Can you walk us through the core principles and values that guide Tirschwell’s approach to architectural lighting design?
We view every project as a prototype. The storyline, as established by the client, is translated by the design team: architects, interior designers, lighting designers, acousticians, engineers and the rest of the consultants. We don’t think of lighting as just another layer on top of the architecture and design, but as an integral part of the whole. We are very involved in every part of the project because light touches everything.
In the hotel and hospitality industry, lighting is about branding. Find anyone who travels extensively, and they will have an opinion on just about everything. Guests like flexibility while operators like simplicity. We seek the right path to satisfy each request. We design lighting solutions that create memorable experiences for guests, enhancing the ambience of hotels, resorts, restaurants and more. Luxury hotels want to separate themselves from their peers, Our thoughtful and bespoke designs are focused on delivering a luxurious and inviting atmosphere that sets apart each establishment, without blowing the budget per key.
Lighting technology has been evolving rapidly in recent years. How does Tirschwell stay ahead of new trends?
It is the responsibility of every lighting design practitioner to stay on the cusp of technology and trends. We do so by attending trade shows, reading the latest periodicals, connecting with manufacturers and testing new products. We actually test every fixture and light source that we specify to make sure it dims properly and is compatible with the prescribed control system for that particular project. Equally important is long term maintenance. Public areas operate 24/7/365. That is 8760 hours per year. It doesn’t take very long in a hotel’s lifecycle for lighting equipment to fail. Failure may be with the led chip, but more often it is the gear, like drivers or controls. Regardless of the failure, operations must have a clear and swift path to resolution. We create the path well before the hotel receives their first guests.
How does your team collaborate with stakeholders to create lighting solutions that compliment and enhance architectural spaces?
Collaboration with stakeholders is always easier when we are working with our ideal clients- ones who hold the same values and appreciation of what great lighting design can be. These clients are willing to take the journey with us to create an experience that is unique and magical. Nevertheless, we encourage all of the parties involved, e.g. architects, interior designers, contractors and owners, to share with us their vision and the details of their part in the project. We consider everything because it matters—architecture, interiors, materials. Most importantly, we consider how people will engage with the lighting systems we design. Every shadow, every highlight—it all matters.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in design. How does Tirschwell incorporate eco-friendly and energy-efficient solutions into your lighting designs?
Energy-efficient, eco-friendly and sustainable systems are all inter-related. Energy-efficient lighting is easier to accomplish than ever before due to the prevalence of power-saving LED light sources. Eco-friendly concerns are related to the materials used to manufacture the products, and the carbon footprint of shipping them to their various destinations. We make every effort to be cognisant of these factors, especially when specifying lighting products that have a long journey to get to their destination. One way to look at sustainability is not only the life span of the lighting products but of the ease of maintenance for the end users. Ripping out a lighting system because one cannot replace a simple part is not eco-friendly. For properties like hotels and cruise ships for example, our objective is to make the complicated easy for those that are left to maintain these systems long after the design/build team has gone.
Could you share one or two of the most memorable or challenging projects you have worked on, and what made them stand out?
Coincidentally, one of the more challenging projects is a hotel that is in the tail end of construction in Montgomery Alabama. The owner decided to re-use the structure of what used to be an apartment building, rather than demolishing and building new. The original building had 8’-0” (2.44meters) floor to ceiling heights. All building services (electrical, HVAC, plumbing, sprinklers, life safety, etc) had to wind their way through fairly long corridors. Ceiling heights dropped significantly. So, spatially, how does one design the lighting in an attempt to divert the eyes from a potentially claustrophobic condition? The first option proposed, only allowing guests who were maximum five feet (1.52meters) tall, fell on deaf ears. The second proposal used the walls as luminous reflectors and leaving the ceiling purposely dark, thus pulling the eyes away from the ceiling. The second part to the challenge were the guest suite lighting controls. One of the key features of this project was tremendous lighting flexibility. In a typical king bed key, there were up to fifteen different lighting elements and two motorised shade groups. That was a lot to control, and potentially cost prohibitive. After extensive analysis of multiple guest suite control systems, we specified a system that had some amazing control and digital keypad platforms; and could detect occupancy by movement, changes in carbon dioxide, heartbeat, or even the door handle. In conjunction with the hotel management system, shades could be dropped to minimise heat gain in a room, and the air conditioning temperature could be raised. That is being eco friendly.
