Lighting and Landscapes Conference 20th February 2002

A personal view

This conference held at Kew was very well attended with lighting engineers and landscape architects flying in in dire weather from as far afieldas Dublin, Malta and the Isle of Man.

Andrew Tindsley of BDP gave an inspiring keynote presentation concentrating on the lighting of public spaces with illustrations drawn from Europe and the United States, illustrating the power of lighting to invest a space with differing atmospheres depending on its function, as in cool and elegant for the arts, lively and vibrant for downtown areas and so on.

Roger Beckettt of Light Projects Ltd brought us back to earth with burials - which turned out to be lamps buried in the ground , not the churchyard variety - and gave us some practical nitty gritty on British Standards and the safety aspects of different systems - the heat of fittings often being a cause for concern as they are frequently within reach of the public and obviously attractive to children.

Sally Storey of Lighting Design International showed an impressive array of situations where lighting had been installed to enhance mainly private spaces and hotels, with welcome detail about the type of light used and why. The complex lighting of architectural details as well as planting and individual trees was illustrated.

Peter Sutherland of Ustigate followed this with a technical approach to lighting water features.

After lunch when a wealth of information was available on fittings, from the various exhibitors, we had a look at the illumination of Westonbirt Arboretum with Matthew Haynes, exhibition designer. This event takes place annually and draws huge crowds of people but there are complications in circulating thousands through the arboretum after dark and checking potentially dangerous interference with the lights by children.

Following this, alarm bells were rung by John Bullock, independent lighting designer, who emphasised the problems of lighting pollution and the loss of the night sky, or the dark, by lighting everything. The importance of controls at all stages so that excessive lighting did not persist when there was no longer anyone to look at it was also mentioned. He showed a project on the island of Jersey, and waxed lyrical on the shadows thrown by Venus (the planet).

Mark Major of Speirs and Major then presented some extremely high profile sites including the Millennium Dome and the Bluewater Shopping complex in Kent. The power of lighting in completely changing the emphasis of structures and spaces was illustrated by many impressive examples. Having lived in Glasgow for some years I was rather shocked to see Buchanan Street is now flooded in blue light at night and wonder how this affects the mood of the average reveller. Any comments welcome.

Following tea and another gruelling walk in a near blizzard back to Kew Cottage to get it, there was a presentation of three lighting schemes for the area in front of the said cottage, from a public lighting engineer, a public lighting designer and the organisers Concord Martin in the absence of, apparently, any landscape architect agreeing to have a go, although one wonders who they asked. The schemes were similar in that all lighted the main trees, the small pool and a clump of bamboo, the path and wall behind the herbaceous border. The small summerhouse was also lit, and it was certainly useful to see the recommended lamps and systems available. The criticism that followed rather bemoaned the lack of anything daring or dramatic, that would change the feel of what was rather a dull space. However the reply was that people came to Kew to see the plants and not a lighting display. Afterwards a demonstration in this area showed some of the effects which in my view made the space much more attractive and pleasing in the gathering gloom. It was unfortunate that over-zealous gardeners had in the meantime felled the large clump of bamboo, so that a large lamp illuminated the cut stumps thereof.

The day finished with a tour of the Princess of Wales glasshouse. Met by a wall of scent from massed blue hyacinths and a striking display of magenta cyclamen, the party wandered among giant Agaves, cactii and pillars of orchids growing from mossy trunks, all lit as a temporary exhibition with different coloured lamps. Some very dramatic effects were created.

A very worthwhile day, and I will certainly be examining the possibilities of sites in a new light from now on. Thanks to the organisers Concord Martin and David Sheeran at the L.I..

Christine Fisher