

KL Sports City Phase 1, Malaysia

The existing Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex, used for the 1988 Commonwealth Games, has been transformed into the new Kuala Lumpur Sports City, the largest sports complex in Malaysia. The complex includes high-performance sports training facilities, a sports rehabilitation science centre, a youth park, a public sports facilities, a sports museum, a youth hostel, a convention centre and a sports-focused retail mall.

Designed by Populous and developed by the Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), Limelight atelier from Singapore was appointed for the lighting design of the façades of the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Axiata Arena, National Aquatic Centre and the new covered link way.

Phase one of the monumental transformation of KL Sports City was completed from design phase in just eighteen months in order to host the 2017 South East Asia (SEA) Games.

At the heart of rejuvenated KL Sports City, is the 87,000-seater Bukit Jalil National Stadium. Its new striking façade is focused on creating a close relationship with the locals and is reminiscent of the stripes of the Malayan tiger. It allows for sun shading, natural ventilation and transparency to the existing iconic structures.

The lighting scheme consists of concealed lines of lights, which are carefully integrated within the 678 parametric twisting blades; using Acclaim

lighting’s LED Flex tape RGBW, with 8-pixel control of the LED nodes at every metre that allows for close and far away visuals of graphical displays and colours. This allow the operators to display a fully bespoke visual for every event.

The second layer of the lighting design was an introduction of a highly ecological intention, by designing and implementing a bespoke six-headed adjustable gimbal luminaire from Acclaim. The solution greatly reduced the amount of light fixtures needed to illuminate multiple aspects of the façade.

Each luminaire is carefully placed in between each blade, blending in as part of the architecture. It allows for the illumination of two blade surfaces, illuminates the roof ring structure and, at the twisting juncture of the blades, reflects some light inwards, adding visual depth to the architecture by paying homage to the existing iconic skeleton structures. This adds not just aesthetics but allows for the reduction of functional lighting to the perimeter of the stadium.

“This is what we termed as functional aesthetics, an important design philosophy of our studio... the objective was to minimise the usage of light fixtures, and to make use of the façade lights, to illuminate multiple elements whilst contributing to the functionality of the perimeter circulation space, greatly minimising energy consumption and cost,” explained Melvyn Law, Director of Limelight atelier.

The building fabric of Axiata Arena, an indoor arena, formerly known as Putra Stadium, was to have illumination radiating through the undulating perforated façade panels, revealing a tremendous visual interest of form, light and colour after dusk. The first challenge was to correctly position the grazing luminaires for an optimised display of the geometry of the façade, especially those at the entrance’s wavy roof. It was resolved with multiple desktop simulations, small scale tests and full size mockups with the support of the contractors and manufacturer. Another challenge faced by Law and his team was to conceal the luminaires and its auxiliaries to minimise electrical and control cables routing disruption to the existing building due to cost and time limitations and site constraints. Working closely with Populous, an architecture tray detail was designed to integrate in to the edifice, concealing fixtures, cables and drivers.

“The visual narrative was elevated with many technical studies and tests, which allows us to not just fulfil, but to amplify the vision of Populous, with the integrated details and techniques,” added Law.

The main entrance to the arena was up-lighted with Meyer Epolux luminaires mounted on columns. Downlighting was designed as a distinct visual marker with a warmer 3000K colour temperature flanked by the cooler colour temperatures of 4000K. The combination of the colour temperature was initially thought to be unusual. However the juxtaposition grows on you and serves its purpose well.

Over at the boulevard, horizontal twisting blade roof elements formed the newly constructed shaded canopies, linking the existing light rail station and various sports venues. Apart from the luminaires that are surface mounted between the horizontal blades for safety and security, colour psychology was introduced in the circulation space. Each structure column is up-lighted in hues of blue by Acclaim’s HP-Midi-RIG thus serving as a guiding light and reflecting the users’ journey that inspires calm and authority, if ever the spectators or visitors are upset with the result of the games.

This leads to the last sporting arena: the National Aquatic Centre with its Olympic standard swimming pool. It was brilliantly illuminated to the imagination of a “glowing lantern from within” expression, with luminaires primarily

from Targetti uniformly uplighting the membrane canopy as well as having suspended pendant lights to serve its functional needs. ELR Vasari 3 recessed narrow beam downlights with selected Rosco colour filters were used to graze the new fritted façade glazing to optimally portray a new colour identity for the international graded swimming arena.

The overall results for phase one has already seen increased usage and social growth to the surrounding precinct. KL Sports City phase one has gathered many accolades internationally and regionally. Besides being a finalist of the World Architecture Festival in 2017, it is also a winner of the exterior lighting category of the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2018 and attained the Singapore Good Design Mark (SG MARK).

www.limelightatelier.com

by dbell

The Paris Mint, France

The Paris Mint, located on the banks of the Seine, is one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in the French capital. Built from 1767 to 1775 and designed by Jacques-Denis Antoine, the Hôtel des Monnaies remains one of the most vivid images of the Parisian landscape.

Dominated by a 117-metre façade, the site comprises of a palace, the 11 Conti museum and boutique exhibition areas, workshop space and a gastronomic restaurant presided over by Michelin-starred chef, Guy Savoy.

Since 1976, the activities of the Mint – the oldest French institution, founded in the ninth century by Charles II – have been split between two locations, the historic Hôtel des Monnaies which produces works of art, medals, decorations and coins made of precious metals, and Pessac in the Gironde, where current Euros are produced at a rate of nine million a day.

In 2009, the Hôtel des Monnaies site underwent a redesign, with architect Philippe Prost winning a competition launched by the Paris Mint to find a project manager. The aim of this project was to remove the Paris Mint from its isolation within the Parisian landscape, and to place it in the constantly moving narrative of the 21st Century. As such, the Mint became a hybrid project, halfway between the renovation of a historic landmark, and the restructuring of a block in a working-class district of Paris.

“This project of restoration and reorganisation poses challenges at multiple levels,” said Prost. “Not just the urban, architectural or landscape level, but also industrial, economic and cultural, and beyond that at a symbolic level.”

Despite the many different aspects of the restoration, it was important for Prost to see the site as a whole, rather than a myriad of parts, and to treat the location, steeped in history, with the respect that it deserved.

“Respect and determination is ultimately how Philippe Prost has envisaged his work here,” said Aurélien Rousseau, President and General Director of the Paris Mint. “Respect for the work of Jaques-Denis Antoine whom, like us, he is keen to rediscover, respect for the industrial processes present on the site, respect for the desire of the site’s owner to open up this unique place without losing its essence. In short, respect for the place’s memories.”

In opening up the Mint to the public, the intention was to make it more of a cultural site, giving visitors the opportunity to rediscover the site of the Mint itself, while lending an additional legitimacy to the trades that have been practised there since its origin some 250 years ago.

The idea of making this historic monument more accessible is related to its remarkable architectural quality, to its history and to its strategic location – 1.2 hectares within the heart of the sixth arrondissement.

For this grand ‘restoration and reorganisation’ project, in particular the development of the 11 Conti museum and exhibition areas, Prost selected Virgine Nicolas and Benoît Deseille of French practice Hi Lighting Design, incorporating their lighting design skills into the design team.

This design team, Deseille explained, was comprised of many different skillsets, from multimedia and exhibition design, to graphic and lighting design. “Led by the architects, the design process and the synergy of the team has been very beneficial to the project,” he said.

In the 11 Conti museum, the brief was to provide a sensory experience to visitors, incorporating an architectural exploration through the heart of the Paris Mint. Moving from exhibition spaces to workshops on a “voyage across centuries and continents”, visitors discover the museum’s collections and treasures, such as the technical know-how contained in the workshops where each day artisans and labourers practise the craft of transforming metal.

This journey is punctuated by a succession of sensory experiences: the sight of minerals glistening in the darkness, the sound of coins being struck, and the physical contact with machinery.

Starting from the Benjamin Franklin Court, the visitors’ experience begins on the ground floor of the foundry, where the glow of molten metals invite them up the stone staircase to the second floor. Deseille and Nicolas installed a long custom-made pendant luminaire from Lenoir Service to express this molten glow, while the walls around were dressed in metal panels of steel, copper and brass.

“The initial idea of the project was to offer a sensory experience to visitors and the way the lighting participates to this ambition varies along the journey and in the different spaces,” Deseille said.

“To ensure the continuity of this experience, the transition spaces like stairs were an opportunity to create immersive moments with light.”

Once at the top of the staircase, visitors are plunged into the darkness of the Materials Room where, as if in the gallery of a mine, all the minerals and materials used in the manufacture of coins and medals – gold, silver, bronze, copper, pewter, platinum, nickel and iron – are exposed.

Moving from darkness into light, the visitors’ next encounter with the various metals is in the white room of the laboratory. A walkway that bridges one façade to the other allows visitors to see the workshops and discover the process of chasing and burnishing, before rejoining the manufactory – the walls of which are shaped like a great ship, intended to be a “Noah’s ark of tools and knowledge”.

Old coin making materials feature throughout the museum, creating a blend of modern and traditional textures and aesthetics. Another staircase in the oval of an old cistern winds around a barrel dressed in embossed and perforated boards while in the Functions and Uses room, two monumental right angled display cases mirror the pattern of the ceiling mouldings.

Deseille believes the attention to detail from the architect serves the combination of historic and modern architecture well.

“Heritage is one of the multiple domains of the architect Philippe Prost, and the philosophy he developed offers a sort of guideline on how the contemporary elements can complete the historical architecture.”

The journey through the museum culminates in a room dedicated to the art of the collection, where medal cabinets, paintings and busts are displayed, all illuminated by three huge cones of burnished steel and brass alongside Concord’s Beacon fittings.

Finally, an open door invites guests into the ‘Strong Room’ – a square-shaped room clad in aluminium, where the finest treasures of the museum are displayed in open chests.

Following on from the museum, the new Boutique of the Paris Mint is composed of a suite of rooms all different from each other, ceilinged or vaulted, vertical or horizontal, lit by natural or artificial light, all designed and decorated as though it were an art gallery for showcasing the productions of the Mint, which marry knowledge, creativity and excellence.

“The transformation of the site at 11 Conti has provided an exceptional space for the new boutique, and given these artistic products the backdrop that they deserve,” said Claude Griffin, Director of Marketing and Development at the Paris Mint.

“The goal was to showcase the creativity of our master engravers and the excellence of their creations by literally shining a light on their products in order to show the finesse of the engraving, the creativity of the design and the refinement of the materials used.”

The boutique takes advantage of the natural light on offer, with the first room featuring a seventeen metre high skylight amplified by four white shutters, which form a hood, bathing the room in a soft light. Elsewhere, the last space is illuminated by natural light from the court de la Méridienne, lighting up the room of jewels and casts.

Opened in September of 2017, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the Hôtel des Monnaies, the new 11 Conti museum and exhibition space pays loving tribute to the history of the Paris Mint.

The lighting design from Deseille and Nicolas complements the building’s beautiful architecture and the intricate artefacts on display without overshadowing either. Instead it adds to the sensory atmosphere that Prost sought to implement, creating a truly memorable experience.

www.hilightingdesign.com

by dbell

Spyscape, USA

The Spyscape museum in New York City, opened in February 2018, is a new global destination for espionage that marries educational programming with state-of-the-art interactive technology, creating a unique experience for every user.

Designed by Adjaye Associates, with lighting design coming from Brooklyn-based Lighting Workshop, Spyscape was developed in collaboration with expert advisors including hackers and former intelligence agency directors. The inspiration for the museum was to create a ‘premiere spy headquarters’ that allows visitors to deeply engage with the practice of espionage.

Spread across three levels, the 60,000sqft museum includes permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, a black glass bar, flexible event spaces and a rare book store.

The design from Adjaye Associates inverts the traditional relationship between building and town, essentially establishing a small town within a building, as David Adjaye explains: “The exhibition design is set up to be a miniature city in abstraction, with a set of conditions that mirrors the urban experience of discovery, of moving from interior to exterior.”

Drawing from the architectural language of the most prestigious spy organisations, the material palette includes dark fibre cement, grey acoustic panelling and black linoleum. “Many of the materials we used are ones that we typically use for façade systems,” Adjaye continued. “It felt like an interesting way to flip the relationship of the building and city, and to create a counter narrative to the existing glass building, which is all about transparency.

“Because this is a museum about spying, I was interested in obscuring that, and using design to create a dynamic interplay between the obscured and the revealed.”

Throughout, smoked glazed doors, varied lighting strategies, transparencies between floors, and screens and perforations establish spaces that continually shift users’ vantage points, while prioritising the experience of encounter and discovery.

On entering the museum, visitors are guided into a 350sqft multimedia briefing elevator – one of the largest elevators in the world – that orients them to the Spyscape experience as it rises through the building, introducing the world of secret intelligence via an immersive film, developed with the studio that created VFX for films such as Avengers, Blade Runner 2049 and Ex Machina. Visitors are also given a unique Identity Band, which uses RFID technology to personalise their experience.

The elevator brings visitors up to the exhibition level, and opens onto a flexible retail and temporary exhibition space that unfolds beneath a dramatic vaulted LED light canopy. The perimeter curtain walls of the museum feature a playful ‘urban camouflage’ graphic dot and pixel vinyl that obscures views to the surrounding city, partially shrouding the museum interior while also functioning as a solar screen.

Exhibitions throughout are housed in a labyrinthian series of stacked box pavilions, each organised around a unique spy-related theme. The spatial arrangement was designed to play with perceptions, with partially concealed interstitial circulation spaces opening up into immersive, fully interactive multimedia environments.

Each pavilion is distinctive, and crafted around its unique content – one of which being a weathered steel drum detailed with offset panelisation that envelops users in 360 degrees of programmable content.

Throughout the contemporary museum, Spyscape explores spy stories and characters, from code-breakers and spy pilots, to the spycatcher who brought down the FBI’s most damaging traitor, and the teenager who hacked the CIA’s website, with artefacts and multimedia storytelling.

The site also offers immersive experiences to visitors through a series of ‘Spy Challenges’, in which they can test their own spy skills. These range from encryption and deception challenges that allow visitors to test their ability to decode messages “from agents behind enemy lines” and learn the art and science of spotting lies, to surveillance challenges and an exciting ‘Special Ops Challenge’, in which visitors have to negotiate a path through a laser corridor – designed by Atlas AV – against the clock.

The experience concludes with a personal debriefing that analyses each visitor’s unique skill set, where they will learn which of the ten archetypal spy roles they are best suited to, including Hacker, Special Ops Officer, Cryptologist, Intelligence Analyst and Spymaster. This profiling system was developed with the former Head of Training at British Intelligence and top industrial psychologists.

The whole museum was brought to life by a diverse team of curators, designers, educators, programmers and storytellers, with a number of experts recruited to add to its authenticity. “The client brought in a group of expert advisors, including former members of renowned hacking collectives, award-winning investigative journalists and former station chiefs and directors of intelligence agencies to ensure that the content captured the essence of spying today,” Adjaye explained.

Adjaye Associates has an extensive portfolio of museum projects, including most recently the stunning Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington D.C. Yet while Spyscape is smaller in terms of its size and grandeur, it allowed Adjaye to explore different technological aspects.

“My firm has always been interested in exploring the evolution of the museum and educational spaces, and in thinking through how our relationships to these types of spaces are shifting in the 21st century,” Adjaye explained.

“The NMAAHC thought through this shift through the lens of narrative experience and identity, but of course technology is now also integral to our approach to these typologies. So, it was exciting to have this project because it allowed us to engage deeply with the interactive technologies, and to think through its relationship to architecture and more traditional modes of exhibition design.”

Lighting designers Lighting Workshop were brought in to work on the project through their connection with construction consultancy Gardiner & Theobald, and Steven Espinoza of Lighting Workshop was very keen to get involved. “We’ve collaborated on quite a few projects with G&T, so when the RFP landed on our desks, my eyes lit up,” he said. “I dove at the opportunity, and we were thankfully awarded the project.”

Adjaye Associates had already been working on their design for a while by the time that Lighting Workshop came on board, but Espinoza was able to find areas in which he could emphasise or amplify the architect’s vision.

But while the opportunity to work on a museum dedicated to the top secret world of espionage might bring to mind the likes of James Bond or Mission: Impossible, Espinoza instead believes that a more serious tone needed to be taken in Spyscape.

“It’s an interesting time that we’re living in,” he said. “The levity that I used to associate with spying during my youth (James Bond, etc) has faded. Spying is a dark topic, and it’s become woven into the 24-hour news cycle. The public are no longer bystanders. Our private lives and data are under constant attack, and Spyscape doesn’t hold any punches when delivering these messages.

“At the same time, David [Adjaye] was able to create moments of intrigue, and has struck a careful balance where, as a visitor you’re never consumed by anxiety, but it’s always present.

“As a lighting designer, my goal is to help support the vision that David created, and I believe we’ve succeeded. Consequently, there are a variety of lighting experiences that range from jaw dropping to inspiring, to covert and confusing. We’re keeping you on your toes, that’s for sure.”

As with any museum, the lighting design had to be flexible throughout, and Espinoza and his team worked to make it so. “Any museum is a living and breathing experience, so we designed the lighting to be incredibly flexible,” he said.

“There are so many rooms and spaces to get lost in, and each has its own personality and therefore, lighting quality. Should an exhibition change or become modified in the future, we want to be able to address that without tearing the whole thing down. It was important to provide a lighting system that is highly flexible in this regard. A highly sophisticated control system was provided to maximise adaptability, and to give us the ability to acutely define how each space feels on a granular level.”

One of the most impressive lighting features is what Espinoza refers to as “the vault”: a series of nearly four thousand suspended tubes created by Arktura, illuminated with Philips Color Kinetics iColor Flex LED nodes and arranged to create a domical vault. “The entire installation is about 100 feet long and 20 feet wide, and each tube is an addressable, colour changing light source,” he explained. “The result is an installation that can become anything between an enormous low-resolution video screen to a uniformly illuminated cloud.”

However, elsewhere in the museum the lighting remains more discreet, instead “dissolving into the architecture”, as Espinoza puts it. “The experience in Spyscape should be about the narrative and the content. In most cases we chose fixtures that would be discreet and well shielded.”

Track lighting throughout the museum was provided by iGuzzini, while Kreon, USAI and Edison Price provided recessed downlighters. Elsewhere, Nanometer’s T24 provided the RGBW cove lighting, while the RGBW recessed floor lighting came from Aldabra’s GX2. Throughout, the lighting complements the architecture, never overshadowing the museum’s design – instead adding to the atmosphere that Adjaye sought to create.

“We looked to support the architecture, and to amplify the multitude of emotions that it evokes,” Espinoza said. “The subject matter here is unsettling, and I believe the architecture and lighting addresses this profoundly.

“The variety of architectural volumes, how they are organised, and how they are illuminated, was carefully planned. Some spaces create intimacy with artefacts, while others can become almost overwhelming in scale. In many instances, technology, including large scale animated lighting gestures, introduces moments of awe that give meaningful waypoints and bring balance to the experience. It’s all very carefully orchestrated. That took a lot of time, patience and coordination.”

Such time, patience and coordination has led to the creation of a truly unique, exciting visitor experience. Where some would associate the world of espionage with the decadent, glamorous life of 007, Spyscape adds a thrilling sense of realism, throwing visitors into the real life world of spying. The design from Adjaye Associates and Lighting Workshop complements this expertly, helping to ensure that Spyscape will no doubt make it onto the already extensive list of ‘to-do’ tourist destinations in New York.

www.ltgworkshop.com
www.adjaye.com

by dbell

Uber ATG Headquarters, USA

Dubbed the ‘City of Steel’, Pittsburgh has become the new home of the research and development hub for the world-dominating taxi service, Uber. Not only has Uber become a common name in our day-to-day vocabulary but is also now at the forefront of technological developments in self-driving vehicles.

The 80,000sqft warehouse space was renovated to match Uber’s design and engineering vision, with the help of Assembly / CannonDesign, an international architectural firm.

Working in collaboration with a creative and inspiring team, Assembly / CannonDesign teamed up with local firm Strada Architecture, Studio i lighting consultants, Continental Office and Maltbie, (an exhibit and experience designer) to bring together the warehouse space.

Unlike other technology office spaces, the Uber ATG area was specifically designed for  builders and engineers as a functioning working environment with a variety of workshop areas and studios. Located amongst the workstations and studios is a fully functional machine shop, where autonomous cars are engineered, built and tested. Liz Guerrero, Principal of Assembly / CannonDesign who led the lighting design, reflected: “At the time of this project, we had completed a handful of projects with Uber, starting with their San Francisco Headquarters in 2014. We worked closely with Travis Kalanick on the design of those projects, so when ATG found the site of their new home, he introduced us to Eric Meyhofer, who leads Uber’s ATG division in Pittsburgh. Our goal was to create a space that focuses on their work first. Uber is building the City of the Future in the City of Steel, which, to us, meant celebrating the past and where Pittsburgh has been, but also celebrating where it’s going. When we design a space for any client, it’s important that every decision ladders up to the big idea – from the initial planning to the materials, furniture, as well as the lighting.”

The project took just over a year from beginning to completion in the former Sam’s Club building, with very little changes in the design concept and the vision remaining consistent throughout. As Guerrero explained: “Budget and design schedule are always constraints and it feels like you could always use more of both, but those constraints are what push you to be better, more creative and more nimble. For us, we never settle, so it’s always about figuring out how to bring the big idea to life within the projects means.”

Functioning as a workshop space as well as an office and showroom, it is important the lighting is tailored accordingly to its prescribed environment. As Guerrero described, there were key areas of lighting and control systems put in place for the individual needs: “In the studio spaces or open office, the lighting needed to be more controlled, more level with plenty of dimming capabilities for the individuals. When you’re tinkering at your desk and working on hardware components, the lighting needs to be brighter, but the software teams typically like it darker. Building in range provided the right balance and flexibility.”

Assembly / CannonDesign attributes the rust toned colour palettes of the project to the industrial nature of the city and the business. The inspiration for the scheme echoed the city’s heritage, from worn Cor-ten steel frames and glass walkways to the natural grain of local hardwoods - providing the perfect contrast to the stark, machine-like white showrooms.   

Using a combination of architectural and decorative fixtures, the design firm primarily used fittings from 3G Lighting, Architectural Lighting Works, USAI, Gotham, Luminii, Finelite and Klus to provide the functional yet elegant fixtures that blend seamlessly into the architectural design.

“The design continued to evolve through the construction of the project, but the vision remained consistent. We love that lighting can bring another layer and depth of the design of the space. We wanted to use light in many different ways in hopes of creating a rich and varied environment,” reflected Guerrero. “We love that every client and project are different and they have their own set of objectives and challenges; a different puzzle to solve. What stands out is that we really enjoyed the collaboration with ATG and getting to learn about and experience another part of the country. We fell in love with the city of Pittsburgh on this project, and I think that shows in the end result.”

www.assembly-design.com

by dbell

Bvlgari Hotel & Resort Dubai, UAE

Opened in December 2017, the Bvlgari Resort & Residences Dubai is the latest jewel in the designer brand’s luxury hospitality collection.

Situated on Jumeira Bay – a manmade island carved into the shape of a seahorse – the 158,000sqm resort was conceived as an ‘Urban Oasis’ for visitors and residents alike.

Designed by Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel (ACPV), the resort is a ‘first-of-its-kind’ development for Bvlgari, both in scale and magnitude. The complex features the hotel building and villas, six residential buildings with 173 sea facing apartments, fifteen private mansions and Bvlgari’s first Marina and Yacht Club, and is intended to resemble a traditional seaside village in southern Italy.

The architects worked alongside Italian lighting design studio Metis Lighting, who have worked on several projects for the brand, to develop the architectural and lighting design concept for the resort, drawing inspiration from traditional design, combined with Italian architecture and accentuated by Middle Eastern touches. Local firm Delta Lighting Solutions carried out the lighting design development and execution, while Huda Lighting supplied the fixtures and luminaires.

Metis Lighting has been working with ACPV and Bvlgari for more than fifteen years, dating back to the Bvlgari Hotel Milan in 2002, and Marinella Patetta, co-founder of Metis Lighting alongside Claudio Valent, explained how collaborative their work with ACPV is. “The lighting project is launched together with the architectural and furniture design,” she said.

“The initial brainstorming involves a two-way exchange of ideas. We often start from sharing initial renderings, so a strong idea for the interior or architecture may guide the lighting proposal, or vice versa: an interesting lighting solution can change details or materials in the project.”

In creating the lighting design, Patetta explained that Bvlgari has certain design standards and guidelines for the main lighting criteria, such as lighting levels and scenario control, but added that these are not very restrictive and are “totally in line” with ACPV design, meaning that they are fairly easy to adhere to.

Once the lighting design concept was created, Metis and Delta Lighting Solutions worked to ensure that it was implemented effectively. Patetta continued: “Most of our work after the concept is focused on maintaining and developing the initial ideas without substantial variations.

“It may seem to be easy, and some clients believe that our work is finished once the concept is completed. In reality, we are aware that the next step is to manage and solve difficulties and clashes that will arise during the coordination between all consultants and equipment.”

The lighting concept for the resort aimed to recreate the warmth and simplicity of a charming Mediterranean village. The approach was very minimalistic and subtle, with all architectural light fittings, provided by the likes of Traxon, Flos, Light Contract, Lucent Lighting, LED Linear, KKDC, Erco, acdc and Radiant Lighting, concealed and kept in warm colour temperatures.

The remarkable design for the resort features a blend of styles, fusing traditional design, contemporary Italian architecture and Middle Eastern touches, and Patetta believes that Italy’s mixed heritage led to the varied design.

“Italy is a bridge that connects northern Europe to the southern shores of the Mediterranean,” she said. “We are a sort of melting pot, and many influences of Islamic architecture are present everywhere, especially in southern Italy.”

“Furthermore, as architects and lighting designers, we really appreciate some typical elements of Islamic architecture, such as geometric decoration, the contrast of light and shadow, lantern projections and light reflections on water. The specific combination of those elements and their interesting development provided by ACPV’s interior design was very inspiring for our work.”

Once the lighting design concept was in place, Delta Lighting Solutions was brought in to handle its development and execution. Although joining the project halfway through its development, Ziad Fattouh, Managing Principal of Delta Lighting Solutions, says that he enjoyed the process.

“It was a fun project to do even though the concept was defined, and we feel we were able to continue to influence the outcome in the subsequent stages,” he said. “The project’s end result depended strongly on getting the details right, which was achieved through the detailed design stages and three years of post-contract work.”

Patricia Lopez-Yanez, Associate at Delta Lighting Solutions, added: “Our aim was mainly to support in the realisation of the vision by providing our input and lighting design expertise.”

Lopez-Yanez added that, despite coming in once the initial designs and concepts had been completed, there was still room for creativity on her part. “While working on this project, we learned that creativity is not only used in the initial conceptual, artistic phase, but that creativity is essential in developing ideas and turning them into a reality.

“Taking the ideas from the architect and executing them takes a lot of imagination, empathy and dedication. A nice render that has been presented to a client is a dream, and sometimes can be very difficult to recreate.”

The sheer scale and complexity of this project meant that transforming the initial vision into a reality required a lot of collaboration and coordination between the architects, engineers, lighting suppliers and lighting designers. Because of this, Lopez-Yanez and her team had a vital role to play.

“The complexity of this project was evident in the design phase, but we got to experience it even more during the site supervision phase, when the design had to be executed by the contractor,” she explained.

“At one point we had daily meetings on site to discuss different details, and if required, come up with solutions on the spot to solve problems, due to time pressure.”

An example of this came in lighting the hotel’s façade. This is defined by a warm glow of coral-like brise soleils or sunscreens made of matt white GRP, which is a reference to traditional shading techniques in the Middle East. As the brise soleils follow an irregular geometry, this made it difficult to integrate the Traxon linear light fittings.

As Lopez-Yanez explained: “With over 30 different variations of the same typical detail, it was one of the most complex exercises, as it required coordination between the architect, engineers, the manufacturer of the brise soleil, and of course the lighting.

“We also faced different challenges in the interior areas where all the architectural fittings were designed to be concealed, so a lot of coordination had to happen between the different contracting teams on site.”

The way in which all parties came together to collaborate on this project is a testament to its success, and Lopez-Yanez feels that this teamwork helped to make what could have been a difficult project a lot easier to complete.

“It was a daunting experience at first, knowing how big and complicated the scale of work was, but we worked with very proactive people who made the design coordination a lot easier,” she said.

“There was a lot of back and forth with the discussions in terms of the design issues we encountered on site and providing optimum solutions for these issues. It was very important though that we met the design expectations of the client while still maintaining the design integrity of the building and its architecture. In this regard, I believe that we were able to achieve that.”

Alongside the integrated architectural lighting from Osram, acdc, LED Linear, Aldabra and Lini LED, among others, the Bvlgari Hotel & Resort features a number of decorative and bespoke fixtures created exclusively for this project, with custom downlights from Lucent in all guest rooms, custom linear cove lighting from Light Contract, and decorative suspended lights from AggioLight.

Metis Lighting and ACPV designed all the custom elements with clear references to Bvlgari’s brand identity, using motifs such as the eight-pointed star, and the geometric sequence of circles and squares. According to Patetta, these were “conceived almost as if they were ‘jewels’ to catch the eye and enrich the visual experience of the clients”.

“In complete harmony with the interior design, lighting is also used to recall the luxurious and unique character of the Bvlgari brand and bring it to the new hotel’s building,” she added.

Although the resort does feature a number of decorative fixtures and focal points, for the most part the lighting remains minimalistic and subtle, with a hidden warmth. It is this concealed beauty that Patetta feels makes the lighting scheme stand out. “We believe that a lighting project is successful when nobody perceives, at first contact with the space, that functional lighting exists,” she said. “If you first notice a technical lighting fixture, then the general location, something is not appropriate.

“We consider it a success when a beautiful chandelier draws attention to itself and also seems to light up the room, creating a sophisticated ambiance. In reality, that special atmosphere is due to the presence of countless technical devices.”

Fattouh agrees that the subtle use of light adds to the sense of luxury that Metis and ACPV worked to create, adding: “The light was meant to be as discrete as possible, integrated and hidden, and used only to help capture the mood of a space.

“The lighting scheme helps accentuate the richness of the finishes, and creates a sense of drama and luxury. Light was used sparingly and carefully, and only where we needed it, while avoiding the flattening effect of too much ambient light.

“When you walk into this hotel, you get the feeling of luxury and elegance, but it is done without being ostentatious. Instead of using high ceilings and large chandeliers in the lobby to create a sense of luxury, you instead notice the highest quality finishes and the amount of thought put into detailing and integrating things such as light fittings, furniture and so forth.

“When entering the lobby and many other public spaces, one thing that you will not notice are any visible light sources, instead you only see the light effects where needed.”

The Bvlgari Hotel & Resort Dubai is the latest in a string of impressive, grand projects completed in the Middle East, and since its opening, it has been labelled as one of the best new luxury hotels in the world, and for Lopez-Yanez, it was exciting to be involved in such a project, particularly in this emerging market.

“The scale of projects in the Middle East never ceases to amaze me,” she enthused. “Coming from South America, there were a few ‘big’ projects like government buildings and airports that I worked on, but in the Middle East the scale of the projects is completely different.

“Architects and designers have come to the UAE to build a new country. The cities are like a blank canvas, where a lot of freedom is given to us to build the biggest and most ambitious architectural pieces.”

With their range of hotels, Bulgari’s aim is to convey the timeless glamour and heritage of its own Roman jewellery, and thanks in part to its beautiful design, this latest jewel is set to shine for generations to come.

www.deltalightingdesign.com
www.metislighting.it

by dbell