BDP launched the initiative in 2006 to demonstrate ways in which the sustainability and aesthetics of urban areas can be improved by lighting design. ‘Guerrillas’ frequently target places in which the inconsiderate use of light, or the need for considered lighting design, is identified. Once ready, they act: under stealth, they head through the shadows into the site.
Under the guidance of a leader, a number of teams create transient lighting designs by using high-powered torches, battery powered LED projectors, luminous dot lights and an array of gels and filters. Instructed to be in a specific position at a given distance from their target, the teams simultaneously light up various aspects of a city’s architecture on the sound of an air horn, creating a dramatic spectacle.
In early December 2009, more than 50 Lighting Guerrillas hit the streets of Manchester for the most recent Guerrilla Lighting event. Organised by BDP’s Manchester lighting team, the event set out to highlight the importance of the night-time environment by spectacularly transforming three sites near to the BDP Manchester studio. The aim was to demonstrate ways of making places and spaces socially inviting for the public, and to promote the issues of a sustainable night-scape through clever use of light.
The installations are photographed, the lighting turned off and the teams move on to the next site. The teams are made up of local lighting designers, architects, interior designers, artists, developers, project managers and manufacturers, all of whom are keen to draw attention to the possibilities, and importance, of lighting in the urban environment.
Competition is not the issue, and brighter is not better. Our Guerrilla Lighting campaign challenges perceptions of lighting in an urban environment,’ says BDP lighting designer Chantelle Stewart. We’re raising awareness of the potential of sustainable, intelligent lighting design by involving people in the lighting of highly recognisable, prominent locations.’
Professionally-designed architectural lighting enhances the nightscape of our cities and towns but requires the use of energy. In order to ensure that a correct balance is achieved between the benefits of good lighting and irresponsible use of energy, more control is required. The Guerillas point out that not all buildings need or deserve to be lit, but suggest that strategic lighting plans should exist for all cities.
The effects are spontaneous but a great deal of concept and design time is needed in planning for the event to achieve a powerful effect. The visually stimulating addition to the nightscape is temporary, but the record of the event is uploaded onto a website for all to enjoy. Following the event, the Guerrillas head off to a local bar for a well-earned drink and the pictures from the sites are projected for all to see the result of their efforts.
Says BDP’s Brendan Keely: ‘The recent Manchester event was a massive success and raised the profile of the night-time environment. It showed that well-designed use of light can transform spaces and places into visually stimulating and socially inviting locations. With this comes the responsibility to design using minimum energy and the need to control light so as not to add to light pollution resulting in sustainable design for people, places and spaces.’ Since 2006, Guerrilla Lighting has travelled around the world and events have already taken place in London, Glasgow, Helsinki, Jyvaskyla, Birmingham, Dublin, Isle of Mann, Belfast, Dublin, Poland, Istanbul, Tampere, Reykjavik, Oslo, and Stoke. Events are being planned for 2010 in Sunderland and Singapore.
To learn more: the event was filmed and photographed by David Barbour and Sanna Fisher-Payne and was followed in real-time, with twitter updates and photographs being posted throughout the event.
