15 January 2025
Source
MODERN LIGHTING DESIGN

EXPRESSING TRADITIONS AND CULTURAL PECULIARITIES THROUGH LIGHTING DESIGN

Lighting designer Svetlana Kolgushkina shared her opinion about lighting design solutions capabilities to reflected local traditions and cultural characteristics
15 January 2025
Source
MODERN LIGHTING DESIGN

Modern Lighting Design: How can local traditions and cultural characteristics be reflected in lighting design, creating unique and memorable spaces?

Svetlana Kolgushkina: Lighting design, in my opinion, largely reflects the characteristics of the location, including such factors as the length of daylight hours and the intensity of natural light. Preferences and needs for lighting design in southern and northern latitudes can vary significantly, because of the differences in climate, solar activity levels, and cultural perceptions of light.
For example, in southern latitudes, where solar activity is higher, it is important to control natural light, prevent glare and overheating, and create comfortable evening and night lighting. Sun protection devices, reflective materials, and adaptive lighting systems are used to effectively manage both natural and artificial light.
At the same time, in northern latitudes, with short daylight hours in winter, lighting design focuses on compensating for the lack of daylight and creating a cozy atmosphere. The choice is made in favor of warmer shades of artificial lighting, dynamic lighting systems are used that imitate sunlight at different times of the day.
One example I would like to mention is the recent installation by Zenisk – The sun. Despite the increasing attention to light pollution in recent years, the installation reflects the specifics of the location, simulating the warm sun that is sorely lacking in the Norwegian city during the winter, emphatically using a low-tech approach using “old” lamps installed so that they become pixels on a low-resolution screen. This solution meets the needs of people in this particular place and time.

 

Sovremennaya Svetotechnika: How do you see the future of lighting design in the context of globalization? Will it be able to preserve the uniqueness of local culture or will it become more unified?

Modern Lighting Design: Lighting design is closely related to architecture and landscaping, so design approaches in these areas have a significant impact on lighting solutions. Globalization stimulates the exchange of ideas and technologies, but this is not always accompanied by attention to local specifics. In some cases, we see attempts to adapt universal solutions without context cosideration, which leads to the loss of local identity. However, there are examples where international experience is used with respect for geographical, cultural and historical features. Such projects demonstrate a deep connection between lighting design and local culture.

Preserving the uniqueness of the local environment is a task that requires the joint efforts of architects, designers, urbanists and lighting designers. The harmony of light, form and space is important here, as is dialogue with local communities. Establishing a connection with the people for whom the environment is being created allows integrating their cultural codes into the modern context.

Lighting design can highlight the individuality of architecture and landscape, link historical buildings with modern ones, and reflect the natural and climatic motifs characteristic of a region. This is expressed through the creation of lighting scenarios inspired by the unique features of the area. However, delicacy in the approach plays a key role: it is important not to overload the space with light, but to strive to form an expressive but unobtrusive light language. Modern lighting solutions should form design codes that preserve and develop the identity of a place in the context of globalization.