海角视频

Elias Gomez describes how 海角视频’s lighting team joined 7N Architects in their contribution to La Biennale di Venezia.

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the exhibition was moved from Venice to the 鈥� Scotland’s first design museum. The exhibition 鈥� which is named ‘‘ 鈥� runs from May until November 2021.

The exhibition responds to the theme ‘How will we live together?’ It aims to re-engage the civic role of design professionals by asking communities from across Scotland to share their hopes and dreams for the future.

The dream

When you are part of the design community, you dream of having your work exhibited. Or you dream of working with other designers to create an environment that exhibits what the world of design has to offer. For me, is one of those dreams.

The opportunity

As a lighting designer, most of my work has focused on the permanent built environment. Previously, I had never had the opportunity to use my creative skills for a temporary exhibition.

However, last year my friend Sam Boyle told me that in Edinburgh had been appointed to design the Scottish space at the 2020 Venice Biennale. My immediate response (besides congratulating 7N) was that 海角视频 would be extremely happy to help with this project.

The idea

The 鈥榃hat if鈥�?/Scotland鈥� exhibition pairs local residents with designers and architects to explore their  views on how their community can make Scotland a better place to live. Together, the architects, designers and residents analysed the challenges faced by their communities and envisioned ways in which they could overcome them.

The exhibition presents videos of the various workshops throughout Scotland, alongside a design matrix that illustrates the different proposals and a ‘Cloud of dreams’.

The process

7N Architects wanted to create an exhibition that offered the best visitor experience. To achieve this, 海角视频鈥檚 lighting team met up with them regularly to help realise the design.

For the architectural exhibition, Scotland had been given a beautiful space next to one of the canals in Venice. The exhibition rooms were accessible via a pedestrian bridge and the site was easy to access.

The exhibition was divided into two different spaces in order to provide two different experiences. The first was a welcoming space with a hanging 鈥機loud of dreams鈥� and a design matrix that would allow visitors to express their wishes. The second room contained projections of the design experiences that 7N Architects had documented across Scotland.

We had liaised with the different manufacturers and they were ready to supply the necessary equipment. The design was coming together beautifully. And then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and as a consequence there was a global lockdown.

With this devastating turn of events, we realised that the project might not be able to go ahead. The pandemic was causing chaos throughout Europe, so all our ideas were put on hold.

Almost a year later

In early 2021 we received the good news that the exhibition was to go ahead, but it would be in the V&A in Dundee instead of Venice. This news filled us with happiness and excitement as the exhibition would now be closer to home and therefore give greater access to the people of Scotland.

In a very short timeframe, we updated our design to meet the spatial requirements for the new venue.  The V&A in Dundee also offered us two spaces, but with more generous dimensions. The room were larger and taller, which allowed us to improve our design proposal.

The design proposal

For the lighting design, we followed the following principles:

• The design matrix would be highlighted with the use of specially designed luminaries that cast light onto the wall without causing any glare. We call these 鈥榳all washers鈥�.
• The ‘Cloud of dreams鈥� (the space where visitors express their wishes) would be illuminated from above. To achieve this, we needed to consider which type of luminaire and paper to use. For example, did we want shiny, reflective surfaces? Or matt surfaces? Each choice would lead to very different results.
• The projection room (where the short movies were showcased) would remain as per the original design.

Our lighting design was in conjunction with 7N Architects and Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS). We also collaborated with the museum, who provided all the equipment we needed.

The ‘Cloud of dreams’

The ‘Cloud of dreams’ became the main challenge of the exhibition. It is the focal point of interaction between the physical space and the visitor, who has the opportunity to contribute to the exhibition. As a result, good lighting had the potential to turn this space into something more special and beautiful.

The creative process

7N Architects had referenced images to illustrate what they wanted to achieve. We used our creative thinking, technical knowledge, and the equipment from the V&A Dundee to define which pieces would be best to use. We also worked out their offset to the top of the cloud and the distance between them.

We liaised with external suppliers to provide filters for the lights in order to make the light warmer and create a higher colour contrast in the room.

We spent a couple of nights testing several colour combinations in the architect鈥檚 studio. This was a very enjoyable and collaborative process. We all worked together to decide the best outcome for the exhibition in terms of light colour and offset.

After the ideas were defined, presented, and approved by all parties, we proceeded to produce the documentation that would allow the contractors to the exhibit. My colleague Claire Hope (Associate Lighting Designer) visited the site to tune in all the lights after they were installed, just before the exhibition opened to the public on the 22 of May 2021.

The final result

On 7 June 2021, I went to see the exhibition with the entire team from 7N Architects. Two things were better than I had anticipated:

• The museum was full 鈥� on a Monday morning! The exhibition rooms were busy and people were casting their wishes into the wishing well. It was wonderful to see such a high level of visitor engagement.
• The lighting proposal was doing its job seamlessly, even as the 鈥楥loud of dreams鈥� kept expanding to overtake the whole room. The exhibition lighting had been implemented according to our design and all parties were pleased with the final result. By influencing the room finishes, using the right luminaires and selecting a good fit for the filters, we had created a magical environment.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. Although we were disappointed that the exhibition didn鈥檛 happen in Venice, we are thrilled that we created a space that expresses people鈥檚 aspirations for better public spaces, and for the people of Scotland to enjoy. It is a place where visitors can  experience, reflect and communicate, with the power to push us to become a more creative and inclusive society.

鈥榃hat if鈥�?/Scotland鈥� makes us step outside of our comfort zone. It challenges us to think how we can improve the public realm and the places where we live. It makes us consider how can create a better life, not only for ourselves, but for each community and the whole Scottish nation. Scotland has a lot of potential. The potential relies on us, it is up to us to see how we can make it a better place to live.

Visit the exhibition and make your wish

If you have never visited Dundee, this is a great moment to go. The exhibition is a beautiful waterfront location from May until November 2021. Come along and see how all the 鈥榃hat if鈥�?/Scotland鈥� proposals have been brought to life. You can also join in , making a wish that will be included in the 鈥榃hat if鈥�?/Scotland鈥� exhibition.