Each lighting designer has their own unique lighting design approach. In this article, I will share the principles I follow in my work while creating architectural and landscape lighting design projects, I specialize in today.
Starting to work at any object, I always ask myself the question “what tasks should lighting solve”. The simplest answer to this question is functional. So, there are lighting solutions for entrance groups, emergency exits, balconies, etc. in any architectural lighting design project.
No less important task of lighting is to create a night image of an object. At the concept development stage, it is important to determine what this image should carry in itself: whether it should emphasize the architecture, make the object unique, or, on the contrary, fit the object into the existing light environment. It is also important to understand what values and ideas reflects the illuminated object, how they can be conveyed with the help of light.

There are several examples below.

Fairmont & Vesper Residences is an exceptional project on the main street of Moscow that changes the aesthetics of life in a modern metropolis. The combination of strict lines with smooth contours and well-balanced proportions echoes the monumentality and scale of Tverskaya Street. It is possible to form the main tasks of architectural lighting based on this description. The night image of the building should be in accord with the general concept of lighting on Tverskaya Street. Light should emphasize the uniqueness of the object and the features of the architecture, reflect the idea of exclusivity, and demonstrate the status of a luxury level.
Lighting from the bottom to up of the building helps to highlight a cornice and to integrate the building into the urban environment. The unique architecture is emphasized by a combination of linear and spotlights, which show the plasticity of the facade. “Luxury” conveys warm light (3000K) and a well-balanced ratio of contrasts, allowing you to create a play of light and shadow on the facade.

Business center Zemelny, office of the Aktion company is a snow-white hyperboloid, designed by the architectural bureau UNK Project. This is the world’s first building with a vertical garden at the 55th parallel of north latitude. The snow-white openwork business center looks like a triangular with rounded corners from the top view.
Architectural lighting should emphasize the laconic architecture and make the building the light dominant of the area. To achieve the desired effect, a projector with narrow optic was used, highlighting the edges of the building structure. A verified solution looks great, and it reflects the ideology of a modern, actively developing company.

You should remember that lighting interacts not only with the architecture, but also with the environment. Therefore, I consider the tasks and keep the balance of the contrast ratios of the object and the environment while developing a lighting design project.
The architectural lighting for Fairmont & Vesper Residences is slightly less bright than the architectural lighting of nearby buildings. This solution allows you to create a feeling of intimacy and emphasize its uniqueness among brightly lit objects. On the other hand, business center Zemelny is located in a developing area with rather chaotic lighting. Therefore, to attract attention, the building is lit quite brightly.

Speaking about the environment, we often forget that the lighting equipment on the facade creates a visual effect not only at night. Luminaries mounted on the facade also affect the integrity of the perception of an architectural object. In my projects, I pay special attention to the integration of lighting equipment into facade systems.
To reduce the visibility of luminaries on the apart-hotel and the De Luxe Fairmont & Vesper Residences class residential complex facade, my colleague Roman Amosov developed special brackets attached to the facade subsystem and exit through expansion joints.
For all the fixtures on the facade of Fairmont & Vesper were carefully selected optics. This decision helped to avoid glare into living quarters windows. Narrow optics combined with protective accessories and well-directed lighting devices in business center Zemelny project helped to minimize the effect of light pollution and does not interfere with pedestrians and people in the building.
In the Fairmont & Vesper Residences project the facade was made of natural stone, which could not be removed to service the power units located behind them. We couldn’t place the power supplies inside the building, so we decided to use only mains-powered equipment on the facade.

The task of maintaining fixtures is important in any project. So, for example, the structural design of the facade of the Zemelny business center made it possible to install blocks behind metal structures on the facade. So, with such placement, access to them is possible.
The end user of a lighting project is always human. And in any project, light should create a comfortable visual environment.
All the principles above allow you to create harmonious lighting design projects. However, you should always remember that design is a teamwork, and the best solutions are born in the process of discussions and changes.

About magazine Modern Lighting Design №4 (78) 2022 :

http://lightingmedia.ru/sobytiya/zhurnal-sovremennaya-svetotehnika-priglashaet-v-novyj-5-j-nomer/