Marco, what would you say are some of the important concepts that were explored in this course?
The participants of the course were mainly decorators, designers and artists. Most did not possess professional skills relevant to lighting design, therefore, together with our Russian colleagues we began with introductory lectures about the fundamental rules and techniques of lighting and suggested to the students to create a lighting project for the Young Spectator’s Theater and the adjoining square.
During the sessions, we talked about the professional approach to lighting design and about the tools that can be applied to it. For example, if you want to properly illuminate a table, you need to take into account its size, color, shape, and material from which it is made. But when it comes to designing the lighting for an entire building, it’s important to showcase its social and cultural significance. I showed the students some examples of my projects in Italy. I spoke about lighting up the EUR district in Rome, which was built during the time of Mussolini. My colleagues and I chose this example, because its architecture is very similar to the Young Spectator’s theatre, which, by the way, I really like.
What exactly is your technique for lighting design and giving “new life” to urban areas?
When city lighting is carried out effectively, it helps the urban space become friendlier and “relieves” the city. New commercial and social spaces can be created through lighting, by highlighting or connecting various buildings or parts of the city together. The theater and the square around it is a good example of spatial design, but a bad example if you look at its integration into the urban space. When you look at the square it seems like something separate to the theater itself. But if you bring together the green area and the building with the help of lighting solutions, and also add some park benches and playgrounds, you have actually created an entirely new space with its own purpose. It can be used for people to hang out and talk amongst themselves, and the square would no longer be regarded as a place that people are afraid to walk in the evenings. Of course, not everything needs to be flooded with light; there can be a balance of light and shade. It’s important to keep some intimate areas in a city setting. If you think of a city, for example, as a hotel, if a hotel has an appropriate lighting design, it will not be bright everywhere, there will be some small areas created that are more “cozy” for being alone or socializing with close friends.
There’s probably a lot of work in St. Petersburg for lighting designers.
Yes but in the field of lighting design, there are issues in every city in the world. They are different, but the major failure of virtually all cities is the lack of an overall urban lighting plan. For many, light is just a functional tool to illuminate roads, sidewalks, courtyards and houses. Often different administrations in the same city use light without coordinating with one another. The result is a bright spotlight in one place and dark areas in another. Often as a result of poor lighting solutions, people have a distorted understanding of the social significance of different places. For example, in the historical part of Rome, near the Roman forum, is the structure – the Altar of Peace. It is made from white stone, and the forum is the color of sand. Due to the fact that the light coverage of these two objects is not regulated, the Altar of Peace is illuminated much better than the forum, although in the context of the city’s history, the forum is more significant and needs to be lit much brighter.
At this time, in some regions of Italy, the authorities are beginning to think about a general lighting plan for the city. Somewhere in the country there is a rule that if a city contains more than 30 thousand people, the authorities are obliged to create such a plan. But in many cases, this integrated urban lighting plan exists only on paper.
What technical difficulties may arise during the creation of a lighting master plan?
In Italy the regional administration has a policy to save energy and reduce light pollution in cities. Sometimes the authorities give this problem too much attention, forgetting about other important things. We must learn to consider all the features of urban lighting so that cities can be cozy and comfortable for residents, not dark and scary because of the lack of light. To implement a lighting master plan requires the integrated efforts of various agencies and departments so that all the city’s residents are satisfied with the plan. However, the culture of lighting is different everywhere. The trend for example, in Moscow, is “brighter is better”. Often the process of implementing "smart" lighting design is hampered by the fact that technologies that consume less energy, are more expensive. And the government prefers to spend money on more important issues like social problems.
What competencies does a specialist in lighting design need to have?
Of course, one needs to have artistic taste. In the same way an artist must understand paints and brushes, a lighting designer needs to understand how to operate modern technologies in the field of urban or interior lighting. You don’t have to understand the ins and outs of how the device is constructed, but you do need to know about all features of the devices available. For example, the designer needs to understand that if he moves his lens at a certain angle, you get a different quality of light. A professional should be aware of and keep you with innovations in his field.
In addition, a lighting designer, and any other professional, should be able to recognise new things and to be open to fresh ideas and solutions. Otherwise, one will do only those things that he has done before, and won’t learn other, perhaps more convenient ways of doing things. Of course, you don't have to know everything in your field. But a professional should understand most lighting design processes while working effectively with lighting technicians and artists. Interdisciplinarity is the key to the development of the lighting design profession.
