https://hilights.net Fri, 17 Nov 2023 13:25:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 https://hilights.net/news/beit-beirut/ https://hilights.net/news/beit-beirut/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:33 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=1192
15 years of civil war landed the complex on the green line that separated east and west beirut. today it stands as the city’s first multifaceted cultural center, museum, and memorial space – beit beirut.

upon entering the building, you’ll notice a central space where the existing structure meets its extension. a versatile lighting layout was created here for the constantly changing exhibitions. track projectors rotating around a circular skylight’s center provide accent & ambient lighting. subtle lighting signals across the floor lead to a dominant ramp circulating vertically, linking the old structures to the new, and every floor in between.

architect youssef haidar paid tribute to the atypical void by keeping the extension disconnected. the result, a centered atrium and skylight peering into the ground floor entrance first, then basement’s theater below. with a narrow beam projector on the third floor directed towards the atrium, we enhanced a moonlight effect.

each floor serves as an episode of the city’s history; walking through them leaves the visitor emotionally aware of its transition. our expertise came with rendering these different emotions favored, and providing adequate lighting for the different functions.

the first floor serves as a memorial, untouched where snipers had positioned their bunkers, means to trigger an uneasy sentiment. our challenge was to subtly dramatize this experience with no false ceiling. we manipulated the raised floors to house linear luminaires, and with warm lighting, washed every scarred wall and bunker. other areas include dimmed incandescent bulbs hanging over remnants of kitchen sinks and toilet seats.

half restored, half preserved, a gradual warmth in atmosphere is realized upon arriving on the second floor. beams that run along the ceiling helped create two scenes using indirect light and track projectors; the first related to the exhibition and the second meant to accentuate what has been preserved in the building. with a false ceiling, skylights embedded with directed linear lighting give the impression of sunlight seeping through the third floor, while illuminating the rooftop’s terrace situated above.

lastly, with 3D mapping, projections of animated scenes will highlight the façade’s architectural features and accommodate various future events.]]> https://hilights.net/news/beit-beirut/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/basilica-di-siponto/ https://hilights.net/news/basilica-di-siponto/#comments Mon, 02 May 2016 10:45:25 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=1095 https://hilights.net/news/basilica-di-siponto/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/bioluminescent-creatures-that-light-up-the-ocean/ https://hilights.net/news/bioluminescent-creatures-that-light-up-the-ocean/#comments Mon, 02 May 2016 10:55:37 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=1039
1- clusterwink snail
• its spiral shells could glow like dim blue-green light bulbs.
• it produces light when tapped or found by other creatures that are likely to attack.
• its activity is described as “Hinea Brasiliana”.
• although its glow attracts predators, it exposes them to their predators as well.

2- abraliopsis squid
• it has small light organs on the underside of its body for camouflage.
• it uses this illumination to blend in with the sky, hiding its silhouette from predators watching from below.

3- tomopteris
• this sea worm is one of the few creatures that make yellow light.
• if disturbed, it can let loose glowing sparks from foot-like appendages called “parapodia”.
• it is thought that this mode is to distract predators.

4. deiopea comb jelly
• comb jellies aren’t true jellyfish, but an entirely different phylum. and unlike jellyfish, they swim mouth-forward, gulping down their victims.
• Comb-jelly’s blue or blue-green luminescence isn’t fully understood. it’s thought to be defensive light, in brilliant cascading waves, and can even eject sparkling smoke screens when under a threat. ]]> https://hilights.net/news/bioluminescent-creatures-that-light-up-the-ocean/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/1030/ https://hilights.net/news/1030/#comments Mon, 02 May 2016 10:55:28 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=1030
although there has been several positive comparative studies that promote led lamps, one needs to consider the below before labeling it as an environmentally friendly light source.

heat sinks used with LEDs are designed to absorb and disperse excess heat away from the LED diode and into the heat sink. too much heat will damage the LED phosphor, resulting in lower light output, changes in color and or a significant decrease in life expectancy. for a LED lamp to be more energy efficient you need to dissipate the heat properly by making the heat sinks bigger (more aluminum). however, looking closer at the constituents of the aluminum material, it shows that 80% of it is virgin aluminum, and only 20% is recycled! as well, aluminum processing creates a range of waste products, the most significant being mercury emission, which is solid airborne elementary mercury release. in fact, the production of one tonne of aluminum leads on average to 16.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. the energy intensity required to produce a tonne of aluminum is 14,289 kWh.

LED modules require a driver to operate. till this date, there is no program of recycling the electronics of the LEDs. many LED drivers exhibit poor power factor and/or poor harmonic power factor. this comes from low cost driver design. poor power factor results in added electrical system losses.

the quality of the white light (having high CRI values) is inversely proportional to the efficacy (lumens per watt) of the source, thus higher efficacy means having a poorer quality of light.

LED light does have an abundance of blue light wavelengths. there are many findings by the international dark-sky association (IDA) that show that light sources rich in blue wavelengths brighten the night sky more than any other color. they also suppress the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms (natural body cycles). this has many harmful effects on the human health and wildlife.

all things considered, one should be very selective with the quality of LED products they select to avoid having the above negative aspects. ]]> https://hilights.net/news/1030/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/auroras/ https://hilights.net/news/auroras/#comments Mon, 02 May 2016 10:55:41 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=1018 https://hilights.net/news/auroras/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/workshops-landscape/ https://hilights.net/news/workshops-landscape/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2016 08:00:56 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=958 https://hilights.net/news/workshops-landscape/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/lighting-facts-2/ https://hilights.net/news/lighting-facts-2/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2016 04:46:38 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=941 https://hilights.net/news/lighting-facts-2/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/light-pollution/ https://hilights.net/news/light-pollution/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2016 08:00:09 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=937 https://hilights.net/news/light-pollution/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/the-wind-portal/ https://hilights.net/news/the-wind-portal/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2016 04:44:16 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=932 https://hilights.net/news/the-wind-portal/feed/ 0 https://hilights.net/news/tsu-restaurant/ https://hilights.net/news/tsu-restaurant/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2016 08:00:49 +0000 http://hilights.net/?post_type=news&p=879 https://hilights.net/news/tsu-restaurant/feed/ 0