海角视频

In recognition for excellence in his field, Farhad Rahim has been made a member of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers.

Having joined 海角视频 in 2016, Farhad is currently responsible for the development of the practice鈥檚 lighting discipline in the UK. His entry into this eminent professional body 鈥� known as a livery company 鈥� comes at a time when 海角视频鈥檚 lighting capability has never been more sophisticated.

When I joined, I wanted to make our lighting offer more visible in the UK market,鈥� says Farhad. 鈥淒evelop what we鈥檝e already started and keep improving.

Farhad Rahim, Associate Director

To accomplish this ambition, he works in tandem with the UK team鈥檚 Head of Lighting; who takes responsibility for running the team while Farhad focuses on cultivating new client relationships.

What differentiates us from other practices is that, in addition to the artistic side and good technical knowledge, we take a comprehensive approach to integrating our lighting designs with multidisciplinary teams. It鈥檚 a strong offer.鈥�

UK Head of Lighting

Originally operating as trade guilds, the City of London鈥檚 first livery companies were founded in the 14^th century. Unsurprisingly, the earliest groups comprised traditional businesses such as grocers, haberdashers and ironmongers. In 1984, the Lightmongers became the 96^th name on a growing list that now encompasses 110 occupations; reflecting the capital鈥檚 evolving skills base, more recent additions include the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants. Though some organisations 鈥� such as the Goldsmiths and the Gunmakers 鈥� still fulfil significant functions, the livery companies of today exist primarily as philanthropic, educational and social institutions. What remains constant is that an invitation to join any one of them is a huge honour.

You don鈥檛 apply to become a Lightmonger 鈥� you get asked.

Farhad Rahim, Associate Director

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 apply to become a Lightmonger 鈥� you get asked,鈥� explains Farhad. 鈥淪o, if you鈥檙e on the radar as a valid person who can contribute towards 鈥� or has contributed towards 鈥� the lighting industry, then you鈥檙e invited to become part of the livery company.鈥�

As a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers, Farhad is now eligible to attain Freedom of the City of London. 鈥淭hat process takes a few months,鈥� he says. Disappointingly, the traditional privileges associated with this accolade 鈥� such as being allowed to drive sheep across London bridge and carry an unsheathed sword 鈥� have long been discontinued. Still, even minus archaic perks, this is a status of rare prestige 鈥� fellow recipients include Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Henry 鈥淭he Fonz鈥� Winkler.

Such acknowledgement is well deserved. Highly accomplished and respected within the lighting community, Farhad is helping to furnish clients with an imaginative lighting design service underpinned by profound technical proficiency. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to expand,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚鈥檝e asked everyone in the team to find a specialism 鈥� such as hospitality or smart lighting 鈥� so each person has a field of expertise. We鈥檝e also seen increasing demand on our daylighting capability from architects and clients 鈥� so it鈥檚 important we have a holistic approach to artificial lighting and daylighting.鈥�

When discussing the team鈥檚 recent work, Farhad is never too far away from mentioning what social value can be engendered. For example, there鈥檚 Tottenham Hotspur FC鈥檚 new stadium (鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to kick off a larger regeneration process for the entire area鈥�) and The Piece Hall in Halifax, which won the 2018 Lighting Design Award for Community and Public Realm Project of the Year (鈥淚t鈥檚 a vibrant historical place to visit 鈥� all the small businesses in the surrounding area have started to benefit鈥�). Stratford Waterfront 鈥� an East London cultural district featuring new buildings for University College London, Sadler鈥檚 Wells, London College of Fashion, the BBC and the V&A 鈥� is also a project that he views in terms of civic benefit as well as design virtuosity. 鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to that,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檒l make a remarkable change to Stratford because the Olympic Park gets quite bleak at night. This will really rejuvenate that area to make it an evening destination as well.鈥�

While honing a creative talent for fine arts and screen printing in his spare time, Farhad is in the process of formulating an innovative app for galleries and museums to safeguard paintings from light damage. 鈥淐urrently, it鈥檚 mostly done by rule of thumb,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 thought we should develop something for our clients鈥�. Remote Bluetooth sensors will check that an acceptable level of light exposure calculated for each painting 鈥� the lux threshold 鈥� is not breached, while also providing curators with people flow data. It is possible that, once downloaded to a visitor鈥檚 phone, the app could act as an interactive guide. Though awaiting client funding to be built, the technology works to support a saleable product and the app has even been named. 鈥淎t the moment it鈥檚 called 鈥楪allery Light Monitoring System鈥欌��, says Farhad.

Enabled by clearly defined objectives and dedicated people, the long-term prospects for the specialism are, appropriately enough, bright. 鈥淲e have lots of good opportunities,鈥� says 海角视频’s Head of Lighting in the UK. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting for everybody in the team.鈥�

鈥淲e want to be there in the forefront as one of the most renowned lighting practices, not only in the UK but also globally,鈥� says Farhad. 鈥淧eople are already starting to recognise that for our quality and delivery 鈥� we just want to keep that momentum going.鈥�