Planning with a Vision

When I heard about Ulrike Brandi’s new book I was really looking forward to reading it. After all, the title alone “Licht Natur Architektur” (Light Nature Architecture) seems to suggest that it is about much more than that type of lighting design that is informed entirely by technical considerations. Indeed, the title clearly conveys by contrast that she takes a holistic approach, in other words her view that light and lighting design must be seen as an inseparable whole. With her office in Hamburg – Ulrike Brandi Licht –since 1986 she has realized projects in the fields of artificial lighting, daylight design, and master plans both in luminaire development and design. Her reference projects include the Elb Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg and the Royal Academy of Music in London not to mention master plans for Rotterdam and Hamburg’s HafenCity.

I must say that initially I was rather surprised by the book’s brevity. Given the sheer breadth of her chosen topic I would have reckoned on it being a great deal longer. However, with a consummate lightness of touch Ulrike Brandi succeeds in conveying complicated ideas in an easily understandable language in just over 140 pages. With her book, Brandl, who has after all been a highly successful lighting designer for many years, would like to emphasize “that light is a very essential part of our lives and lighting design is equivalent to social and political work.” Which is why she is not looking to reach specialists or upcoming lighting designers or architects alone through her publication. “Licht Natur Architektur” clearly shows that lighting design cannot and should not be considered in isolation. In the introduction Brandi already emphasizes the multi-disciplinary nature of her specialist area and has accordingly divided her publication into ten chapters: Nature, Evolution, Perception, Culture, Sustainability, Health, Darkness, Dynamics, Composition and Atmosphere, Magic. I was able to experience for myself how she understands her work with light back in 2007 at a week-long workshop she led in Boisbuchet, France (organized by the Vitra Design Museum) There she encouraged us to observe light, perceive changes and develop a sense for various light moods.

“Every lighting design begins with studying natural lighting phenomena,” she writes in the introduction to the chapter entitled “Nature”. These lighting effects are based on physical laws that Ulrike Brandi explains very clearly and illustrates with drawings and photos of completed projects. In this respect she demonstrates a particular talent for establishing these relationships and presenting them plausibly. As an expert Ulrike Brandi uses terms such as lighting strength and daylight factor or reflection and transmission in her book yet newcomers to the subject will have no problems understanding them within their context and the book also includes an extensive glossary of these very terms.

For planners the author provides practical guides on various topics, and these pages are edged in yellow for easy identification. In the chapter on “Nature”, where she deals among other things with the use of daylight in buildings she offers tips for “investigating daylight conditions inside”. She refers to standards and guidelines and points out that as there are no nationwide but only state-specific energy saving regulations there may be discrepancies from one state to another regarding the use of daylight in buildings. How much of the daylight and its spectral composition still reaches us inside as a result of more insulation and more robustly constructed windows? In the chapters on “Sustainability” and “Darkness” Brandi also takes a closer look at other critical questions: “We make light so as to see more but we see less and less,” she comments. This is also a reference to the excessive use of artificial light at night – a widespread occurrence. Measures to preserve the night sky for future generations and protect the welfare of both people and nature are promoted and initiated under the label ‘Dark Sky‘. They aim to prevent light pollution. “Rather than exploiting the advantages of energy efficiency and using less electricity we make the world brighter harming it and all of us,” she adds.

Her statement underlines the fact that how we handle light is a topic to be addressed by society as a whole and affects us all. Ulrike Brandi also underscores the various ways in which she designs light sustainably. She asks us to consider that daylight is freely available and carbon-free, and this aspect should be adequately taken into account when building. Rather than using the available daylight and complementing it effectively with artificial light there is often too strong a focus on using LED lighting. As Ulrike Brandi sees it, one reason for this is that “people believe energy-efficient LEDs provide rooms with good, adequate light cheaply.” Her comments on the circular economy, reparability and recyclability of LED lights are also very informative. She provides an overview of environmental certificates and as a guide for planners lists criteria for evaluating lights and luminaires that she also applies in her own projects.

The author addresses this question and says: “The healthiest light is unfiltered, spectrally rich light.” She explains the non-visual, biological impacts light has on people and how it’s directly linked to our inner clock which is regulated by the sun: The day/night rhythm, also called the circadian rhythm, controls essential processes in our bodies. How can this knowledge be usefully incorporated into and implemented in a lighting concept? In the chapter on “Dynamics” she elaborates on systems used to control light and how they can be employed to adapt light to our needs at any given time. Here she returns to the topic of light and sustainability again: “Light regulating systems can support principles of the circular economy such as cradle-to-cradle,” explains the author.

With her book Ulrike Brandi shows how extensively lighting design interweaves with several other disciplines. She includes ecological, economic, and social aspects. How do we design the space we live and work in? What impacts does artificial lighting have on people and the environment? As the author sees it, the fields of ecology, economy, and society influence each other and form a common ground that is ultimately expressed in the three concepts of life, aesthetics and meaning. She therefore calls for greater consultation between researchers and users and also creates a greater awareness for the medium light by interspersing her text with literary quotes so as to provide readers with an additional emotional entry to her ideas. I would also like to mention the foreword by British architect Ian Ritchie, a trusted partner on a number of joint projects. He invites readers to adopt a philosophical view of the situation that is thought-provoking in the positive sense: “We have so illuminated our physical environment that experiencing darkness outdoors is now almost impossible anywhere close to human habitation. We have lost touch with the cosmos, our place within it and rotation through it, and perhaps in many ways with ourselves,” he says in the preface.

From the aurora borealis via fireflies through to dynamic daylight control, insect-friendly light and finally climate change – Ulrike Brandi relates everything and in doing so makes light much more palpable as a dimension in its own right. This is what most fascinated me about her book. Moreover, the chapters follow on logically from one another, but can also be read singly. This is a book you will pick up again and again.