> SELECTED EDITORIAL

'Mondo ARC' 2006                        -  Victoria & Albert Museum Feature               

'Informaciones de Luz'  2003      -  Paper on residential Lighting              

 'Mondo ARC' 2005                       -  Company Profile  (click for  link)

 'Informaciones de Luz'  2003      -  Interview with Max von Barnholt  (click for  link)

Interview with Max von Barnholt - 'Informaciones de Luz' 2003 (translation from Spanish original)

“Lighting is the anonymous companion of architecture”

 En route from Ibiza, where he was developing a residential project embedded in a hillside, Max von Barnholt stops in Barcelona to chat with us and show us some of his projects. It has not been easy, because this busy English lighting designer travels constantly between Great Britain, The United States, Spain, Portugal and Italy, taking light to museums, art galleries, offices, hotels, restaurants and residences. Fascinated by his profession, he recognizes that lighting is an essential element of any project as it allows appreciation of form in all of its dimensions, but he insists that his work is almost always anonymous and sacrifices its identity to benefit architecture

 Max von Barnholt is co-founder and projects director of VBK Lighting Consultants, an independent lighting designer undertaking all types of project at an international level. His work is based on 17 years in the industry, where he has specialized in the illumination of museums and art galleries such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Gallery in London.

 He lectures in various design colleges and universities, amongst which we can cite The Chelsea College of Art  & Design, The London Institute, de Montfort University, and his projects have been claimed various National and International design awards.

He is currently working on various projects including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, as well as various hotels, restaurants and residences in Great Britain, Europe and the United States.

(Interview)...

ET (Esther Torello):     Is lighting design and art or a science?

MvB (Max von Barnholt):   Both. It is the application of technology to achieve the desired aesthetic.

ET: When is it necessary to require the services of a lighting designer?

MvB: You have to consider scope. If we are talking about residential spaces, it depends upon the client’s expectations. In a contemporary space there are more opportunities for a designer. For example, we have assigned a single circuit in bedrooms of some projects we have undertaken, the client has chosen the table lamps, and that’s it, but in another project the bedroom was extremely complicated, and used equipment costing £14'000. The client always determines the requirements. For this reason, we do not commence work without prior discussions with the client and lead designer so that they can tell us how much time, effort or energy will be necessary. It depends totally on each project. In the commercial sector the scope of the lighting designer is fundamental, although the more Spartan a project, the easier it is, because there are regulations to which we have to adhere and it’s not so much about an aesthetic design. In an airport or railway station the options are limited. In a restaurant, however, you can do whatever you want. It depends on the architecture, the client and even the end user.

Should architects and lighting designers work together?

Definitely! For a lighting designer to do the best possible job with an architect or an interior designer you must get involved at the concept stage, not only at the level of finishes but also in the structural design phase. There are a great number of very important details; which way do the windows face? North, South, East or West? Where is the building located? Norway or the Middle East? Control of natural light has a very important impact when it comes to designing the lighting.

What are the most important factors when it comes to lighting works of art?

 I suppose it depends on the levels of ambient lighting. Glare control is very important, not only the glare directly from the lamps and luminaires but also the materials involved. Reflective materials such as marble, polished stone, polished floors or glass can create huge problems; not insurmountable but they can complicate matters enormously. To these constraints must be added those that the owner of the piece may demand. Depending on the age and material of the object, ultraviolet light can be a huge problem, as well as infrared and heat. Heat is probably the worst of these because it is a catalyst.  Chemical breakdown is speeded up with an increase in heat.

Cold light systems, such as fibre optics, have provided great solutions for lighting exhibitions. What are the ideal situations for their application?

 When you need a projected light from a limited distance, as is normally the case with display cabinets or closed spaces that require cold light without heat.

For the National Portrait Gallery in London you used a complex lighting system merited by a National Lighting Design Award. What can you tell us about this project?

 The luminaires were not complicated; in fact they were relatively straightforward. What was complicated was their positioning. The works of art were mounted on glass panels opposite other pieces also mounted on glass. This material was the problem as light reflected between the two pieces. A person situated on one side could see two reflections coming from the lamp, whilst a person on the other side also received direct light. Because of this, we had to frame the light directly onto the paintings and ensure it did not reach the glass panels. The advantage of lighting in this way is that you eliminate ground shadows, which would have been aesthetically not desirable. However, we took the problem to the objects because the apparatus would have been very large and not very attractive. The architect found a solution by designing a ceiling that hid all of the structure, the tracks and 400 spotlights. When you enter the gallery it is very clean and the luminaires are not visible.

Using transparent glass panels was a very risky idea. Who made that decision?

 The architect Piers Gough. It was a great idea because by using these panels he managed to exhibit a great number of paintings and also maximise the vision inside the gallery at the same time. The drawback was greater effort required to light it. If these glass panels had not been used the project would not have generated so much interest. If someone discusses a problem with us, the challenge of finding the best possible solution makes the project much more interesting.

Is there is always a technical solution to any problem?

 There is always a technical solution, but the answer may not be that desired by the client. When I showed this project to some students, one of them noted that the easiest solution would have been to illuminate the ceiling, thereby avoiding reflections in the glass. Without a doubt it is a valid solution, however, it doesn’t give the dramatic effect nor focuses attention on the artwork, which is what the client was after. If we were talking about lighting a contemporary art museum, with large sized three dimensional objects, then it would have been a good option, but in this case we were dealing with very antique artworks of small size and great value. The mood demanded direct spotlights.

Lighting equipment is more complex every passing day and there are products available for all sorts of spaces. What criteria do you follow when you choose the most appropriate equipment?

 In order to light museums and art galleries without a doubt the purity of the light is the most important factor. We always test the equipment before commissioning it. We project the light on a white surface and we only use those that produce a very clean light. In commercial projects, however, purity is not as important as efficiency. The more efficient the luminaire, the fewer number of units required and the lower the energy consumption. Priorities change drastically.

Is the use of lighting control systems important in museums and commercial projects?

Not so much in contemporary museums. In traditional museums it is vital. All museums and galleries exhibiting objects require a level of lighting control, and therefore must use controllers. But nowadays many luminaires incorporate dimmers, so it is not necessary to control them centrally but can be controlled independently. This was the case in the Maritime Museum in Greenwich, where we specified a luminaire with a built-in voltage regulator.

What are the differences between contemporary and traditional museums? Are they two different styles requiring a totally different solution?

 Yes, absolutely. To go into the detail I would have to know the space and the exhibits.

Do you use commercial products to light these projects or do you design bespoke equipment?

In museums and traditional galleries we normally use manufactured products as there are currently three or four manufacturers producing very good equipment. In contemporary spaces, where we wish to integrate luminaires as the spaces are more luminous and we do not want tracks, spots, perhaps skylights or embedded equipment in walls or hidden in ceilings. Approximately 60% of the equipment we use in our projects we design ourselves.

Do you consider lighting calculation software essential in the design process?

 If you are asking me whether they are essential to me, the answer has to be no. If you were asking me whether they are essential within the lighting industry, then I’d have to answer yes. In museums and galleries lighting calculation software is useless because it is not so much a question of how many luminaires are necessary to light the space, but more of which type if lighting is appropriate to highlight a single work of art. Lighting software is appropriate for offices, motorways, and airports, as they give you the calculations, the numbers of luminaires required. For places of leisure, museums, galleries, restaurants, clubs or residences these programmes are not useful in the least.

Does the fact that museums and great exhibitions have become popular and people attend en masse affected the way that these spaces are lit?

 Once again we have to distinguish between traditional and contemporary museums. Museums are normally denominated by their contents whilst contemporary museums are normally defined by their architecture. A large number of people exiting the Tate Modern gallery discuss the architecture and not the art within it. It’s a shame, but this could turn into a discussion about the benefits of architecture impinging upon the exhibits of a museum. Museums, Galleries and Contemporary spaces are becoming increasingly more like events. When I was little there was nothing more boring than going to a museum, whereas nowadays it is a lot more interactive and fun. Children enjoy this, and they can touch and play. In the Maritime Museum in Greenwich, there was an entire interactive hall designed especially for children, where they can spend a lot of time learning about what they are going to see in the museum.

How do you think that Architecture will change during the next few years and in what way will it affect lighting?

 Beyond a shadow of doubt the control of natural lighting. It is something that has become very apparent in Northern Europe and North America. More and more buildings are being designed with natural lighting control systems and they also use natural energy. Most people, when you mention control of natural light, believe that this involves preventing this light entering the building but actually it means redirecting, diffusing or transferring light. Light reflecting conductors (Light pipes) are very common in public buildings; used to illuminate schools, colleges or libraries as they transfer natural light to basements or windowless spaces. Another important application is the simulation of natural light. In spaces where you cannot transfer the light to the interior of the building, we are increasingly being asked to install a system that mimics natural light. One project we undertook involved installing a system that recreated natural light in a bathroom. It is not an economical solution but it’s incredible to take advantage of this light during the day. The problems come when you do not have a lighting control system,; there is nothing worse than having simulated natural daylight when you know that it is dark outside. It is vital to programme one system during the day and another for the night. I could show you several buildings lit using fluorescents, which is a source often rejected by people but which has improved considerably thanks to the high frequency that allows its dimming, where 100% of people entering from the outside world believe that they are enjoying natural lighting. If you enter the same space at midnight, however, you can easily tell that it’s fluorescent lighting. Trying to mimic daylight without taking the hour of the day into consideration is disastrous. For this reason it is vital know who, when and how they are going to use the spaces when you commission these projects.

Is it necessary to travel when you undertake projects overseas?

 We frequently undertake projects in America, and Europe. Currently we are working on various residential projects overseas. Commercial projects are normally designed by correspondence, via fax or email, as it is not always necessary to travel to the site due to the fact that they are normally designed on plans prior to their construction. The projects we travel to are normally restaurants or residences where you must get involved during the design phase.

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