New Year 2019

51 Studio Illumine was founded in 2012 by Azlan Nazam as a lighting design practise. He tells us more about the trials and tribulations of starting a business in what was a fairly new industry. Studio illumine is an independently owned lighting design practice which focuses on both interior and exterior projects. Founded in 2012 by Azlan Nazam, it comprises of designers with a passion for light, architecture, art and design. Its team of nine members have varied backgrounds and come from all over the world, not only from China. The practice started out working mainly on high end commercial office interior projects. This quickly expanded to retail, education, healthcare, and interior and exterior public space projects over the course of 5 years. In 2017, on a façade project for Caohejing Development in Shanghai, Studio Illumine won the CIES (China Illuminating and Engineering Society) award for the best exterior façade project in China, beating more than 20 other entries which comprised of mega commercial complexes, theme parks and skyscrapers projects. That same project also became a finalist entry for two other international awards that same year. Prior to founding Studio Illumine, Azlan was working as a senior designer, doing both interiors and lighting projects for a Shanghai based interior design practice; Robarts Spaces. Azlan started his professional career in interior design. Through this, he developed a keen interest in lighting design and consequently moved to Germany to complete a Master’s degree in lighting. He then went on to practice lighting design in the UK before coming to China in 2010. “Aside from keen design sense and passion for design, a great designer needs to have an astute sense of empathy,” states Aslan. “This quality puts the designer in the shoes of the client and fellow consultants, allowing them a greater understanding of their needs and concerns. Only through a thorough understanding of the needs, will the solution be viable and meaningful. The designer then lends his/her design sense, steering the project to meet design, function and code requirements.” Architectural lighting design is a relatively new industry which has emerged out of lighting engineering, and Aslan tells us more about his and his firm’s objectives, and how they strive to achieve these. “Traditionally, most who worked on architectural lighting were engineers and based their solutions on number based calculations to obtain the optimum light quantity in a space. Due to this, spaces often tend to feel practical and visually flat as the objective is to obtain the necessary lighting levels. “Studio Illumine believes in “lighting with meaning”. We strive to bridge the gap between ‘traditional lighting’ and creative design, taking lighting beyond merely its functional means. We address visual comfort (the absence of glare), we aim to create drama with light and we use light to express built forms and architecture. “The recognition of lighting as another tool of design that can be applied to architectural elements, helps us to create spaces which are like pieces of art. “We see ourselves not only as designers, but as “artists” who work with light, and we believe this sets us apart from most of our competitors in our industry.” The lighting design industry in China is young, energetic and thriving. In this fast-paced world of Chinese lighting design, the demand for new projects is always high, therefore, it is essential that the Studio Illumine team is fully prepared to meet the needs of all its clients. “The team ensures that its members are constantly learning and exploring despite their busy schedules,” comments Aslan. “In addition to attending and visiting conferences and lighting fairs abroad, team members are encouraged to share what they have learned on a weekly basis. This learning ranges from new methods and ideas, to new-found lighting fixtures and site and coordination issues. In this respect, we believe that everyone is constantly informed and therefore, mistakes are less likely to be made.” In the wake of Studio Illumine recently being recognised in the LUX Leading Designer 2018 Awards, Aslan highlights one particular project that was not only highly successful, but also taught the team an awful lot along the way. “All of our projects have brought knowledge to the team,” he begins. “Our most successful projects are the ones that made the biggest impact. Caohejing Kehui project is one of these projects, and was in fact the first large scale exterior lighting project for the team.” The concept of One Cube – One Reflection was the source of inspiration in façade lighting of a 20-floor commercial office tower in CaoHeJing, Shanghai. With the use of specialised, 360 degree LED projectors strategically mounted at the base of each bay, the lighting design team produced a glowing lit latticework of squares, making the building’s aluminium facade appear as if it has been lit from within. A blue-lit band, positioned on the 10th floor, halves the design into two, enhancing the concept of reflection, as the lighting effects at the top part of the building mirrors that of the bottom. Determined for this not to be simply another media façade project (a phenomenon which we commonly see in China), where building facades essentially turn into oversized TV screens for advertisements, Studio Illumine produced a strong concept built off of the architect’s vision of the tower. “The concept served as a narration, and provided a purpose for the lighting design solution. It then ensured our final design was well integrated with the architecture and vastly differed from most other facades in China.” In fact, Caohejing Kehui Tower won the Best Façade Design Award in the 2017 CIES Award. With regards to the future, Aslan sees a bright future ahead for Studio Illumine and the lighting design industry as a whole. “As the design industry in developed nations becomes more environmentally aware and concerned with the well-being of the occupants, so does the industry in China. It may be happening at a slower rate, however the emergence of design standards in America like WELL, which focus on wellness, and LEED, focusing on efficient energy usage, encourages Chinese companies to adopt similar standards. This intent creates awareness and trend, particularly as adopting such standards has often been used as a powerful marketing tool for the companies. We see this as a growing theme in the next 12 months, especially within the commercial work place sector.” Style The Future is Bright 1809LU09