A London based lighting design practice has been making a big impression with architects and interior designers within a relatively short space of time, particularly when you realise that they have only been established for five years. Minds Eye's reputation for a leftfield approach to the art of lighting design has grown fast since being founded by Douglas James at the end of 1997.
Currently based in London E1 in the buzzing, creative, multi-cultural melting pot of Brick Lane, the consultancy sets out to fulfil the promises that lighting designers have been making for years: light, not light fittings. A rigorous approach to revealing architecture from concealed lighting positions in such a way that the space feels instinctively right, as if the light was always part of the architectural concept. Their schemes have been described as being 'painted' with light.
James' background was initially in art and photography. After completing his course, he joined Lighting Design Partnership (LDP at the time the largest lighting consultants in Europe), where he worked as a design office assistant. "Asking lots of questions and generally being nosey in that kind of environment was a fantastic apprenticeship," Says James. "In retrospect I now realise I had an excellent foundation with art and photography training, both of which are fundamentally about light." This natural affinity with light and his fascination with the textures, and atmospheres it produces was key in developing his approach to lighting design.
LDP proved an invaluable learning ground for both theoretical and practical elements of architecture and spatial lighting design.
James left four and a half years later, by then a junior designer and handling project work and part of the visualisation team. He joined Into Lighting as a designer and worked there, running projects for five years ("good experience, lots of retail which is always fast track and needs to be innovative, but it was mostly design and supply so I was getting bogged down in admin")... before leaving to set up Minds Eye.
His motivation for starting the company was a feeling that the lighting design of the day lacked the scope for being truly creative and innovative. "No-one was taking any risks or pushing the envelope," he says. He believed there was room for something more energetic and youthful - "a much bolder approach".
His instincts proved right. Minds Eye has grown steadily busier with interesting and off-beat projects - as well as a few mainstream ones.
His first project as Minds Eye was Farmacia in Drury Lane, a herbal apothecary and dispensing chemists. The slick architectural and interior design was by Barber Osgerby Associates, and the client wanted a 'different' lighting scheme. James designed ceiling-suspended angled lighting baffles, or rafts, with simple fluorescent battens behind that ran down each side of the store. "It showed what was achievable beyond picking an off-the-shelf fitting, and on an extremely tight budget," he explains. The project was about what the light was doing creatively in the space, and that's the philosophy that's always been at the centre of Minds Eye's design philosophy.
James moved into the basic but well located Huguenot Place office soon after he started the company and it grew - not always smoothly - from there! Eighteen months later, Minds Eye expanded to include two new associates - Dan Heap and Jon Warren.
They introduced new dynamics to the company. Warren had previously studied Interactive Art and then worked on light installations before getting into architectural lighting design. Dan Heap had been working with two different lighting consultancies after completing his MSc in Lighting Design at the renowned Bartlett School of architecture, University College London.
Minds Eye work reveals an eclectic mix of areas including retail, art galleries, restaurants, bars, clubs, trade exhibitions, reception areas, board rooms, offices and residential properties. They also have a few celebrity digs under their belts!
So, what does James feel has set Minds Eye apart from other architectural lighting design practices?
"High levels of creativity" tops the list. This is the key element he feels. "We strive to integrate light into the fabric of the building by getting inside the head of the designer of the space, so that the light works with the architecture. It's definitely about 'light' in its purest form, not about fixtures," he emphasises. He sees fixtures as a necessary means to achieving an end.
Another important point - and central to Minds Eye's collective approach to design - is that they're all first generation lighting designers. They didn't start out as architects or engineers as many do. The multi-dimensional parameters of 'light' as defining a space is their raison d'etre.
Now recognised as being 'off-mainstream', Minds Eye is engaged on many galvanising and mind-stretching projects.
Ongoing currently is a four year undertaking, scheduled to complete in 2006, at the Barbican Arts Centre. Working with architects AHMM, Minds Eye is designing a lighting scheme for all the public circulation spaces in the Arts Centre. It is a complex brief on many fronts as there are multiple spaces and plenty of existing elements to deal with. Psychologically it's demanding as lighting is required to be a key element to communications and to enabling people to circulate easily around the building. It's also a listed building, so all ideas have to be approved by the 20th Century Society before they can be moved forward.
Minds Eye's integrated approach to light and their backgrounds means they frequently get design commissions for light features. Apart from being lots of fun, this is a welcome crossover into the world of light art, sculpture and installation.
They recently completed a work for the Holmes Place fitness club group at their Shellmex House venue in The Strand, London. This consists of a 20ft long feature in the pool area, which has proved such a talking point that they've been asked to compose another feature.
One of the more bizarre objects they've lit was the Delavel Harmony Cluster - a state-of-the art milking machine for cows. The brief was to create an eye-catching centrepiece for an exhibition stand, which featured a dramatic pulsing red effect across the machine created with quick dim fluorescents.
Minds Eye's work methods include a lot of inter-practice collaboration and creative cross fertilisation. One person will usually run the project, but resources and ideas are pooled in the office. Concept meetings are always a team affair, "This is a very stimulating process," insists James. "These brainstorming sessions are usually where the project's key ideas emerge."
They always try and win as much time as possible in the overall scheme for the ideas evolution process. This is followed by a period of research, sourcing and testing different fixtures and recreating the intended environments in their studio which has sometimes involved major construction work in their offices!
They always mock up and test on a 1:1 scale, and ensure that management liaison with the client and the other creative elements is continuous and fluid throughout the work period.
James thinks the popularisation of design consciousnesses generally plus the growing recognition of lighting as an integral part of any building (interior and exterior) or space design, is opening new avenues for the genre. With lighting technology also now moving so fast, the independent role of the lighting designer he feels is seen as vital, and has a very positive future. "Lighting Design is finally coming of age."
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