Contested futures for lighting in urban spaces: drawing on ideas about messiness and resistance to inform lighting education strategies against light pollution. Author Mary-Anne Kyriakou

2.1 Messiness in education and implications for digital education.

Applying "bad mess" or "fruitful mess"..

Concepts of reductive thinking as explored by Shepard (2013) uses the term ‘messiness’ when referring to ubiquitous computing’s (ubicomp), namely, a site where internet services are provided and  how the services are delivered and maintained are not understood or questioned.  Beneath the surface of the service lies a complex assemblage that creates, links between actors, human, non-human and technology. The consumer experiences an end product whereby the technology and the "seams" of interface  linking technology, social, political and economical drivers are flattened and thereby, the opportunities to build alternate possibilities are downplayed or missed.

By contrast, acknowledging the not so beautiful seams of error and inaccuracy as sites for emergence and new possibilities, system error and uncertainty become opportunities for users to appropriate technologies not intended by designers (Shepard, 2013)

Shepard uses the example of white label ATM’s as an emergent and resistant networked offering, that operates besides conventional banking and terms this practice as 'minor-urbanism'.

Extending this notion of not exploring the qualitative potential between interfaces, Ross and Collier’s 2015 manifesto (Manifesto- Embracing digital messiness in education),  describe this as “bad mess”. 

On the alternate side of "bad mess" is the notion of “fruitful mess” (Collier, Ross. 2015) and herein practices that uncover the links and connections between the seams of heterogenous assemblages afford new possibilities. Using the white label ATM example from  Shepard (2013) the site for alternatives is described as 'minor urbanism' that co- exists beside urbanism.

2.2 A different kind of mess. The messiness of light

In this section, complex theory and emergence concepts are explored in lighting. The messiness of light is discussed in terms of the nature of light, light pollution and its control.

The very nature of lighting is messy, we cannot physically hold it yet its manipulation influences our perception and experience of space, this unlocks our individual and collective emotions.

In a recent editorial from Professional Lighting Design magazine the editor discusses his dissatisfaction with the jury elected winner of a lighting competition, to illuminate the bridges along the Thames River, London. The editor claims,

the results are to a large extent nothing more than a chance for the designers to draw attention to themselves and to how versatile they can be with light. (Ritter, 2016)

Ritter continues in a second editorial article (Ritter, 2016) in the same edition that the winners, ‘lack respect for the architecture, engineering and function and lighting design is not a fashion issue’. But is design fashion? Are the bridges themselves not a reflection of the design style (fashion) from the period they were built?

Emotions and lighting have been explored through art and architecture for thousands of years, and without aiming to be reductive, the subject of light is complex.

This kind of human-centric design argument driven by Ritter cannot avoid revealing the subjective nature of light and the problem with reducing the concept of an acceptable design to a limited and simplified model of lighting practice for architectural and urban environments. This leads to the next problem in lighting..

Artificial light is a convenience.

Convenience is the name of the awards ceremony at which capitalism admires itself. Convenience is the final measure of mass production’s success. It is the asymptotic long tail of industrialisation, a tail whose zero is 99 c, 3 for 1, buy-one-get-one-free. Shepard (2013) quotes Bleecker (2012)

Convenience leads to the second kind of messiness, light pollution. As a society, we do not question the assemblages behind ‘the politics of convenience’ (Breen, 1997). Artificial light is a given and the price, is the creation of light pollution that is detrimental to all living creatures. What if the condition for selecting the winner of the bridge lighting competition was measured against how much light pollution the proposed design produced? Would this stop a pollution offending design or at least reduce the possibility? This kind of reflected approach goes beyond a closed in-house expert spat in an editorial. The editor attempts to convince the reader  that the winner has produced a bad design. Bad or not,  this example points towards the reductive approach to lighting education as taught in architectural schools worldwide, ie, a failure to address light pollution. Extending this concept from Collier and Ross's manifesto, this kind of reduction can be referred as "bad mess".

2.3 Light pollution, its governance and the problem with lighting education

The third kind of lighting messiness arising from light pollution is its governance. Lighting Standards provide approaches to designing with light, including its control. The Control of the obtrusive effects of outdoor lighting Standards Series (AS4282) is created by groups of lighting experts (the essence of the content  is applied in varying forms in different countries) and is supported by governments worldwide, however, enforcement against light pollution offenders, is weak or non-existent.

Speculating on the reason(s) for non-compliance to adhering to the light pollution Standards, in the bridge lighting competition highlights the lack of governance and lack of thought for the health of all living creatures.  In the author's viewpoint, the Standards and governance processes are one directional and represent a homeostatic and outdated view of power and control.

Scaling up the problem, the consumer understands LED lighting as efficient, safe and attractive and in the process darkness is forgotten.

Consumers and citizens need to be educated about the problem of light pollution and made aware of the health implications of too much light (Lyytimaki, 2013).

Alternate models are desperately needed to consider heterogeneous assemblages, to include social, economic,  cultural, designer subjectivity, citizen viewpoints,

The context of everyday urban life requires developing new ontologies that embrace their messy, ad hoc heterogeneity and can articulate the complex entanglements of people, technology and space (Shepard, 2013).

And from these relationships can the  “not yet-ness” (Ross, 2017) of technology and the complexity of assemblages bring about new social imaginings.

For more ideas about 'openness' in digital education refer to:

Openness and the new manifesto 2016

Want to know more about light art and lighting design? - Optional Activity 40 minutes

In this part of the module you explore ideas about lighting beginning with talks on light art, and lighting design. The ideas of light explore space and experience. Unfortunately in wanting to find free talks from lighting practitioner’s, the readily available and popular talks selected were from white males from Western cultures. The author would be happy to receive suggestions to add to  this selection. Viewpoints from lighting practitioners from other cultural backgrounds and gender are very welcome.

1.    Light Artist James Turrell

2.    Commercial artist Olafur Eliasson (Link active and accessed November 2017)

Olafur Eliasson at TED2009 Playing with space and light

Commentary by MAK (Mary-Anne Kyriakou)

Artist discusses his laboratory "life in space" and discussing socializing ideas. In the case of throwing in the dye into the green river, I question if this really does not have an environmental impact?  Interestingly, goes on to state, "Thinking and doing is an experience and with experience come responsibility." An important concept and can be extended exploring the social aspect of education in design science.

3.    Light planner Rogier Van der Heide Rogier van der Heide on Ted Talks Amsterdam

Commentary by MAK (Mary-Anne Kyriakou)

Rogier gives a good overview about light and darkness but the talk lacks a discussion on shadow.

Thinking about shadows..

Which is more important, the light, shadow or darkness?

Without the light we wouldn’t perceive the shadow. Light itself cannot be shadow, however when light falls onto an object it brings the object into form through the shadow. Without the shadow the object is flat and without the light the object would be in darkness. In this sense, the shadow provides context.

In terms of digital education, shadows can be seen as a metaphor for the mess that occurs in the interaction within heterogeneous assemblages.

Optional question

How is the relationship with light and experience described and presented through the different viewpoints?

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