Light matters
As technology advances at lightspeed, lighting is evolving not only to boost productivity and performance, but to create spaces that inspire and delight, says Dave Anderson from Wood & Grieve Engineers (WGE).
Contemporary American artist James Turrell has described light as “not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation”.
WGE’s recent work on the new Jackalope hotel on the Mornington Peninsula is certainly revelatory.
Jackalope – named after a mythical giant horned jackrabbit of North American – won Gourmet Traveller’s 2017 Hotel of the Year for the “juxtaposition of rural vineyard setting, ultra-contemporary architecture and almost cinematic design” that has “created a hotel unlike any other in the country”.
Nestled in the Willow Creek vineyards, this 46-room hotel is owned by filmmaker Louis Li who wanted to reimagine the role art, design and storytelling can play in the guest experience, by offering “an interplay between the ideal and the surreal”.
The hotel’s restaurant, Doot Doot Doot, is lit by a show-stopping chandelier, dubbed Moët by Melbourne lighting artist Jan Flock and custom designed by WGE.
“We worked with Jan to install the 10,000 light bulbs that flicker in sequence to simulate fermenting bubbles. It’s not often that someone will walk into a space and remember the lighting above all else, but it’s certainly the case here,” Anderson, WGE’s specialist lighting section manager, says.
Lighting sits centre stage in other parts of the hotel too, such as the neon alchemy symbols that glow along the ceilings of guest corridors, and which lend the thoroughfares a decidedly Film Noir feel.
Lighting designers usually work behind the scenes, but Anderson says it was “quite refreshing” to be involved in a project where lighting was front-and-centre.
Anderson says lighting design combines both the technical and artistic. “We act as a conduit between the creative professions, like architects and interior designers, and the technical roles like engineers.”
Another recent project of Anderson’s is Aerial, a multi-function venue space run by Melbourne institution food&desire. Anderson’s team installed integrated LEDs that can change colour to complement an event’s mood.
“Lighting at a corporate function should be different to that at a wedding – and LEDs provide a lot of flexibility these days to create atmosphere and a sense of occasion.”
At Woods Bagot’s heritage-listed headquarters in Perth, bland and boring have made way for personalised lighting that enhances productivity while protecting the building’s integrity.
“Rather than mounting all the lighting on the ceilings and other fragile heritage structures, we’ve used desk and floor lamps to provide localised lighting exactly where people need it. The result is a space that is not only functional, but looks more interesting and attractive.”
Anderson and his team are regular fixtures at art festivals, such as Melbourne’s White Night after dark festival.
“People wonder what a group of lighting engineers are doing entering an art competition, but we thrive on the opportunity to create installations that demonstrate how lighting can be both practical and beautiful.”