Southbank people and light movement

As I had the movements of the people and light in their separate parts it was hard to visualize the movement of the overall site. Although the quality is poor, if you scroll down I have uploaded them individually so they are larger and less pixelated.  

Southbank people and light movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.

Walk through Southbank

Darkness is making you focus on the parts that are artificially lit. This video is identifing where artificial light filters into The Southbank along the front. Imagine only exploring The Southbank by using the light as direction. 



Site Walk from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.

LED throwies

Powered by a battery. Eventually runs out leaving a light that slowly goes out and flickers. Can be made at home. Useful for site experiments. Has to be attached to a metallic surface. Could be used to highlight parts of buildings that are normally hidden.

A LED throwie is a small LED attached to a coin battery and a rare earth magnet (usually with conductive epoxy or electrical tape), used for the purpose of creating non-destructive graffiti and light displays. Artists use them by throwing individual LEDs onto metallic objects, like public sculpture or road infrastructure. By throwing LEDs onto an object, the object itself acts as a canvas.

Jason Bruger - Wind to Light

Wind to Light, Southbank Centre, 2007

Self powered. Swaying in the wind to create power. Beautiful night and day. Of a day you can see the intricate design working and of a night a swaying display of light. Adding to the artificial lighting at Southbank. 

 

In collaboration with onedotzero and Light Lab for Architecture Week 2007 of which the theme was, ‘How green is our space?’ The festival focused on critical issues of climate change and sustainability, with the aim to inspire people to think creatively about the spaces around them.

‘Wind to Light’ was an idea that visualized wind movement across the built form with the use of mini turbines and LEDs and draws attention to the potential of harnessing wind power as a source of energy.

The installation has been custom built, using scaled down wind turbines to generate power, which illuminate hundreds of mounted LEDS, creating firefly-like fields of light, with wind visually interpreted as electronic patterns across the installation.

Mapping techniques

Inverted images. A great technique for mapping the path taken. Beautiful image. Gives the correct information to the viewer. Simple overlapping line drawing. 

This project aims at mapping worldwide airline routes. Every single scheduled flight on any given day is represented by a fine line from its point of origin to the airport of destination, therefore forming a net of thousands of lines. Hubs like JFK, FRA or DXB turn into heavy condensed nodes where lines meet, while local routes are only slightly discernible. Every scheduled airline route has been extracted from booking and airline systems.

Light Movement on Southbank

part 1 - light movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.



part 1 - movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.



part 3 - light movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.



part 4 - light movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.

People movements on Southbank

part 1 - movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.


part 2 - movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.


Part 3 - movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.


Part 4 - movement from Lauren McEwen on Vimeo.

Mappings of the light on southbank

A mapping of the course that the sun takes over The Southbank in months. 

During the time that I have been surveying the site, this is the path that the sun has taken. This is showing the movement from the beginning of the project up until January.  

A mapping of the artificial light on The Southbank. It is to show where the artificial light filters into the site.  

Jopsu Ramu and Timo Huhtala: Urban Abstract/ Finland 2009

Urban Abstract from Musuta on Vimeo.


A monochrome, impressionistic journey through the Tokyo cityscape, travelling through underpasses and unpopulated streets in the relentless rain. One 200- second episodic journey through the Asian metropolis. 

Artificial Lighting- Harmony House by John Lewis

Harmony was the name for the John Lewis lighting event held on the South Bank in October 2010. John Lewis understand that setting the right atmosphere in your home is essential, and lighting and music is a big part of creating this mood. This autumn, John Lewis decided to synchronise the two in an interactive digital campaign brought to life by the lighting event, putting lights and music dancing together to promote our fabulous lighting ranges. 

The specially designed installation (3.5m high, 5.2m wide, 3.6m deep) has been created to respond and interact with music and over 100 John Lewis light fittings will be used to create a light display to the rhythm of different songs. 

Artificial Lighting- Speirs and Major

Queens Walk

The re-lighting of Queen’s Walk on London’s South Bank between the Oxo Tower and the National Theatre was initiated as part of a wider project to upgrade the structure of the embankment and improve the public realm.

About the lighting

The lighting project was carried out in two phases. The first was to refurbish the existing cast-iron ‘Sturgeon Lights’ to provide a better-lit pathway along the edge of the Thames while minimizing light spill into the river and protect the local bio-diversity. In order to retain their historical character, small perforations were made in the reflector to allow the lantern body to glow. In this way, the traditional lanterns became highly efficient streetlights but without any loss to their original form.

Festoon lighting

The second phase was to install LED festoon lights – 75% white and 25% blue – into some of the mature plane trees that line the walkway. These were viewed as a more contemporary replacement for the strings of festoon lighting that had originally hung between the Sturgeon Lights and which had interfered with the view of the river. Considerable time was spent mocking up the new LED lighting to get the density and colour balance exactly right. Care was taken to avoid any damage to the trees and ensure the scheme would be easily maintainable for years to come.

The importance of darkness

Darkness played a key part in the design of the project. Having designed a well lit route along the river’s edge, we suggested that everything else be left dark save the spill light from the trees so that walkers could appreciate the commanding view of the River Thames and the City of London beyond. The soft light cast from the trees is reminiscent of natural moonlight. This degree of darkness created a magical quality to the project which laid to rest any lingering concerns about pedestrian safety.
Had the client not bravely supported a concept in which darkness played an active role, the full potential of the lighting scheme would never have been realised. The lighting of Queens Walk has become a model not only for the rest of that stretch of the river but also for how the retention of darkness has an important role to play in public lighting. 

The scheme, which was officially switched on by the then Mayor of London Ken Livingston, has proven very popular with the public, based on feedback received, and the area continues to feel safe and inviting throughout the night.

Southbank Surveys- Four Parts

Dividing The Southbank into four parts means that I can start to survey individual parts thoroughly rather than as a whole. 

Southbank Surveys- Natural light recordings

Light is something that makes things visible or affords illumination. All colours depend on light.

Light is known as luminous energy and radiant energy.

Light is a natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.

Recording the natural light and artificial light.

Highlights made by the light on the buildings and using it as a way to explore the site.

Flashing is a short vivid experience, a gleam or glow intermittent. Cinematography uses flashing as a method of contrast enhancement that takes advantage of natural physical properties of film to bring out detail in darker areas of the print. 
Ambient light is a surrounding light with an environment.  

Southbank Surveys- Mapping peoples movement through the site

For me to understand the movement throughout the site made by people, it is important for me to divide the site up into 5 sections and survey the sections at different times of the day. I have just made simply lined mappings so I can then transfer this onto a technical plan of the site. I had recorded the points where people stop and what their interactions are.

 

Southbank Surveys- Recording using a pin hole camera

I wanted a different way to record the light on the South bank site. There are three ways that I could record: using a pinhole camera, a 35mm film SLR and a digital SLR. I want to compare what the best way is to record the light at the site. I have started recording using a pin hole camera, as you can see I haven't had much luck but that's what I find exciting, is the fact that this cannot be controlled. You just have to wait and see what appears.  
First attempt

Second attempt

As you can see these images have either been exposed for too long or too little. Maybe the camera also had light infiltrating. Both of the above films were made using one camera. I will make another one, cover it in plenty of tape and see what the result is. I like the way you never know what the result is going to be, you don't know what the image will reveal. You pull up the card to reveal the hole for a second and hope that you will get a photo of what you were aiming to take. 

Third attempt

Inhabitant Journeys

Flip Book Holder

The Vary Leaner

The Vary Leaner Assembly Manual

                                               

Wooden