Light Lounge

Charles Marshall is the Design Director and a principal of Parc Office. Marshall utilizes his background in industrial design to create interactive environments and develop innovative ways of integrating digital information in physical spaces. Prior to Parc Office, Marshall ran the Lab at Rockwell Group, designing experiences and innovation labs for Coca Cola, Google, YouTube and Tata Industries. Marshall is a graduate of Falmouth College of Arts, an alumnus of The British European Design Group and a mentor at NEW INC, the New Museum’s art and tech incubator. https://parcoffice.com/

"Our practice is driven by a desire to seamlessly integrate digital technology within physical environments. At the heart of each project is a belief that design can, and should, foster significant, meaningful interactions and experiences."

Charles and I met 2016 at Parsons in New York. He was teaching a class for interaction design in space. In this episode, we speak about his way to design, becoming a design business owner and challenges along the way. 

You can also find the Light Lounge Podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcast. In order to promote professional lighting design, please help spread the word, leave a great rating on Apple Podcast or say hi on Instagram thomas_mnich 

More info: hhttp://www.thomasmnich.com/podcast

ACTLD about us:

We create exceptional experiences at the intersection of design, art and innovation.

For 25 years, our international team of architects, engineers, scenographers and content-curators have worked with forward-thinking clients, using technology, multimedia and (visual) narration to design, develop and deliver dynamic experiences worldwide. 

With roots in both entertainment and architectural lighting (design), we have stayed ahead of the experiential-design curve by uniting our diverse areas of expertise, multifaceted approach and keen technical know-how. 

Our true calling is to gather, engage and amaze audiences, while creating value for our clients.

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Koert Vermeulen, BIO:

With over 25 years of experience in the fields of architecture, entertainment and art installations, Koert Vermeulen, is today a worldwide renowned visual & lighting designer, with major successes. With a perpetual goal to find new ways to enrapture audiences, he conducted several prestigious large-scale projects.

He was the lighting and multimedia designer of projects as: first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010, “Le Rêve” show in Las Vegas, the Belgian presidency of the European Union, the inauguration show of King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, “Inferno” spectacle for the Bicentenary of the “Battle of Waterloo”, “Mother of the Nation festival” in Abu Dhabi, UAE, The Fang Fu Forever Show in Beijing and the ILIGHT Bicentennial “Bridges of Time” water spectacle in Singapore.

He also carried out the lighting design of several sound & light spectacles as “Plaisirs d’hiver” at Grand Place in Belgium, Naked Truth for Bright Brussels” & 3 multimedia spectacles at Cathédrale de Strasbourg in France.

He was commissioned as lighting designer and director of mise-en-scene of an iconic “Tree of Life” (Albero della Vita) at World Expo Milano 2015. Other Theme Parcs he works with is Puy Du Fou, where he has been working with since 2012 on more then 6 shows like La CinéScénie & Le Dernier Panache in France and Kynren in UK.

As lighting artist he has won several international competitions for the projects as “OVO”, a multi-sensory art object, “Tree rings” festive illuminations of the Champs-Elysées Avenue in Paris (2011 –2014) and “Timeless Elegance” (2015-2017) installation at Regent Street in London.

Always developing new visual design techniques, Koert recently created the drone “Neopter” in partnership with Puy du Fou International during his work on the Cinéscénie spectacle in Puy du Fou theme park in France.

Koert constantly expands his expertise and searches new domains of application to create immersive environments and poetic narrative through play of light and mixed-media for truly surprising experience for the public.

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In this weeks light lounge we speak about the integration of light and technology, subjectivity of design and the future of experiences in space using AR. For potential applications please find more info about ACTLD here: https://actld.com/ 

Please also check out the ACTLD youtube channel to get a better idea about the amazing work ACTLD is doing: https://www.youtube.com/user/actlightingdesign

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You can also find the Light Lounge Podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcast. In order to promote professional lighting design, please help spread the word, leave a great rating on Apple Podcast or say hi on Instagram thomas_mnich 

More info: hhttp://www.thomasmnich.com/podcast

Suzan founded Tillotson Design Associates with twenty-three years of lighting design experience. She has won over one hundred lighting design awards for her work, including a 2018 International Dark Sky Association Lighting Design and Technology Award and the 2017 Lighting Designer of the Year at the Lighting Design Awards. 

Suzan Tillotson is one of the finest lighting designers in the world right now and I am honored to have met her already 9 years ago. Now I am fortunate to get to know and share the story behind her success, challenges, highlights and trends she observes in the lighting design industry that are needed or are about to happen. Please check out her amazing projects and references here: http://www.tillotsondesign.com/

Suzan has also been featured in numerous national and international publications. She is a former member of the IALD Board of Directors, a former IALD NY area Regional Coordinator, and was president of the IES Southwest Louisiana Section. She has also served as an awards judge for the New York IES Lumens and the IALD. Suzan has taught the New York IES Introductory Lighting Course, and numerous lighting design and rendering workshops. She has guest lectured on lighting design at Louisiana State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of Arkansas, Cornell University, McGill University, and Dalhousie University. She also taught lighting to graduate-level architecture students at Princeton University. Suzan was the keynote speaker for the 2018 United States Lighting Magazine 40 Under 40 Awards and a presenter at the 2017 Dark Sky Association Annual Meeting and the 2017 Lightspace Conference in LA.

Suzan graduated with a Bachelor of Interior Design; from the Louisiana State University School of Architecture where, in 2012, she gave the commencement speech and was the recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Suzan has directed all phases of design for a wide variety of award-winning domestic and overseas interior and exterior lighting projects including the new Bloomberg European Headquarters and London Mithraeum in London, UK; the Dee and Charles Wyly Theater in Dallas, TX; the R/GA Offices; Lincoln Center North Plaza and South Campus; and One Vanderbilt Tower, the Perelman Center at WTC, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art; in New York, NY.

You can also find the Light Lounge Podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcast. In order to promote professional lighting design, please help spread the word, leave a great rating on Apple Podcast or say hi on Instagram thomas_mnich 

More info: hhttp://www.thomasmnich.com/podcast

Kai Piippo is a Stockholm based award winning lighting designer and Head of Design of ÅF Lighting. (http://www.afconsult.com/en/do-business/our-services/infrastructure/lighting/lighting/)Well renowned throughout Scandinavia and the world, he receives frequent speaking engagements about Nordic light and lighting. One of the latest concepts we talked about is called Liquid Light, which explores the abilities of advanced lighting control: https://vimeo.com/317451710

Kai is also a member of the IALD: https://www.iald.org/Designer-Directory/Designers/Kai-Piippo

One of the amazing projects we talked about: http://www.afconsult.com/en/do-business/our-services/infrastructure/lighting/lighting/news/under-the-sea/

Kai Piippo has extensive experience in lighting design in the field and his sense of lighting design is invaluable in projects that require a large adjustment to the surrounding urban areas and unconventional solutions. He also has a very good ability to create strong lighting design concepts, communicate visions and ideas and thereby gather and enthuse many different stakeholders so that a common vision can become reality.

Kai has won the Swedish Lighting Award 2008, 2012 and 2013 for the lighting design of the K: five, The footsteps of the giants and Royal Library Annex.

Kai Piippo is founder of internationally recognized lighting design company Ljusarkitektur which merged with ÅF Lighting in 2013. With more than 30 years of experience, ÅF Lighting is in the forefront of the professional lighting consultancy field. Their multidisciplinary team of experts possess a wide range of competences in all facets of professional lighting, from initial concepts and ideas through to finished solutions. Their consultancy services are based on a combination of highly specialized engineering services and a Scandinavian design approach.

Please find the Light Lounge Podcast also on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcast. In order to promote professional lighting design, please help spread the word, leave a great rating on Apple Podcast or say hi on Instagram thomas_mnich 

More info: http://www.thomasmnich.com/

Ulrike Brandi is one of the most experienced lighting designer in our times. She was the responsible lighting designer for Herzog de Meurons Elbphilharmonie https://www.ulrike-brandi.de/en/elbphilharmonie-hamburg/, UN Studios Mercedes Benz Museum https://www.ulrike-brandi.de/en/mercedes-museum/ and the masterplan for the World Expo in 2000 or the City Masterplan of Rotterdam https://www.ulrike-brandi.de/en/english-masterplan-rotterdam/. In order to help education and the lighting design industry, she founded the Brandi Institute for Light and Design. https://www.brandi-institute.com/

As a student of Dieter Rams, she follows the principle less is more and always tries to create more experiences using light. We met by coincidence in New York City and spoke in one of her clients offices, at Architect Daniel Libeskind, after a meeting. 

Please find the Light Lounge Podcast also on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcast. In order to promote professional lighting design, please help spread the word, leave a great rating on Apple Podcast or say hi on Instagram thomas_mnich 

More info: http://www.thomasmnich.com/

Ladies and gentlemen! Here are my top 5 books every lighting designer should have. What are yours? Please see the video experience talking about the books on my youtube channel: Thomas Mnich

Book links below the video on youtube:

01 - DAN FLAVIN - Corners, Barriers and Corridors 

02 - GIOVANNI TRAVERSO - Modelling Daylight 

03 - JUNICHIRO TANIZAKI - In Praise of Shadow 

04 - RICHARD KELLY - The Structure of Light 

05 - JAMES TURRELL - A retrospective 

Also let me know whats your top 5 on instagram: thomas_mnich 

Working as professional lighting designer the last 9 years, Thomas expanded his knowledge working with the most creative architects in the world - including BIG, Heatherwick Studio, Steven Holl Architects, Gehry Partners and many more. 

As one of the prestigious Jules Horton International Student Achievement Award winners, scholarship recipient of the prestigious German National Merit Found and the New Schools' Dean Merit Found, Thomas graduated with  academic honors from Parsons The New School for Design with a Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design and engaged since the beginning of his career in teaching and mentoring activities to strengthen and grow the lighting design community. 

Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Lighting Design from the HAWK Hildesheim - University of Applied Science and Arts.

Amp T. studied Interior Design Architecture in Thailand and Design Technology in New York. After graduation she worked for iCrave https://www.icrave.com/ and is now an Associate Interior Design Architect at Rockwell Group https://www.rockwellgroup.com/. Working and having work for companies focussing strongly on the experience of users, makes Amp a true specialist and expert of design spaces. Her qualities further lay in the combination of technology and design. We speak about how technology in form of renderings, VR and processing can enhance the design process and what is really important you need to know, she is able to share in this episode. 

For high-end rendering work, Amp offers her service and experience through her company rampviz (http://www.rampviz.com/). As she mentioned, she is super responsive and easy to reach also on instagram: @rampmesh.

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Award-winning Lighting Designer and Art Director Thomas Mnich is founder and creative director of the first lighting design podcast Light Lounge - speaking with leading designers from SanFrancisco to Hong Kong, he created the first lighting design podcast engaging with the high-end lighting design community around the world.

Working as professional lighting designer the last 9 years, Thomas expanded his knowledge working with the most creative architects in the world - including BIG, Heatherwick Architects, Steven Holl Architects, Gehry Partners and many more.

Please say hi on instagram: @thomas_mnich or on LinkedIn: Thomas Mnich

Almost 5 years ago, Clemens Seipelt moved from Berlin to Hong Kong to pursue his passion and work in the Lighting Design field. Clemens and I met in Hildesheim at the HAWK in our undergrad Lighting studies and since then he became a Senior Associate at Licht Vision Hong Kong http://www.lichtvision.com. For New Years he visited me in New York and we talked about the difference between the European and Asian Lighting Design Market, how exercising can improve creativity, focus and output in a high performance and fast pace environment like in Hong Kong. Say hi to Clemens and or any questions regarding the Light Lounge. Instagram @thomas_mnich Enjoy every Monday a new Light Lounge episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast. Thomas Mnich 

Francesca and Alex are the principles of sighte studio located in Brooklyn, NYC https://www.sightestudio.com/bios/ . We met between Christmas and New Years on crips cold sunny day and talked about their business, education, their involvement in the DLFNY https://www.dlfny.org/ and their approach to education and their recent love of a research study they conduct in Gowanus Brooklyn. Both principles are the center of the lighting design community in New York, supporting, challenging and pushing the state of the art understanding of lighting design. 

They still have some volunteer spots open regarding their recent study for the city planning of Gowanus, feel free to contact them and join their team to make an actual impact as lighting designer. i[email protected]

Please say hi and ask any question on Instagram: @thomas_mnich