How to use lighting to craft emotive spatial experiences with Erco

Entitled Lighting as an Experience, the panel discussion was moderated by Malaysia-based Tatler Homes regional managing editor Jennifer Choo, and featured three award-winning speakers: lighting designer and principal of Light Collab Toh Yah Li, director and co-founder of Takenouchi Webb Marc Webb, and managing principal of Hassell Tulsi Grover.

The discussion was also attended by more than 60 architecture, interior design and build environment practitioners, as well as international Erco leadership: board of directors member Mark Oliver Schreiter, Asia Pacific managing director Jack Tan, regional manager for South East Asia and Bangladesh Adrian Tan, global cluster and culture manager Matthew Cobham, and Asia Pacific technical manager Luis Barahona. 

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Choo kicked off the discussion by asking the panel about the role of lighting in their design. 

“Lighting is the soul of space,” says Toh. “It can make people feel comfortable, restful, or productive. It can reveal textures, surfaces and materials. While seeking technical solutions, we also turn challenges into opportunities to craft a narrative with lighting that can uplift, give hope and enjoyment not only to people, but also the greater habitats.”

Collaborate as early as possible with lighting experts in a project, shared Grover. “Downplaying the importance of lighting in interior design would be a significant oversight,” he says. Beyond the conventional roles of ensuring functionality, safety, and comfort in a given space, the team at Hassell has identified two critical dimensions that shape our design philosophy: spatial perception and visual impact.

“By employing different lighting fixtures and techniques, we can accentuate interior architectural features, showcase artwork, or emphasise specific areas, thereby elevating the overall aesthetic appeal of the space. To summarise, lighting in interior design extends far beyond mere illumination. It's about the integration of light into the environment, ensuring it caters to the people using these spaces,” he elaborates.

“Our studio is involved in both commercial and residential projects,” shares Webb, emphasising the importance of lighting in both typologies. “For commercial projects we need to balance between creating a dramatic environment for guests, together with the practical elements, such as lighting the tables sufficiently in a restaurant setting. For residential projects there is more of an emphasis on having individual control and mood setting, together with some highlighting of art-work and display.” 

Each panellist then shared their approach to crafting experience with lighting as a design tool via their built projects. These examples range from business cards to notable hospitality venues like Parkroyal Marina Bay Collection, the former Straits Clan, French Fold, Idlewild and The Work Project Mark Business Club.

One of the pain points they identified was client buy-in. In practice, they shared, lighting designers were among the last consultants to be hired for a project when they should be amongst the first, so their expertise could have a significant ripple effect for the finished project. This was also related to sustainability of the projects. “Early lighting design integration prevents complications at the later stages,” shares Toh. 

Other than early collaboration, Grover added innovate design and advocacy as two other examples of collective efforts to integrate sustainability into a project via lighting design. “Explore passive design strategies and create design concepts which use less energy, or adaptive lighting, which adjusts based on user needs and occupancy. We must also collectively advocate for sustainable design practices within the industry and with clients,” he says.  

Webb credited leading lighting product manufacturers for coming up with more sustainable fixtures. He elaborates: “From when we started our practice there has been a huge shift away from halogen towards LED. Fittings are increasingly becoming smaller, more energy efficient and with a longer life-span, which overall is more sustainable. A well-planned, smart home system that can adjust with the daylight level also reduces the amount of energy consumed.”

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The panel discussion concluded with a lively question-and-answer session. Chia Ngiang Hong, general manager of CDL, asked the panellists on their comparison of lighting design in the East and West. “I came from England, where everything is grey most of the time," answers Webb. “In contrast with Singapore, which has abundant of sunlight that we can harness for the better spatial experience.”

Jayendra Shah, partner at Foster + Partners, asked about the role of daylight in lighting design, which most of time place greater importance of artificial light. “It depends on the space,” answers Grover, elaborating that the role of daylight differed in, for example, an office or a resort villa. An interesting fact also emerged from the question: Singapore is one of the most light polluted cities in the world, something to think about for the panellists and audience alike.  

A networking session marked the end of the illuminating evening, where guests mingled and exchanged thoughts and contacts while live music and craft cocktails flowed freely. 

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