Let there be Light - bring a shimmer and glimmer to your place

In 2016 Vivid Sydney smashed all previous attendance records attracting some 2.3 million visitors to our fair city. The transformation of iconic landmarks, buildings, spaces and places through the use of light, sound and creativity has now become a festival of international acclaim.

Listening to Vivid Creative Director, Ignatius Jones, at the associated Media Architecture Biennale 2016, Vivid has been a journey of experimentation, innovation and passion. In 2009 the inaugural Vivid opened to gasps of amazement with the lighting of the sails of the Sydney Opera House. A kaleidoscope of colours, shapes and artworks danced across the tile canvas bringing people to stop and stare in wonder.

Eight years later you only had to step outside of the lecture theatre from where the former rock star was telling the story, to see the dramatic impact lighting technology and pure imagination has had on this festival. Here across the harbour in downtown Chatswood nightly kids young and old, could be found chasing life size dinosaurs across the floor and walls of the public Concourse. As the animated images lurched, glided and soared so did the people. A key observation was that the once Vivid watcher had now become a Vivid participant, engaged, immersed and embedded in the light itself.

The captivating light art sculptures, installations and projections of Vivid are no doubt a world class showcase of lighting engineering and creativity. Yet the use of light as a showcase is only one example of the capacity and criticality of light to transform public spaces.

Leni Schwendinger, Lighting Designer and Urbanist at Arup, conducts 'night seeing tours' to open the eyes of decision makers, influencers and users of the public space after dark. Equipped with megaphone, pointing above the awnings, stopping to explain the difference between sparkle and twinkle and demonstrating the interplay between public and private light, Leni recently led a mob of us through the Double Bay Shopping Village.

To the uninitiated the tour was illuminating, providing an explanation as to why a pathway may be taken or avoided, why a family may linger in a park to watch the sunset or pack up once the sun drops in the sky, and why customers walk through a doorway or simply keep walking. Leni is a lobbyist for the light, she argues that while darkness occupies fifty per cent of the world's time it is rarely afforded the same attention as the day when it comes to creating our civic spaces. In fact, according to Leni, every twenty-four hours is not simply a function of day versus night but instead is a continuum of shades that gives rise to moods, moments and methods to interact and entice the community.

In the Double Bay Village Leni believes there is the opportunity to use light to capture and leverage the essence of the place to create something stylish, intimate, refreshing. To shape a range of lighting projects that recognises that the Double Bay night is defined by its dining and social economy, along with a blend of natural landscaping and architectural features. This includes using light to create links with transport and slow down traffic, develop distinctive gateways and pathways to the Village such as ferry wharf, showcase existing monuments and artworks, and develop a distinctive and elegant after dark ambiance.

Much like Vivid, Double Bay has experienced a journey of light. From the night seeing tour the night time objectives have been translated into a lighting master plan. A masterplan that will use the glints, reflections and shadows of the place to create a rhythm of light to guide the future development of the public realm. Over the months ahead initiatives and projects will become a reality opening up the night in spaces and to create places across the Village.

While the lighting master plan is unique to the community of Double Bay, the issues and problems are not. Many communities across Sydney and the country are confronted with the challenge of managing increased urbanisation placing increased demands on existing social and economic infrastructure. It makes perfect sense to use light to improve the night time legibility, safety and enjoyment of our parks, walkways, arcades, and streets by extending their hours of use.

It is time to let there be light.

Also available at - https://www.sydneystandard.com.au/newsdesk/6550-Let-There-Be-Light.php