Examples (all by DHA Design Services) of projection museum, retail and visitor centre locations - a torso in a museum; the NCR Clock in action; the HK Telecom Museum.
click to enlarge

 
Projection specialist Julie Harper looks at the transformation of projection from a theatrical favourite to an important architectural and retail lighting tool.

the theatre of architectural projection

To differentiate in simple terms between architectural lighting and theatre lighting, the former can traditionally be seen as concerned mainly with illuminating a space, whereas theatre lighting concerns itself with lighting an object or a figure within a space.

Low contrast lighting, as in an office environment, augmented by accent lighting such as up-lighters or plant-lighters may be the realm of architectural lighting. High contrast lighting, as in a museum, may be more theatrical in style, where key lights are used to draw the eye - either to or away from an object. It can conceal unwanted parts of a building in a similar fashion to the way theatre lighting can be used to conceal structural parts of the theatre. It can draw attention towards the object on which the designer wants you to focus and bring out the best in the exhibits (eg the torso in the museum above).

The use of key lights and fill lights owes much to theatrical lighting techniques, where image projection, texture, colour and movement are used as tools by which to concentrate attention to specific objects or messages. Theatre lighting does more than just illuminate, it is imaginative and dynamic and the growing trend is to incorporate this ideology into architectural and retail lighting, to make a shopping trip or a visit to a museum a much more exciting and entertaining adventure.

Image projection using gobos is now a major part of this trend. Gobos can be used in abstract fashion to add texture to light, using changing colour, texture and movement to create ambience and mood. For example, a rippling water effect in a shopping mall creates a relaxing atmosphere which may make shoppers linger longer and thereby increase the catchment time available to retailers.

Gobos can create a sense of location in a theme bar with city skylines, bars, windows or foliage, or can brighten up dull spaces with animated decorative effects like multicoloured oil wheel or flame effects projected onto a blank wall.

They can present an innovative, functional alternative to traditional directional signage projecting Entrance & Exit signs, WC signs, hotel room numbers and cinema screen numbers.

Extend this idea and use them to deliver punchy messages for product promotion with corporate and brand logos or use them for message sending - Happy Hour, Merry Christmas, Open/Closed (use this on the same gobo and shutter off as required!). Messages can be changed daily, seasonally or as special offers and retail opportunities dictate.

As a promotional tool projected images are a powerful medium. Light attracts the eye but motion also attracts attention. A poster may attract the attention but a moving poster catches the eye compelling you to look at it - it is the same with a moving projected image, adding interest and drawing the attention - whether it be in an office reception or at a trade show.

Attract someone in to a shop, museum or restaurant by sweeping a logo through a doorway, or run it along an aisle to direct customers to where you want them to be (eg the HK Telecon Museum above). Project onto a wall at a height to attract customers from a distance above the busy foreground areas of a shop. Alternatively project a revolving logo on the pavement using the movement to catch the peripheral vision. This way it will even attract the eye of someone walking by with their head down!

So popular has the pavement projection become in the UK that some councils are charging people extra rates for extended shop footage! Alternatively the window can be coated to form a projection screen on which images can be back projected preventing the projected image from spilling out onto the footpath (eg, the NCR Clock left).

Themed attractions and visitor centres use theatrical lighting and moving projection to great effect to draw people in to the whole experience - in effect enveloping them in a total experience in a similar way to the 'suspension of disbelief' created by the black box of a theatre. (Canny designers bring the 'captive' and captivated audience out into the retail outlet.)

As museums and galleries become more interactive so the opportunity to be creative with the lighting increases and a whole new breed of equipment is developing to accommodate these needs.

The philosophy is even being brought into the domestic and interior design market with gobo projection being used as a purely decorative tool in the home.

Sculpting with light, adding texture, setting gobos and colours against each other to create a more dynamic surrounding, adding movement to light; emphasising the three-dimensional aspect of lighting with the use of key lighting and fill lighting rather than just ambient lighting, are all tricks from theatre lighting styles. The move in style is giving rise to an ever developing range of new lighting products which will produce the dynamic results in demand yet also meet the high standards of style, safety and ease of operation required in the architectural and retail sectors.

Julie Harper is an employee of White Light Ltd and has also worked for DHA Lighting. >>>joolzharper@aol.com