01 Nov Reflection & light at the Santiago Bahá’í House of Worship – November 2023 Newsletter
This leading article of the BHA School of Lighting newsletter was sourced with permission from Lighting in Design Magazine by Crown Publications, Editor, Craig Falck. The article was written using the following sources: Hariri Pontarini Architects, ArchDaily, Design Boom, Dezeen Magazine and Youtube.
The Santiago Bahá’í House of Worship in Chile uses architecture to highlight the importance of light in our lives. Set against the backdrop of the famous Andes Mountain range in the South American city of Santiago, Chile, the nine-sided marble house of worship commissioned by the Bahá’í community welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. These visitors can be split into two groups: Religious followers who are looking for a space to practice whatever faith they follow, and those who appreciate architecture and clever use of natural and artificial light.
The temple measures 30m high and 30m in diameter, with opaque and clear glass covering the domed building. “We took the Bahá’í’s concept and transformed it into this magnificent house of worship,” explains architect Siamak Hariri from Hariri Pontarini Architects in Toronto, Canada. Speaking to archdaily.com, he says, “The Bahá’í community follows the concept of unity, that all the world’s religions are truly one and have a common aspect. Because of this, the plan was deceptively simple: A sacred circular structure. The vision began with the concept of light – to design a building that would become alive with light as if it were radiating from within.”
The lighting technology used within the temple is simple, explains the architect. “We opted for subtle lighting styles. This is a space of worship, so we have used toned-down lighting systems that add to the openness of the main atrium space.” The temple seats just 600 people, with delicate chandeliers lighting the central point of the temple floor. “Light is the embodiment of this community, so we have used diffused-light chandeliers that provide more of a glow than direct light,” explains Hariri. “We opted for recessed downlights with a warm colour temperature for a more cosy, united sense of being. The mezzanine level is low to the main floor, so we installed LED light fittings that provide enough light for worshippers and guests while also not being too hot. The temple was designed and built to feel open and give the feeling of ethereal peace, so we had to be intelligent with our use of illumination.”
Click here to continue reading the full article on Lighting in Design Magazine by Crown Publications
The Principal´s Pen
As we race towards the finishing line of the end of 2023, so much has happened to be grateful for.
South Africans around the world will be delighted with our national rugby team, the famous Springboks, recent win of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Their win is even more fantastic because it is the fourth time that South Africa has won the event and the second time that Captain, Siya Kolisi, held the Webb Ellis trophy aloft in successive world cup tournaments.
I was recently privileged to have been invited to attend the first event to be held in the brand-new HG Molenaar Auditorium and Training Centre in Paarl. It was really thrilling to see the completed project. We, Daniel particularly, designed the lighting which is superb. Another reason that I was excited was because I was invited as a guest speaker. I was particularly asked to talk about the recue operation of the sinking Oceanos off the Wild Coast of South Africa. It is still today recognized as the greatest rescue in maritime history with not a single loss of life. There were 571 passengers and crew onboard on that fateful night at sea. We are very privileged to enjoy a special relationship with the MD and the management team of the factory.
It has been hugely exciting to start the enrolment process on our world class e-learning platform for 50 employees from the Lighting Stores of the Marketing Home Group in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the culmination of six months of many meetings, negotiations and many hours of hard work developing the exclusive course for them. Once the course development was completed, accepted, and approved by the team at Marketing Home Group, the long hours of translation into Arabic began using a special translation pack for our software.
We welcome all the students of this amazing company in Saudi Arabia to BHA School of Lighting. We take immense pride and dedication to provide them with the best and highest level of lighting training at this foundation level and at all future higher levels of training.
On 20 October 2023, we all sacrificed the system availability. We handed the system to our IT support company, Southern Start Computers who provide us with amazing support. So, what was actually done during the down time? We doubled our webserver capacity which benefits all users. The system is faster and will be less likely to risk being off-line. Secondly, the software was extensively upgraded. The students may not see any changes in its appearance. We, the administrators of the system, will enjoy several back-office benefits which are necessary to manage the student records efficiently. An exciting new feature is called Big Blue Button. It gives us, the educators, the opportunity to schedule a class for a group of students within our e-learning platform. We can schedule a class for up to 40 students for 1 hour. The class can be recorded, and can be made a permanent feature at a particular point in the course curriculum or whenever a need arises.
We constantly work to elevate the course content to even higher levels than before whilst at the same time striving to make the course content look more appealing in appearance. Daniel has taken the lead in the latter instance. He is playing a leading role in this regard over an above his very heavy lighting design work for the many projects that we have on hand.
I would also like to personally wish all of the students who will be writing their final examinations before graduating soon, the very best during their preparations. I never wish them good luck because great preparation will always lead to success. Good luck does not play a role.
Finally, be sure to continue reading the newsletter to find more info about our final webinar for 2023, which will be presented by renowned lighting designer, David Warfel, Chief Evangelist of Light & Founding Designer at Light Can Help You. Join David for a look at what is wrong with lighting in our homes and what we could be doing better. Drawing from his Don’t/Do This blog series, David will discuss current residential lighting trends, lay out simplified strategies for better design, and share practical tips for making instant improvements in your home – or the homes of your clients.
I wish our readers well until our next edition in December 2023.
With best regards
Philip Hammond
November Student Birthdays
Happy Birthday to the following past & present students celebrating their birthdays this month of November! We hope you all have a memorable day!
Sone Fourie, Pretoria, South Africa – 3 November
Peter Martina Mantaras, Canada – 3 November
Abinaya Jevaraju, Kuwait City, Kuwait – November
Johannes Sutherland, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa – 5 November
Donovan Pent, Johannesburg, South Africa – 7 November
Sydney Naidoo, Durban, South Africa – 8 November
Enzo Manna, Pretoria, South Africa – 9 November
Nicole Townsend, Benoni, South Africa – 13 November
Thibault Fay, Johannesburg, South Africa – 21 November
Andries Burger, Pretoria, South Africa – 22 November
Omran Ali-Musa, Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 23 November
Randall Ellis, Johannesburg, South Africa – 23 November
Mthulisi Dube, Pretoria, South Africa – 25 November
Jacques Henegan, Pretoria, South Affrica – 26 November
Sharath Nittur, Bangalore, India – 29 November
Welcome to our new BHA School of Lighting Students
Kelvin Murimi Mwendia, Lighting Solutions, Nairobi, Kenya – BHASL003C19: Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering Course
Kaylan Brown, Johannesburg, South Africa – BHASL003C19: Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering Course
Abdulaziz Alhajiri, Riuadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Aduarhman Ameen, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Mohamed Abdalnour, Imam Saud Lighting Stores, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Abdullah Al Salami, Imam Saud Lighting Stores, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Mohammed Elmahrouk, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Abdulrahman Alsalmah, Iman Saud Lighting Stores, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Ali Alshammari, DMM Aljubail Road, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Moath Aljarbou, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Abdullah Hussain Al Musdbeh, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Hamzeh Abdalaziz, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Anass Elakisali, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Kareem Almerza, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Mohamed Badawi, Elmalaz, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Taha Hussien, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Taher Zaila, Elmalaz, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Bakkil Abduiiah, Altakhassousi, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Gomba ElKhouli, Najran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Hassan Al-Sharyyah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Hamada Abd Elbaky, Altakhassousi, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Ayman Alasaad, Elmalaz, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Ahmed Karam Ali Khlil, Al Qassim Al hazm, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Ahmed Hamouda, Elmalaz, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Ahmed Elazab, Dammam Jubail Road, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Mohammed Aldhuhayyan, Buraidah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Shaher Ramadan Younis, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
Naif Aunayyan, Takhasosy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – BHASL101: Foundation Plus Lighting Course
We wish great success to the following BHA School of Lighting students preparing for Examinations
Jaroslaw Otremba, Jozefaw, Poland – First Year Theory 1
Nicole Farman, Chicago, USA – Second Year Final Theory
Scott Williamson, Doha, Qatar – Second Year Final Theory
Enzo Manna, Pretoria, RSA – Second Year Final Practical
Katherine Stead, KZN Midlands, RSA – Second Year Final Theory
Martina Mantaras, Montevideo, Uruguay – Second Year Final Theory
Congratulations to BHA School of Lighting Students who have completed Short Courses
Lawrence Pillay, Regent Lighting Solutions, Durban, RSA – Foundation Lighting Course
Sihle Michael Ngema, Regent Lighting Solutions, Durban, RSA – Foundation Lighting Course
Innocent Segoai, Regent Lighting Solutions, Johannesburg, RSA – Foundation Lighting Course
Tassney Jacobs, Regent Lighting Solutions, Johannesburg, RSA – Foundation Lighting Course
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Upcoming Events from BHA School of Lighting
Cost: Free of Charge
Date: 16 November 2023
Time: 5:45pm for 6pm – 7pm (SAST)
Presenter: David Warfel, Chief Evangelist of Light & Founding Designer at Light Can Help You
David Warfel is an overly sensitive, marginally materialistic, pseudo-tree-hugging Midwestern farm boy turned lighting designer, educator, author, and entrepreneur. He’s been either lucky or talented enough to land design opportunities in residential, hospitality, museum, commercial, and even the super-niche escape-rooms-on-giant-cruise-ships industry. When he isn’t boring someone to tears talking about lighting, David leads his quirky design business, Light Can Help You, into new frontiers that promise better lighting for more people.
All of the above is true, but if you prefer a more traditional description, David is founding designer of Light Can Help You with diverse lighting experience. Design credits include performances at Carnegie Hall and The Saint Louis Black Rep, architectural designs at MGM Grand and Luxor in Las Vegas, Chicago’s Hyde Park Arts Center, and escape rooms for multiple Royal Caribbean cruise ships. His residential-focused company designs hundreds of homes each year across the continent. David’s work and writing has been featured in LD+A, Fine Homebuilding, Lighting (Australia), Designing Lighting, Technology Designer, Houzz.com, and more, and he regularly blogs at languageoflight.blog.
David is also an acclaimed educator, speaker, and presenter and has delivered webinars for the IES, given continuing education for AIA and IDCEC members, led full-day training courses, and co-developed an online training process for custom integrators. He is former head of lighting design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
About:
Science, technology, and technique provide the possibility of light in our homes and workplaces that supports human wellbeing beyond anything previously available, yet lighting for many of us has grown worse over the last twenty years instead of better. Why are homes filled with the modern equivalent of 2×4 fluorescent troffers, disguised as LED wafer lights? Why did we give up color fidelity and variability and begin choosing a single, solitary color temperature of light that leaves us in perpetual twilight? If there is a better way, why are only the select few choosing better light? And how can we make good light more accessible to our clients and building occupants? Our industry desperately needs a new approach to lighting, one that is easily understood, easily communicated, and easily executed. All of the pieces exist; it is time for us to put them together and change the world.
Join author, speaker, and lighting designer David Warfel for a look at what is wrong with lighting in our homes and what we could be doing better. Drawing from his Don’t/Do This blog series, David will discuss current residential lighting trends, lay out simplified strategies for better design, and share practical tips for making instant improvements in your home – or the homes of your clients.
Join a Professional Lighting Institution or Community
We encourage all of our Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering students to apply for student membership for little or no fees at local and international professional lighting institutions and lighting network communities. By becoming a member you will gain access to further study material, courses, workshops, webinars & stipends.
BHA School of Lighting is proud to be affiliated with the the International Association of Lighting Designers, the Institute of Lighting Professionals, the Virtual Lighting Design Community, The Lighting Police, Women in Lighting and the Illumination Engineering Society of South Africa.
Find more info about each organisation and community, as well as membership info here.
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