A brighter future.

Drawing on advances in technology and refining the techniques of theatrical lighting, designers strive to make the illumination of buildings and objects more magical.

COLOUR

Use of colour in lighting design is becoming increasingly refined, according to Arnold Chan of Isometrix. As head of one of the most inventive lighting firms in the world, he is well placed to comment. The Isometrix team carries out continuous research into new lamp technology and the firm was one of the earliest to see the potential of scene-setting systems.

As Chan points out, luminaires for producing variable coloured light have been available for some time. Originally intended for theatrical lighting, they were -- and are -- bulky and expensive, requiring much maintenance.

In response to the problem, Isometrix came up with the Colourwash luminaire. Small enough to be concealed by architectural details, it paints pure coloured light onto white walls. When concealed in the ceiling, the luminaire emits light through a slot at the ceiling's edge which is directed down onto the wall by mirror.

Colourwash mixes varying intensities of primary colours, using a patented optical system, to produce washes of solid saturated light. A rotary controller allows scrolling through the full range of colours but the device can be made automatic. The luminaire has no moving parts and has a lamp emitting light for about 4000 hours, so maintenance and noise are kept to the minimum.

Chan's design of lighting at St Martin's Lane Hotel, London (the latest addition to Ian Schrager's collection of hotels by Philippe Starck), is an inseparable part of its image and ambience. From delicate primrose yellow in the entrance lobby to changing colourwashes in bedrooms, the place glows with colour. Chan and his team worked with Starck and Schrager from the outset, experimenting with lighting full-size interior mock-ups. One result of their experiments are bedroom walls inclined at the base, to catch the light better.

Each bedroom has a colourwashing device for guests to play with. When functioning, the colours emitted from the rooms turn the back wall of the hotel into a glowing multi-coloured screen that transforms a dull back street into magic.

Elsewhere, Isometrix has been equally inventive. In the residents' bar of St Martin's Lane, four voids rise 8m into the ceiling. Isometrix' Curtainwash uplighters -- of tungsten halogen reflector lamps, dichroic filters and lenses -- are concealed in coving at the base of the voids flooding them with intense, even colour. To accentuate depth and increase luminance, voids are tapered on all sides and painted to match the colour of the light.