Continuing research about poetic lighting design with an objective to create spatial experience using light, it is important to focus in one specific aspect of light. In order to help focusing on clear framework, a lighting competition design brief is used. New York Student Lighting Competition is held by the New York section of the Illumination Engineer’s Society of North America. From this competition theme: “Evocative Luminance” which aims to trigger an emotion or spark a memory, light will be specifically explored to make people remember about certain event or emotion. Enlarge its capacity, extend what light can do for a space. The competition brief requirements are:
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Entries should be a light installation and can be made of any material.
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Each entry must include at least one electric light source (no open flame or flammable sources allowed).
The competition does not state about limitation in type of site of which the installation should be placed. One of the competition objectives is to explore light as an art form, and it is relevant with previous research about how artist create an artwork by using light poetically.
Theme and brief of this competition shall be the client for conducting the light research and create light design. Based on the requirements above it is clear that lighting source will be artificial light and it can be in a form of projection and made of anything that is not flammable source. Light installation should prove as a medium to recall a memory and eventually evoke viewer’s emotion. Contextualization of personal focus in the design is about light as memory.
According to this brief and theme, a selection of a relevant site is important. A space where memory is exhibited. Appropriate site (situation) will support the idea of light as memory. From this understanding, National Museum of Singapore is chosen for the site. Considerations and reasons for choosing the museum as a relevant site are:
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National Museum of Singapore is home for historical artifacts and inheritance of the nation. It means this is a place where people can remember and experience about the past (relates with memory).
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As a museum, the National Museum exhibits history through cutting edge ways of presentations. It supports the light installation which tries to exhibit specific memory through light in innovative way.
Site Evaluation
About National Museum of Singapore
The building is located at 93 Stamford Road, Singapore. National museum of Singapore is designed to be a center for culture that combining historical collection with exhibitions that focusing on 20th popular culture. It is presenting history in varied and cutting edge ways to redefine the conventional museum experience. This museum also acts as a home for temporary exhibitions and a venue for art and popular events that will release new creative possibilities in culture and heritage.[1] The programming of the museum is supported by facilities such as gallery theatre, food and beverage, retail, and public sculpture garden.
Some remarks about this museum, it is surrounded by combination of historical (Wesley Methodist Church) and new buildings (SMU building). Located in city area and the original building is a colonial architecture, and it is the oldest building among the surrounding buildings.
Site Map
History of the Building
Since the light design is related with memory and history, it is important to look at the chronological history of the museum.
1887 : Opening of the Raffles Library and Museum by the governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Frederick Weld, when Singapore was part of the British Straits Settlements. It was known for its natural history collection of Southeast Asia as well as its ethnology and archeological collections.
1942-1945 : During Japanese occupation period, the Raffles Library was under the charge of Japanese.
1960 : The museum was separated from the library. Following independence in 1965 it was renamed National Museum to reflect its new role in nation building.
During this period of time the natural history collection, as well as ethnology and archeology collection was taken to Malaysia. So basically, Singapore does not have ancient ethnology and archeology artifacts.
1993 : The National Museum became part of National Heritage Board.
2003 : Commencement of the National Museum of Singapore’s redevelopment project. The Rivertales exhibition at Riverside Point was launched in August to help the museum maintain its presence.
2004 : The start of museum’s redevelopment on 25 November, and the first public announcement of the redeveloped museum as National Museum of Singapore.
2005 : On 28 November, the structural completion of the building was celebrated through topping off ceremony.
2006 : On December, the official opening of the National Museum of Singapore.
This chronology of events from the museum also reflects development and history of Singapore as society and nation. Development and changes in its function, impact the architectural development. As it is stated above, the museum building redeveloped and extended with new modern extension. The architecture itself becomes iconic because it brings the old and new together in one single site. Originally built in neo-classical architecture, the museum building is joined with modern extension of glass and metal. The extension doubles the capacity of existing building to become the biggest museum in Singapore, at 18.400 sqm. The restoration and extension honors the original architecture and puts a new face with massive modern extension. Some architectural highlights from new extension of museum that honors the old building are:
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Glass rotunda
15 metres high and 24 metres wide glass rotunda is a modern interpretation of the old original colonial building, rotunda dome. This cylindrical space in the new extension is main entrance to the history gallery.
Glass rotunda Original rotunda
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Glass passage
The glass passage rises almost 11 metres of the floor, it is built entirely of glass, with frameless structure. The glass passage conveys the experience of viewing the old building (dome), highlight the 19th century architecture from within the museum.
Glass passage
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The concourse
This space is a border between the old and new building. Modern design dominates the new extension of this museum, but
yet it is still remembered where all this came from, as
the old façade forms the atrium backdrop, linking the old with the new.
The Concourse
Site Analysis
User of museum space divided into 2 categories:
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Public visitors: people who come to this museum have great diversity in background and culture, foreigners, and local visitors. In fact, most of the visitors are foreigners. They visit to observe and learn about Singapore’s history and culture. Student also regular visitor of the museum. Only a few local people visit museum, and in those few people, most of them is family.
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Staff: staff persons occupy all over the museum space. From the entrance on the first floor, with receptionist staff and guard. Especially for the guards, spread in every space in the museum on first and second floor.
Space program in the National Museum divided into 4 floor levels:
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Basement floor:
Space program for basement floor mostly for building service facilities, which are storage, and service entrance (loading dock), while for exhibition function are temporal exhibition gallery, and gallery theatre facility. This floor level is rarely visited besides the temporal exhibition gallery.
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First floor
Space program in the first floor is all about public facilities, receptionist area, restaurant, café, shop. Singapore history galley also in this level, and for exhibition gallery takes place at the concourse area. The first floor is considered to be the busiest area because with all those public facilities, and the main entrance to the museum at this level. The concourse area is used for temporal exhibition of contemporary art or popular events.
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Second floor
On the second floor areas are dedicated to permanent exhibition gallery. Entrance to Singapore history gallery is also on this level. Permanent galleries consist of living galleries for photography, food, fashion and film. Seminar room is also provided on this floor.
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Third floor
Third floor is mainly used as offices and lab. Public is not allowed to enter this level. Access to this floor is only from staff room from second floor.
Specific Space Analysis
After analyzing the site generally, we are going to focus on two specific spaces to apply poetic light scheme. Based on the observation, old Rotunda catches attention of visitors because of its dome and light that cast through the stained glass so it becomes a gathering space for them. Also as a foyer for this museum, it has historical background because it is the main exhibition area displayed ethnographic collection back in its first years.
Another space is basement space under the glass Rotunda. It is an empty space, a dead end. Visitors neglect this space because it is just nothing to see. Although people walk through this space they do not notice the space. It is a contradiction with the old Rotunda space which is busy area. This basement space is important because it should resemble the spirit of the old Rotunda, where people gather and sense the meaning of the space. Thus, this is a problematic space that should be addressed.
Conceptual light design is expected to make this space alive, and become a memorable space, meaningful space of light that evoke memory and emotion.
Problem Statement
Identified problems (opportunities) in National Museum of Singapore are:
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The museum wants to attract more visitor especially young people to visit. The task is how to pull young crowd to appreciate, experience and learn about history and art.
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Concept as modern museum with contemporary displays and cutting edge history exhibition requires new perspective of space design in terms of poetic light.
Concept Description
Based on the space analysis, there are two spaces which have contradiction condition. Since basement space is an empty space and it requires people to come so the space will be alive, it has to be connected with other space. The design concept is movement with light because the idea is to transport people from one space to another with guidance of light.
The basic concept is to connect the old Rotunda space, as crowded space with the basement space. Light as the connection device will form a light route (red line) that will lead people to move across the museum. The route is important because it will drive people from crowded space into empty space, experience the movement of light space and highlight of spatial containers. The intention of making the basement space alive is to prove light can change an empty space into a memorable space and even experience memory.
As shown in the picture above, red line covers and connects the problematic areas. This red line will be the path of light (light route). Light route goes through other spaces in the museum such as the hallway so these spaces will also establish a connection between old Rotunda and basement space.
The route is a journey of people’s life. Everyone has his own journey, his own history. Museum where people are looking back to history, light will lead people to look back in their lives.
As a light journey this route is divided into four parts as a translation of human life phases. First phase is instability to elaborate how weak and unstable human is in his early years. Second phase is phase of struggle and obstacles in human life, which is important phase that everyone has to overcome with. Third phase is a bright phase as a translation of best moments in someone’s life. The last part is reflection phase which is a phase of remembering entire journey and reflect on it, in calmness and depth.
Research about Light
Previous research had done in terms of poetic light through some artworks contribute in the development of this light research. Study about Dan Flavin and Mary Temple, artists who work with light and engage space at the same time demonstrate how light is extended into deeper layer of meaning. Light does not merely to fulfill illumination task, it is a device to add meaning and trigger emotion.
In Flavin’s work light is stripped down to basic by using simple fluorescent tubes, light take over the atmosphere. The space is immersed in colorful light. His light blur the spatial border eventually it affects our perception and emotion of the space.
Dan Flavin
Varese Corridor
1976
Dan Flavin
Monument for those who have been
killed in ambush, 1966
Mary Temple works with light as shadows. She paints subtle shadows on architectural setting. Through her paintings light is engaged with phenomenology of memory. She plays with sub consciousness of viewers, interrupt perception of what is real and what is not within a freeze time frame. Time is important issue that will affect her works because it will affect light color tone, also the form of shadows.
Mary Temple
As cars pass by
(2007)
Mary Temple
South west corner and
3 Pillars, North Light (2006)
Further research is done in architectural project by Daniel Libeskind, the Jewish Museum, Berlin. Research on Jewish Museum project is relevant because its spaces are designed and filled with poetic light as remembrance of a historical event, the Holocaust period. The concept of between lines, the history of Jewish in Germany, straight line but broken into many fragments, the other is tortuous line but continuing indefinitely. It is applied in the building form. Strong design element of this museum is play with voids, as resemblance of emptiness, embodiment of absence.
All those design elements strengthen with conceptual light to capture the emotion back when the historical moment occurred. As shown in the Holocaust tower, in such scale, with narrow and extremely high space, the space left in dark creates a frantic space and light from above as a slit of hope.
Daniel Libeskind
Jewish Museum, Berlin
Design Philosophy and Application
From the two artists, Flavin and Temple a conclusion can be generated is light has a strong impact on psychology and memory. Approaches from these two artists can be applied into light space design which is by using strong colored ambient light and moving shadows projection. In architecture as shown in Jewish Museum, light has proven to evoke memory. In the context of National Museum light should also be able to evoke people’s memory and emotion through light on understanding conceptual approaches of masters’ works.
Layout plan
Section
Conceptual approach based on Flavin’s works is highlight the space with strong light that make the viewers feel the space is dissolved and replace by light, and sense the space is changing, in terms of mood and atmosphere. Encounter with strong ambient of light will evoke people’s emotion. This approach is applied in the two parts of the light journey design.
The first part of light installation is placed in the old Rotunda, using green color to express something new, fresh, a beginning of life. Angled, small fluorescent tubes are installed as an expression of unstable feeling.
Fluorescent lamp is used in this first installation as an expression of minimalist design and subtle light interjection in this historical space. Small size of the lamps is meant to give first impression of colorful light fill the space and not noticing the light source.
Moving to next phase of the light journey, phase of struggle and obstacles, light comes in form red crossing blue which is located blocking the hallway. Opposing feeling and tension is expected to be felt in this space.
Entering phase three, light installation consist of transparent glass, LED lamps and movement sensor. Light effect that is wished to achieve is sense of excitement. LED lights give effect of twinkling light and it will light up only when people passing by a sensor on the glass panel thus it is an ephemeral experience of light.
Final phase of the light journey is end up at the basement floor with enclosed screen walls. After following light route people will enter space of calmness where light is shown in form of moving reflection. Moving reflection means adopting sunlight that is designed to penetrate through patterned screen, and the light is changing in tone and moving, give effect of subtle light and shadow reflection inside space. Floor lamp is also applied to project the shadow of people inside the space to the screen facing the escalator so viewing from outside there are overlapping shadows and light.
Detail basement layout
In the whole design scheme, scale plays important role because sense of space conveyed by poetics of light will be emphasized with play of scale. The space will be overwhelmed with light.
Conclusion
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Applying light as a device to connect spaces can evoke memory and emotion of people’s personal life history.
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Poetic light with intention to spark memory and emotion will activate spatial meaning.
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Design principle that can be generated from this light research is poetic connection of spaces is possible with play of light and shadows.
Bibliography
Mack, Gerhard (2005) Herzog and De Meuron 1992-1996, Switzerland: Birkhauser-Publishers for Architecture
Mende, Kaoru (2000) Designing with Light and Shadow, Australia: The Images Publishing Group Pty. Ltd
Meyers, Victoria (2006) Designing with Light, London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd
Ragheb, J. Fiona (1999) Dan Flavin: The Architecture of Light, New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications
Vettese, Angela (2004) Dan Flavin: Rooms of Light, London: Thames and Hudson Ltd
WordNet® 3.0 Princeton University 19 Sep. 2007. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/phenomenology>
www.aldrichlook2.org/look2/marytemple/
www.artnet.com/artist/424664624/mary-temple.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Flavin
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/flavin/retrospective.htm
[1] Quoted from: www.nationalmuseum.sg
February 29, 2008 at 9:59 am
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