Making light work

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Lighting is now being used to highlight individual architectural features of buildings.

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Advances in technology have enabled colour to be used in exterior lighting schemes.

Drive around most modern cities after dark and the trend for exterior lighting on buildings is evident. The Middle East is no exception and with the desire by developers to make their projects stand out among the ever-crowded skyline, some buildings can now be seen from miles away as their external lighting illuminates the night sky.

The lighting industry has become an integral part of the construction sector; the fact that two dedicated exhibitions are being held in Dubai within the next few months is testament to its importance.

We all now expect to see splashes of light transforming the night landscape. "Having gone through a few centuries of having no exterior lighting, in the past few decades this has become fashionable," explains Dhruvajyoti Ghose, director, Lighting Design Partnership (LDP).

"Another trend is the use of colour on buildings," adds Barry Hannaford, managing director of DPA Lighting. "This has happened over the past decade, as in the past it was difficult to use colour and colour-change on buildings; As colour and colour-change products have been developed, more and more people are using these fixtures to create these effects."

But while new technologies are allowing ever more elaborate designs to be possible, the focus is changing to consider energy use and control. "A worrying trend on exterior lighting is that some projects appear to be overlit," warns Hannaford. News from the industry is that change is afoot and that overly bright streetscenes we are now used to will be consigned to the past. "The trend is to get away from the over-lighting that has previously been happening for years. Designs will start to become more subtle and elegant," predicts Alan Mitchell, md of Neolight Global Light Design.

One of the leading factors for this change is the increasing focus on energy efficiency worldwide. "There is an increased awareness of energy expenditure," confirms Ghose. "This is being reflected in many ways - we want to generate a greater impact [with lighting] for less overall energy expense.

"Exterior lighting is one of the luxury components of lighting, so we have to be extremely judicious about how to spend energy and costs in this area," Ghose adds. "We went through a profligate period where we could do almost anything we wanted...I believe we have crested that and now become more aware and responsible towards the use of light on the exteriors of buildings."

In addition to the issue of energy consumption, it is now recognised that less may be more when it comes to showcasing buildings at night. As well as lowering energy use, a reduction in light levels brings other benefits.

"Research has shown that people need darkness as much as light and that too much constant light can be bad for the health," states Hannaford. "Light pollution results in energy waste and can be a real nuisance to others. It is subject to the legislation and industry codes of practices in other countries.

"The correct application of light results in reduced costs and energy conservation," he adds.

Designers and clients are now actively choosing to highlight some of the main architectural features of a building rather than have it ablaze with light.

"We've come away from heavy downlighting and I think this is the way it's going to go. It'll be much more subtle with lots of planes of light and hidden sources of light, which is quite a European way of doing it and it's becoming more prevalent here," states Mitchell.

"We are looking at ways of restricting light to the areas that we wish to be illuminated so more of the immediate light goes where we actually want it to and make sure that it doesn't go elsewhere," confirms Ghose.

Ghose cites the design of lighting at the City of Arabia project currently under design as an example of this new trend. The exterior lighting in this case will comprise soft washes to the vertical planes with close offset accents to the pilasters to complement the traditional architectural rhythm.

The Burj Lake Hotel is another example project currently underway where changing attitudes can be noticed states Mitchell. "We're looking at the issue of cost and how bright the building is going to be," he explains. "The visual we've done is quite subtle...what we're looking to do is downgrade the power consumption of the lights and change the lights to something much softer," he adds.

Lighting product manufacturers have responded to these changing trends and demands, developing new technologies to suit. Lighting designers also have co-ordinated with the manufacturers to find new ways to ensure buildings can be appropriately lit, while still creating the desired impact. With access for maintenance often an issue, light sources are chosen for their lifespan as much as their efficiency and intrinsic technology.

Technology trends are expected to focus on the latest in light emitting diode (LED) products, which can now be used for architectural lighting due to their flexibility, long-life and energy efficient operation. "We don't want to use short life, inefficient products," confirms Ghose. "We are moving towards the higher end of efficiency. LEDs and compact fluorescents are now making their mark in exteriors, whereas previously these were restricted to interior lighting. Improved technology and efficiencies has brought them into the realm of exterior lighting," he adds.

"LEDs worldwide are being applied more on projects," agrees Hannaford. "They are the next generation growth market; it is growing rapidly. Due to the technical improvements, the rise in the light quality, efficiency and longevity they are becoming more viable for light applications," he explains.

"Externally we don't use a lot of tungsten because of the lamp-life problems, we use a lot of LEDs because we can precisely control them and we can have colours at selected times," adds Mitchell. "I don't necessarily think everything should be coloured...but the ability to have colour at certain points is often quite a nice feature, particularly when it might not cost clients any extra money."

Although more products are on offer, due to the harsh climate of the Middle East it is vital that these are carefully selected and sourced. "There has been an alarming number of premature failures of such [LED] fittings - not necessarily due to the design side, but because of the products used, which are often of very poor quality. It is a technical product that requires attention," Hannaford stresses. "As LEDs get hotter their efficiency decreases, but there are good quality products around that are suitable for use in the Middle East," he adds.

Smart lighting fixtures including plug-and-play technology are also likely to play a large part in future lighting designs and these are already being included on many schemes. "Control is as an important an element as the lighting design," states Hannaford.

"Most projects with an independent lighting designer would probably use electronic controls. Developments in these control systems mean that value for money is improving; the intelligence of the systems have increased, so lighting controls can offer more flexible operation for less money."

In line with the move towards energy efficiency, Johnson Lighting & Accessories is introducing its own Basics Range in the Middle East. Included in this are GLS, candle, halogen and a series of energy saving lamps.

The firm is actively promoting its new energy saving lamps and its product range now includes the Philips Master PL E automatic lamp. This can be used as a cost-effective replacement for incandescent lamps in exterior areas and includes a built-in daylight sensor. It uses only one-fifth of the energy of an incandescent lamp for the same light output and needs no special installation methods or fittings.

German-based Hoffmeister has also launched several new products into the market in the past year to cater for the changing market demands. These include the inground luminaire Terrano h vertical, an energy saving T16 fluorescent lamp and metal halide lamps.

Designed for facades up to 50 m in height and installation close to buildings, these feature a high efficiency reflector system and the product has been used for façade illumination at Hamad Medical City in Qatar.

"We recognised that the market in the Middle East has an increased demand on high quality products with advanced technical functionality, very good lighting performance in terms of efficiency and anti-glare shielding," explains Georg Sieverding, export sales Middle East, Hoffmeister. "All the technical points are key drivers for the market development from a manufacturers point of view."

With these and others making moves to provide designers and contractors with the latest desired sources, the future is bright for the lighting market.

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