June 25, 2025

Episode 20: Landscape Architecture Meets Lighting Design

59 minutes

"No amount of photometric studies is gonna tell you how it's actually gonna perform until you actually see it at 10 o'clock at night." - Rob Reuland

What happens when someone starts taking out trash at 17 and becomes a principal at one of Chicago's leading landscape architecture firms? Rob Reuland from Site Design Group joins hosts Lisa Reed and Avi Mor for a fascinating exploration of how lighting and landscape professionals must collaborate to create truly exceptional spaces. "I couldn't agree more that landscape architecture is so misunderstood," Rob admits early in the conversation. "A lot of people do think it's just about plants, but we do so much more." From hardscape detailing to community engagement to serving as therapists between consultants, the profession demands far more than plant knowledge.

But here's where it gets interesting for lighting professionals. Should the industry push for "lighting architect" status instead of "lighting designer"? Rob's perspective from the licensed landscape architecture world offers compelling insights. The conversation tackles Chicago's disastrous LED streetlight conversion - a $280 million project completed without lighting design input that resulted in harsh, glaring fixtures. "It just drives me crazy that it went LED, but to some 6,000K the brightest white thing you can possibly imagine," Rob reflects. They dive deep into the five principles of responsible outdoor lighting, tree uplighting challenges, and why the new lighting standards focusing on human health rather than foot candles represent a massive shift for the profession.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Rob's early career journey - starting at 17 taking out trash at a Chicago landscape firm, discovering the profession through a greenhouse teacher

(03:16) Understanding landscape architecture beyond plants - hardscape design, stormwater management, community engagement, serving as consultants between design professionals

(06:08) The evolution challenge - how landscapes mature over time, educating clients about day one versus the 2-5 year sweet spot when projects reach potential

(14:08) The four visual professionals concept - architecture, interiors, landscape architecture, and lighting design as essential visual disciplines in construction

(19:25) Professional recognition and licensing - comparing landscape architecture's regulated status with lighting design's lack of formal licensure

(25:11) Health, safety, and welfare impacts - new lighting standards focusing on human circadian rhythms rather than foot candles

(32:08) Chicago's lighting transition disaster - problematic switch from sodium to harsh LED streetlights without proper lighting design input

(35:17) Five principles of responsible outdoor lighting - useful, targeted, low levels, controlled timing, warmer colors to protect wildlife and human health

(42:00) CPTED and spatial quality - crime prevention through environmental design, coordinated lighting and landscape discouraging crime

(47:07) Tree lighting techniques and challenges - lights in trees versus uplighting, importance of mockups, balancing tree health with illumination

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About the show:
Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design.

Resources:
www.site-design.com
Lighting Matters Podcast Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/
Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w
Lisa Reed https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/
Reed Burkett Lighting Design http://www.rbldi.com
Avraham Mor https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/
Morlights https://www.morlights.com/

Thank you to our sponsor Lumen Pulse: https://www.lumenpulse.com/

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By Avraham Mor & Lisa Reed

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