Beneath the Surface Blog

Here we are, marching boldly towards a brand new year. Our GPI team is all geared up and excited to discover new lighting trends, innovative cool surfaces, and many more developments in this ever-changing interior design world. So what will happen in 2012? A global economy recovery? Some catastrophe that might extinguish humankind according to the Mayan prophecy? Whoa, let’s not get into that. At least we know clearly that in the lighting world, 2012 is all about LED.

Over the past years, many countries are taking steps to phase out the traditional incandescent light bulbs for use in general lighting. LEDs are taking over because they are more energy-efficient and carry more possibilities for design purposes. This collection called Liquid Light by Tanya Clarke is a great example of the lighting trends for 2012.

Born the daughter of environmental activist Tony Clarke, Tanya was raised with a strong consciousness and deep concern of the environment and natural resources. She precisely expressed her viewpoint in this beautifully installed light collection - the idea that light is just like water, or the other way around, water is just like light; both precious resources that we cannot afford to waste in daily life.

LED lights, recycled plumbing fixtures, hand sculpted glass water drops, and even found objects are utilized to form the Liquid Light. The LEDs shine through translucent glass drops and create a soft lighting effect that is visually dramatic.

Its unique form and experimentation with colors also speak for the trend in 2012. LED technology is so compact that it can basically be used in any size, shape, and structure, opening its potential across many industries. The material pairings and artistic expressions made possible with LED lighting technology are vast.

We’ve already seen so many stunning lighting designs in 2011 (you can find them in this blog or follow @gpidesign). We look forward to LEDs, echo-chic, and expressive structures that will lead to more illuminated creations and continue to wow us in the New Year.

Image Credit: liquidlightsite.com

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In dense metropolitan areas, traveling from building to building often involves lengthy rides down elevators, up elevators, and across traffic-laden city streets and sidewalks. The organizers for the Building to Building Pedestrian Bridge International Challenge in Montreal sought to inspire designers to originate ideas which would ease congestion, decrease travel times, and diversify the use of structures. The winning concept came from the architects from the Barcelona-based firm sanzpont [arquitectura] with their DSSH (Dynamic ShapeShifting Helix) Bridge.

This organic concept features a unique dynamic motion and sustainable technology. A helix-shaped support system holds the transparent surface in place. Seeming to come alive with foot traffic, these supports and the flexible surface will move and shift due to the stresses of people walking across it, creating a fluid motion and natural aesthetic. The scaffolds and walkway also become illuminated by RGB LEDs that transform the bridge into an energy-efficient, moving lighting feature during the night which can be seen from around the city.

The designers also incorporated sustainable features that minimize the bridge's environmental impact such as special photovoltaic solar cells and plants. Since the outside surface would move frequently throughout the day, sanzpont [arquitectura] used foldable cells that power the LEDs used for nighttime. The clear surface which the pedestrians actually walk on covers numerous plants that clean the interior air and provide fresh oxygen, suspending a garden hundreds of feet above the ground. A breathable membrane also increases airflow and circulation.

Creating responsive art high above the Montreal streets, sanzpont [arquitectura] certainly achieves their lofty concept.

Image credits: UrbanGlobalCities.blogspot.com, Architizer

If you missed our first blog post about GPI technicians arriving on-site for this long awaited backlighting installation at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, check it out here (and take a peek at the project rendering).

After a labor-intensive weekend, the bottom and center rows of the custom-built 3Form Varia Ecoresin and wood slatted surface panels are now illuminated.

To ensure that the intense patterning of wood and light was not further disrupted by structural shadows and inconsistent lighting, the fastening system has been considered hand-in-hand with the backlighting system design from the earliest concept stage.

Blocking on the back of the 3Form/wood surface panels not only reinforces the eight foot panels, but also provides a channel to hold the Flat-Lite™ at the correct distance from the lens.  The combination of burying powered LED edges into the blocking and employing diffusing tapes ensures that hot spots are not visible from any viewing angle of the feature walls.

Notice the trapezoidal panel shapes along the bottom course of panels? With special attention to light collection in the acute corners,the LED light panels were custom designed with controls and filters to provide even illumination.

More photographs of the entire completed feature wall coming soon as this installation wraps up!

Having a passion for the way translucent surfaces and LED panels can accentuate and bring natural warmth to any space, we greatly enjoy the way Stefan Lindfors incorporated the two for his Light Works exhibition. First displayed in Helsinki during February and D.C. in May, Lindfors recently wrapped up a showing in NYC during the latter half of June and early July. Describing it as his "homage to LIGHT & LEDs," he intentionally opened the New York viewing on June 21st to coincide with the summer solstice, the day that the Northern Hemisphere sees the most sun.

Intended to double both as lighting fixtures and artistic sculptures, the pieces of his exhibit mark the first time Lindfors has worked exclusively with the concept of assimilating light and sculpture. Though working in some ways with lighting since the beginning of his professional career, it took the request of a patron to nurture the inspiration for Light Works. World-renowned photographer Nan Goldin purchased a sculpture, Nymph, in 2009 but requested that LEDs be installed inside to provide backlit illumination. Subsequently inspired, Lindfors began wrapping fiberglass around wire and steel frames and lighting them with energy saving bulbs.

The results blur the line between form and function, nothing new for this Finnish-born artist/designer who has worked with numerous companies such as Sony and Nokia. Light pours from the sculptures in inspiring ways and evokes a living, organic feeling. Says Lindfors, "So far, much of my light work...lacks conventional definition, often landing in the so-called ‘borderline’ area. These Light Works that I’ve recently created represent a body of work by myself as both sculptor and as designer; abstract stories beyond industrial reasoning on the one hand, latest eco-light technology and user-friendly design on the other." We at GPI enjoy creating the same dichotomy in our features and celebrate the amazing way Stefan Lindfors has explored this concept.

Image credits: ReadySetDC.com, MaterialConnexion.com

For the extensive renovation of the San Francisco Grand Hyatt in Union Square, the teams at Indidesign (interior design) and Revolver (lighting design) envisioned a custom panel and backlighting treatment to revive the wall surfaces at the main escalator.

Extending from the lower lobby to the main lobby, dark wood panels striated with thin lines of illuminated 3Form Varia Ecoresin clad the escalator walls. The custom-built backlit panels bring innovative light, interesting texture, and a unique pattern as viewers move throughout the levels of the hotel.

Above: Project rendering from Indidesign

The team here at GPI has worked on the project for over 6 months, coordinating closely with the millwork team at Acosta & Sons to merge our backlighting solutions with their custom wood and resin panels.  Flexibility has been key in the project, as field dimensions shift, so have our strategies, LED panel sizes, fastening devices, and methods of controlling and balancing the light. (Special thanks to Cliff at Acosta & Sons for hand-delivering the 3Form panels on a redeye from California to Ohio so we could test the lighting!)

The custom components (Flat-Lite™ LED panels, Infuse™ custom lighting controls, wiring, and diffuser panels) arrived to site on August 1. Shortly thereafter, GPI lighting technicians arrived on-site to assist with the time-sensitive installation.

Above: Photograph of the first day’s progress, east elevation center and bottom rows of LED panels installed.

We enjoy being on-site to finally witness these intense coordination efforts come to fruition. Stay tuned for more photos and updates as this project progresses - we’ll share more about the process of generating the LED panel design, how the custom wood /resin panels were created, and how shadows and hot spots were eliminated.

Sometimes new and innovative ideas can overwhelm tried and practical applications such that inefficiency becomes standard. The modern use of electric lights and lamps perfectly demonstrates this fact. For the past century, artificial illumination has dominated the way we light our workspaces and homes. Fed up with the humming of florescent lights, skyrocketing electric bills, and pollution of coal-fired power plants, many have turned to sky wells, floor-to-ceiling windows, and internal windowed courtyards to bring in as much natural sunlight from the outside as possible. With this idea in mind, an anonymous German-student submitted an interesting concept, called Daylight, for James Dyson Foundation's 2011 James Dyson Award.

This notion puts a modern twist on a forgotten technology over 3,000 year old, natural reflected light. Metal louvers hang horizontally outside of windows. These adjustable aluminum features block out the harsh sun and direct light into the interior space where ceiling lamps sporting LEDs and reflective panels hang. These interior components feature light sensitive panels that can increase and decrease LED output.  These combine with the natural reflected light to reach pre-set illumination levels and can even match the outside's ambient colors.  Since the design focuses on reflecting daylight and not sunlight directly, it also eliminates hotspots and glare.

Ancient peoples used polished copper plates to illuminate their insides spaces and versions of exterior metal louvers actually hung outside of buildings up until the 20th century before Edison's invention pushed them into the periphery. The idea came to this nameless German student when he or she noticed offices and sporting complexes with drawn shades and blinds on windows to block out the harsh glare of the sun while interior lights and lamps blazed.

With the Dyson Foundation's contest open to entries until August 2nd, we won't know the results for a bit; but by transferring a supposedly antiquated idea into to the modern age, the future for the Daylight concept certainly is bright.

Browse the rest of the innovative entries and vote for your favorite >

Image credits: JamesDysonAward.com

Make sure to wear surgical gloves and a hospital mask if you ever have the fortune to visit a Pieke Bergmans display. Her works have an infection that runs rampant through the crystal she hand blows. The disease twists and mutilates water carafes, vases, and crystal light "bulbs" of her Design Virus collection into shapes that don't belong in the ordinary world, taking mundane forms and making them into something organic, alive, and flowing.

Resting on office furniture, hanging in defiance of gravity, or scorching a table with their fever, her LED light "blubs" ignore conventional doctrine and defy the shapes to which we have accustomed ourselves. The vases lie in all different places and even lounging in a puddle seeking relief.

We enjoy the work of this Dutch artist and cannot wait to have an infected lamp blistering the studio desks at our office.

Image credits: PiekeBergmans.com

Update: new field photos and video from our 1828 L Street project

Original blog in [italics] below posted in April 2011

[Contact closures, relays, Cue servers, DMX decoder units, din rails… if you’re a conceptual designer, you’re probably not too interested in what those mean, but when implemented through a thoughtful electrical engineering process, these items can add a whole new element of fluctuation to your spaces.

Imagine synchronizing the vertical movement of an elevator with a lighting effect that “speaks” to the waiting patrons. At the renovation of 1828 L Street in Washington, D.C., lighting designers MCLA and architects DEP Designs envisioned a full scale elevator lantern that capitalized on the dynamics of time and movement (fitting for an elevator lobby). The elevator call lanterns take on a modern architecture with full height panels of backlit glass. Goodbye, standard call buttons!

Standard Elevator Indicator Buttons - small scale, appear "additive" to the architecture (Image Credit: robinsonsmay) 

Re-designed Backlit Lanterns - large scale, integral to the architecture

The design intent was to have the elevator lanterns illuminated at a dim level at all times. When the elevators descend to the main lobby at the first floor, the lanterns slowly brighten up to 100%, signifying the arrival of the elevator cab.  Pretty cool visual reinforcement of movement!

Custom controls by GPI sync the elevator control system with our Flat-Lite™ LED panels

Only one of the elevators descends to the basement; the designers wanted the lantern at this elevator to illuminate in a red color. At this area, GPI designed a dual-illumination red and white LED panel to backlight the glass. The colored and white settings were engineered to be controlled independently. When the cab is above ground, the lantern remains white like the others. The relay to the red LED string only fires when the elevator drops to the basement level, at which time the LED panel changes to its red hue.

Flat-Lite™ LED panel on white and red settings

This is just one job that goes to show the value of integration when it comes to backlit features. As you’ll often hear us advocate, to have a truly well-executed backlit feature, it’s much more about the LED panels themselves. In this case, the LED panels were properly designed to both seamlessly illuminate the surface and interface with the existing elevator control system, for a lighting effect that strengthens the architecture. The challenges of the project were perfectly suited for our team and we’re looking forward to publishing the final installation photographs soon!]

Check out this backlit graffiti wall that GPI provided for Marlite’s GlobalShop Booth! The wall is designed to mimic an urban alleyway, with continuous LED backlighting highlighting the vibrant graffiti graphics.  Graphics were spray painted on optical acrylic panels.  Custom controls animate the panels individually, reinforcing the concept that each panel is a brick in the wall.  The bold animation attracts visitors at the bustling tradeshow.

Above: Boeing interior before re-design

Air travelers might have noticed something different about a plane ride they recently took. The venerable 737, workhorse of many airlines, has been redesigned from nose to tail, including a fresh look inside the cabin. Gone are the boxy overheads and bright yellow incandescent lights. Boeing has replaced these when they designed the new Sky Interior which holds more carry-on bags while increasing headroom. In fact, a person over six feet tall can comfortably stand up in the aisle seats. Redesigned windows that allow more light and improve visibility while keeping the same pane size contribute to the greater sense of openness.

Above: Boeing Sky interior with new and improved lighting design

The most exciting and innovative aspect of the Sky Interior is the new lighting system. Recessed alcoves are populated with super-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that normally project a sky-blue hue. Human eyes primarily rely on blue light, known as "cool colors", in instances where illumination is limited. The blue light sensitive rods of the retina are 100x more receptive to light than the red sensing cones - that's why the world takes on a more bluish hue after the sun goes down. Cool color LEDs allow for more lighting in the cabin while keeping the light less intrusive.

Above: View of new Boeing Sky interior with blue LED lighting

The psychology of color, going back over 92,000 years, has shown that blue also has a calming effect on individuals and will even lower heart rates and body temperatures. Glasgow recently installed blue street lights in certain neighborhoods and experienced decreased reports in crime. This promises to make flying a less unpleasant experience when the passenger in front of you decides to fully recline their seat on a trans-Pacific route.

Above: Airplane interior with variable color scenes

Besides lasting ten times longer than old incandescent bulbs, allowing more illumination with less brightness, and helping soothe passengers stuck on a runway for several hours, these new lights are also programmable with variable colors. Designers envision changing colors to better match that of the outside. As dusk approaches, for instance, the lights could begin showing a bit of a reddish hue, simulating the setting sun, then transition into a more intense blue, adding more indigo as night falls. Conversely, as the sun begins to rise that deep indigo could become more golden to match the morning rays peeking over the horizon eventually becoming the normal blue as the day unfolds. On the opposite spectrum (literally), airlines could flood the cabin with reddish light as the plane reaches the jetway to infuse energy into lethargic passengers that have spent several hours sitting in the same position. As well, during dining services a bit of warmer red light would enhance the appeal of airline food (bad news for stand-up comics)!

These cabin modifications take their cues from the work Boeing has been doing on their upcoming 787 Dreamliner which is expected to begin ferrying passengers in the third quarter of 2011. Numerous airlines and suppliers such as flydubai, United Continental, Lion Air, Virgin, GOL, and Air China have taken deliveries for this transcontinental version of the 737. With GPI's client list spanning the globe, frequent flyer miles really rack up and we definitely appreciate Boeing for embracing lighting technology to make air travel less stressful and more enjoyable.

Image credits: Wired, Boeing Blogs, Malaysian Wings