And for the next hundred years ...
05-10-2009
When did we realise that we had more than enough light and could start thinking about how we use it, rather than worrying all the time about not having enough?
More to the point � when will we realise that we have enough light?
The history of humankind has been one of looking for light � any light � because there never was enough to go around. Light was difficult and expensive to make and never lasted very long. We worked by daylight and rested in the darkness. And then we discovered the electric light.
My passion for light began almost forty years ago (and that really is a scary thing to write!) and I reckon that�s just about the time when we could have looked around and said: �This is great! Now we can really get into how we want this stuff to work for us.�
Except that�s not how we work. It feels that we�re hard-wired to believe that illumination is still the only thing that matters � how light is delivered isn�t relevant, because we don�t understand that we have enough � and more than enough.
My professional body, the Society of Light and Lighting is 100 years old and we�re just entering our second century. And I think its time that we started to campaign for Light rather than Illumination. We have masses of experience in creating Illumination, but we�re still learning about how Light works for us.
There are interesting times ahead. Energy will be at a premium and the indulgent times are past. On behalf of the future, the lighting designer needs to declare an interest on behalf of the aesthetics of Light.
