Seeking to explore power as crucial factor in the design of the built environment, we will look at energy systems and related objects, from sites of generation to spaces of consumption, from distribution networks to control rooms.
Tutors: Filip Geerts and Sanne van den Breemer
Director of Studies: Salomon Frausto
Contributors: Santiago Ardila, Juan Benavides, Daniella Camarena, Stef Dingen, Marco Fusco, Jack Garay Arauzo, Theodora Gelali, Shaiwanti Gupta, Hao Hsu, Marianthi Papangelopoulou, Felipe Quintero, Gent Shehu, Siyuan Wang
@theberlage.nl
Light Culture
Public Opinion, Light, Distribution, Consumption, National, Ginza, Tokyo, Technology, Culture, Economy, Lifestyle, Illustration
The Japanese Color Woodblock Print, Spring Night at Ginza by Kasamatsu Shiro, originally made in 1934[1], portays a nostalgic glimpse of the Ginza of budding willows and soft lights before it became a carnival of flashing neon. By this illustration, many interesting facts are shown, about the atmosphere and light in the Ginza area. Shiro was particularly adept at suggesting nuances of weather and atmosphere of specific times and places. Light is related to atmosphere, with a place and the people that it surrounds.
The traditional lighting equipment of Japan from the Edo period and prior to that holds interesting information about the light culture. One of the traditional light equipment is the andon, is a lamp consisting of paper stretched over a frame of bamboo, wood or metal. Japanese light lamps made by washi paper, natural light resembling sunlight. The Japanese seem to have a preference in things that are indirect and ambiguous and we could state that this kind of lighting is reflecting that sensibility. In contrast, glaring and fluorescent light can be found everywhere around contemporary Tokyo. During the war the blackouts were a measure against bombings.[2] For people leaving in those years, light became a symbol of piece and security. With fluorescent light, more economical and different ways of lighting were used in the everyday life, compared to the earlier years. Light could be a symbol of hope, with light festivals and illuminations lifting the people’s spirit, like led light installations located in Omotesando resembling traditional Japanese candlelight.
1. Newland Reigle Amy, Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection,Hotei Publishing (2004): 113
2. “Lights In Japan, Japanology”, Accessed March 10, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=dVwrN1U3GFE
See photos
Visit ephemera: 26, 33
Public Opinion, Light, Distribution, Consumption, National, Ginza, Tokyo, Technology, Culture, Economy, Lifestyle, Illustration
The Japanese Color Woodblock Print, Spring Night at Ginza by Kasamatsu Shiro, originally made in 1934[1], portays a nostalgic glimpse of the Ginza of budding willows and soft lights before it became a carnival of flashing neon. By this illustration, many interesting facts are shown, about the atmosphere and light in the Ginza area. Shiro was particularly adept at suggesting nuances of weather and atmosphere of specific times and places. Light is related to atmosphere, with a place and the people that it surrounds.
The traditional lighting equipment of Japan from the Edo period and prior to that holds interesting information about the light culture. One of the traditional light equipment is the andon, is a lamp consisting of paper stretched over a frame of bamboo, wood or metal. Japanese light lamps made by washi paper, natural light resembling sunlight. The Japanese seem to have a preference in things that are indirect and ambiguous and we could state that this kind of lighting is reflecting that sensibility. In contrast, glaring and fluorescent light can be found everywhere around contemporary Tokyo. During the war the blackouts were a measure against bombings.[2] For people leaving in those years, light became a symbol of piece and security. With fluorescent light, more economical and different ways of lighting were used in the everyday life, compared to the earlier years. Light could be a symbol of hope, with light festivals and illuminations lifting the people’s spirit, like led light installations located in Omotesando resembling traditional Japanese candlelight.
1. Newland Reigle Amy, Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection,Hotei Publishing (2004): 113
2. “Lights In Japan, Japanology”, Accessed March 10, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=dVwrN1U3GFE
See photos
Visit ephemera: 26, 33