beit beirut

throughout 1924-1936, a residential complex was built to dominate Sodeco’s intersection. barakat building was composed of two separate asymmetrical structures, each three floors, and linked on the street corner by a common ground floor and entrance. the void between its two structures, veiled by delicately perched arches, brought forth a street view to every room […]

basilica di siponto

the sculpture titled ‘basilica di siponto’, constructed by italian artist edoardo tresoldi, is located in the archaeological park of siponto in puglia, italy. it occupies the vast space as a light and transparent volume, resurrecting the archaeological remains of a 13th century christian basilica. despite its sheer appearance, the installation contains layers of mesh metal that intersect and overlap to […]

bioluminescent creatures that light up the ocean

bioluminescence describes a living organism that produces and emits light. about 90% of deep sea life has this capability. tiny organs called “photophores” produce the light that these creatures generate. 1- clusterwink snail • its spiral shells could glow like dim blue-green light bulbs. • it produces light when tapped or found by other creatures […]

LED technology

in recent years, LED has been constantly advocated as being the high energy efficient and lifelong lamp. a comparison of the led lamps to compact fluorescent (both revolutionary energy efficient lamps) of equal lumens package, shows that the annual electrical operating costs will be decreased by almost 2.5 times by switching to led. although there […]

auroras

named after the roman goddess of dawn, the aurora is a peculiar and unpredictable display of light in the nocturnal sky. auroras are a striking sign that sun and earth are connected by more than sunlight. they indicate that this celestial connection is electric; the sun provides the auroral energy, but its particles come from […]

landscape workshop

at Hilights we invest tremendously in the new science of lighting technology and its design tools. we hold interactive workshop sessions where we all ‘play with light’ and familiarise ourselves more with lighting fixtures and their mechanisms, lighting effects, lighting systems and so forth. one of our workshops was held in a tree plantation field where we studied […]

lighting facts

niagara falls was first lit more than 130 years ago, to allow visitors to enjoy its beauty even at night. niagara falls was first electrically lit in 1879, using lights with illumination equivalent to 32,000 candles. today, the lights at the falls are equivalent to 250 million candles – an increase matched only by the […]

light pollution

more than a hundred years ago, you were able to walk outside at night and see thousands of stars across the night sky. with artificial lights now washing out our starry skies, more than half of the world’s population found living in cities has never experienced the beauty of pristinely dark skies. how do we […]

the wind portal

when lebanese based designer najla el zein teamed up with our very own maurice asso, the two flexed their expertise and gave birth to a unique experience for every visitor to V&A’s museum that fall of 2013. el zein sought to heighten one’s senses while transitioning from the museum’s existing spaces, to what served as […]

tsu restaurant

in “tsu” restaurant, a mixture of ambient and accent lighting is hidden in a detail where the wood and gypsum meet. these groove fixtures, serve to subtly accentuate the tables. with the use of soft lens diffusers, the artistic wall is lit. fixtures along the walls help in the circulation of the restaurant – highlighting […]