Lisa Bornemann
GZ: Without light there is no architectural result. And let’s not forget that when you talk about light, you have to do so in terms of the 24-hour life of a building—daytime and nighttime appearance. Part of the problem is that the profession is too compartmentalized, instead of looking at lighting as one whole thing.
LB: In programs that are not completely focused on lighting it is important to have some exposure to other classes. I had a psychology class that was beneficial because it got us thinking about behavioral response to light.
MR: You have to give a contextual foundation for the student to understand the impact they are providing in a space.
LW: Those students coming out of a theater lighting design background have a different kind of hands-on experience than architecture students, particularly in terms of being able to experiment in real space. Theater students have full-scale mock-up spaces in school—it’s the way they are taught. It’s not common in architectural education. Architecture students are always working on paper or the computer, everything is so virtual. Enabling students to actually see and experience a space is invaluable.
ED: Do offices need to promote an integrated studio approach?
MG: You cannot purposely construct an office that way; it is about the chemistry between people. Once you have the right group in place, it’s up to the principal to mold the office.
MR: I think the lighting design profession just has a branding issue. A lot of us, in a sense, fly under the radar screen in terms of the general public having any sense about what we do.
ED: That raises an interesting idea about the need for a star personality or personalities for the profession. Is it necessary to have a “face” of the lighting design community?
MG: I do see a need to legitimize lighting design as a profession among architects. Lighting is not an alternative career anymore. I encourage people to finish architecture school even if they do not think they will practice because there are so many different things that you can do with that kind of design education.
LW: If you go to Wikipedia and type in “lighting design,” you get an entry for theatrical lighting design, not an entry for architectural lighting design. We’re not on the radar screen. You need something in mainstream, like a Vanity Fair fashion spread of lighting designers dressed in designer clothes. Something like that. You get my drift.